Conceptualizing Higher Education Aspirations Formation Among Marginalized Migrant Youth in Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

There has been limited research to date that takes account of marginalized migrants’ educational aspirations in the Global South using a human development lens. There is thus a need to consider where aspirations and education fit into processes of development among and for youth, particularly in the South-to-South migration context. This chapter conceptualizes the formation of educational aspirations among marginalized migrant youth. The emphasis is on higher education, with a focus on educational aspirations, because of the importance of higher education for both intrinsic and instrumental development of individuals in equipping them for multiple futures. Using the human development and capability lens for analysis, we argue that to understand educational aspirations we need to take account of material resources as well as the interaction between individual agency and structural conditions. The chapter argues that the formation of higher educational aspirations is complex, as is the environment that shapes them. Such a complexity requires an in-depth and comprehensive analysis to take account of the lived realities of marginalized groups.

Citation

Mkwananzi, W.F. and Wilson-Strydom, M. (2019), "Conceptualizing Higher Education Aspirations Formation Among Marginalized Migrant Youth in Johannesburg, South Africa", Sengupta, E. and Blessinger, P. (Ed.) Language, Teaching, and Pedagogy for Refugee Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 15), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 27-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120180000015004