Realigning young peoples' aspirations : triggers and processes

Equity concerns related to high-school completion and engagement with learning have driven the production of an enormous body of research over the past three decades. Much of this literature focuses on the reproduction of disadvantage among young people from families of low socio-economic status (SES) who are in many cases attending public schools populated by students from similarly disadvantaged backgrounds. Instead of focusing on the reproduction of disadvantage in these contexts, this chapter identifies the triggers and processes for how disenfranchised young people within the school system realigned their aspirations and became more engaged with learning.