Social and Spatial Mobility via Education: Managing Aspirations on Shifting Terrains

Abstract

This special issue examines the way that education relates to young people's aspirations for social and spatial mobility, which we understand as fundamentally intertwined. We propose the concept of “terrains” to capture the contours of inequality, hierarchies of value, and navigational responsiveness shaping their experiences. This framework advances a multidimensional approach to aspiration, highlights the unevenness shaping educational opportunity, and underscores that youth-centered ethnography is vital in investigating how young people experience these varied conditions.