Reasons and resources: understanding pupils’ aspirations in lower vocational Dutch education

Abstract

Much research has already been done on the aspirations of young people in lower (vocational) education. As a result, we have learnt more about why students may have high or low aspirations, and to what end their aspirations may lead them. However, there are still some crucial elements missing from the existing academic framework around pupils' aspirations, which deals with the realisation of pupils' ambitions. Through the study of ethnographic cases of native Dutch white girls in a lower vocational school, voicing their aspirations, two new concepts will be introduced: reasons and resources. With these two additions, it is hoped that this article will contribute to the existing academic literature on pupils' ambitions, and it also endeavours to provide useful input for school staff to help them deal with the complexity of the formation and realisation of pupils' aspirations in vocational schools.

Losing white privilege? Exploring whiteness as a resource for ‘white’ Dutch girls in a racially diverse school

“…Multiple disadvantages, including their lower social class background and challenging home situations, overlap and make them even more reliant on external resources. The guidance and information that teachers can provide can be an important resource to help students to complete their education and achieve their aspirations (Stam 2017). While at the beginning of the school year teachers displayed a high degree of understanding for the difficult personal circumstances many students were facing, their sympathy tended to wane after a few months as they became increasingly irritated by their students' behaviour.…”

“…I question whether their whiteness functions as white privilege and provides them with a resource in this school setting, such as teachers' support. The guidance and information provided by teachers has been found to be a significant resource that helps students to develop and achieve their educational goals and aspirations (Stam 2017). Due to their social class backgrounds, working-class students are heavily reliant on external resources as previous studies have shown that working-class parents are less often able to provide educational support (Stam 2017;Stephens et al 2015).…”

“…The guidance and information provided by teachers has been found to be a significant resource that helps students to develop and achieve their educational goals and aspirations (Stam 2017). Due to their social class backgrounds, working-class students are heavily reliant on external resources as previous studies have shown that working-class parents are less often able to provide educational support (Stam 2017;Stephens et al 2015). This study aims to make a contribution to the research on race and education because, on the one hand, studies on young, working-class 'white' people seldom take white privilege into account, while on the other hand, most studies on white privilege hardly focus on education and tend to overlook the intersection between race and social class.…”

The (un)making of Dutch ‘care girls’: An ethnographic study on aspirations, internship experiences and labour market perspectives

“…In this way, both the educational structures and their family backgrounds channelled the dispositions and the agency of young women towards care training. In another study, Stam (2017) indicated that many of the Dutch students in secondary schools 'choose' the care sector because they don't like mathematics, and this is the only sector that does not require them to study that subject. Furthermore, as care-related subjects are very popular among young women, some of our respondents had 'picked' this subject to be in the same class as most of their female friends (Stam 2018).…”

Teachers' Humanistic Role in Teaching Mathematics Online During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nepal

“…The dimension of humanistic education focuses on recognizing every individual as a human being with an emphasis on relationships, creating space for creativity, and focusing on meaning construction (Kazanjian & Choi, 2016). It includes teachers' knowledge that is to be in line with the student's interests, enthusiasms, and aspirations (Stam, 2017) so that it helps to deliver their teaching byapplying culturally responsive and relational pedagogies, and acknowledging different ways of knowing (Starkey, 2019). As it is also a crucial factor of learner-centered instruction (Giinting et al, 2013), the learner-centered framework with the inclusion of technology provides a foundation for the transformation of education.…”