The capability to aspire of young people in disadvantaged circumstances

This chapter presents a reflection on how social sciences approach the ways young people conceptualize a desirable future, a critical element of how they relate to society as actors. Though we acknowledge that aspirations draw upon the personal preferences of young people, we emphasize that their aspirations are also socially constrained. Taking this socially embedded nature of aspirations seriously leads us to argue that a thorough understanding of the social roles of aspirations entails an appreciation of the opportunities young people have to develop their views on a desirable future: their capacity to aspire. In addition, we contend that the capacity to aspire of young people living in disadvantaged circumstances can only be comprehensively understood if aspirations are analysed from a multidimensional perspective.