ABSTRACT

This chapter addresses how neoliberal policy discourses frame the aspirations of young men, considering the construction of subjectivities and counter-narratives to such constructions. It aims to interrogate the global neoliberal policy context and its impact across multiple localities and nation-states. The chapter demonstrates that neoliberal policies promote problematic solutions for boys’ education and considers what this means for young men’s identity work as well as those scholars who remain concerned with the state of affairs. It argues that approaches to researching and imagining aspiration that reflect the complexities of masculinities. The chapter suggests that future academic work on boys’ aspirations adopts an intersectional approach and examines the everyday cultural practices of young men. It also considers how portrayals of young men, and the demand for higher aspirations, are related to neoliberal logics and forms of subjectivity. The chapter explores the relationship between an increasingly neoliberal model of education internationally and shifts in masculine identity formations.