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Positivity amid unfulfilled aspirations: educational reflections ten years after high school
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DOI：10.1007/s11218-026-10256-4.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Nearly worldwide, the attainment of post-secondary education is regarded as a marker of success, and efforts to help young people realize their educational aspirations abound. Although this area has long been of interest to researchers, less is known about what actually becomes of aspirations beyond high school and how young adults engage with and make sense of their educational experiences and pathways. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 44 young adults (24 women; Mage = 29 years, Mincome = $56,194.32) a decade after leaving high school. Despite high hopes and dreams in high school, most commonly in healthcare and the trades, the majority (71%) did not realize their educational aspirations. Nevertheless, they were able to reflect on their experiences and pathways without regret, and with appreciation for the personal and experiential growth their educational experiences provided. The most common future goal was returning to school or taking professional development courses. This study further contributes to the existing education literature through the novel application of time attitudes as an interpretive frame. Time attitudes refers to how individuals feel about and emotionally evaluate time, shaping behavior, motivation, and wellbeing. This construct may help explain the paradoxically positive outlook participants maintain towards their past, present, and future, despite largely unfulfilled aspirations. Examining how young adults subjectively perceive and integrate educational experiences, outcomes, and attitudes across time may offer valuable insights for educators and education policy.
Keywords:
Educational aspirations
Educational outcomes
Educational attainment
Young adulthood
Time attitudes
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