ABSTRACT
As outlined in Chapter 1, the ASPIRES project is based on the premise that aspirations are an interesting and important focus for study. First, aspirations can, in some cases, provide a probabilistic indication of a young person’s future occupation (Trice, 1991a, 1991b; Trice and McClellan, 1993). Some researchers have also suggested that ‘high’ aspirations might contribute to building resilience among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds (e.g. Flouri and Panourgia, 2012). However, we would urge caution around this assertion, as others (Croll, 2008; Gorard et al., 2012; Yates et al., 2011) have drawn attention to the potentially negative outcomes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who aspire highly but lack the academic attainment and capital to achieve their ambitions.
