Aspirations, education and social justice: applying Sen and Bourdieu

Caroline Hart presents a radical new paradigm for thinking about the role of education in the development of human flourishing. The book applies Amartya Sen's capability approach to understanding the nature of aspirations in the policy context of strategies to widen participation in higher education. Sen's work is synthesised with key concepts from Pierre Bourdieu to develop a framework for understanding the processes through which young people are enabled and disabled in relation to developing and achieving their aspirations.

Drawing on an empirical study involving 600 young people aged 17-19 in their final years of education, this text explores the hopes and dreams of these young people for the future. The young people's voices challenge dominant discourses of aspiration, well-being and advantage, and invite readers to rethink their own positions on these issues.