Abstract
The study focuses on how learners in a rural school use aspirational capital to overcome challenges and ensure academic success. In bridging the gap between the community space and the school space learners make use of various forms of capital to ensure successful navigation in a new space. Aspirational capital is acquired through individual experiences within specific contexts. This resilience enables learners to achieve goals amidst challenges. The study is guided by the central research question: How do learners utilise aspirational capital to address learner challenges and ensure academic success? Two learners, a Xhosa boy, and a Nama girl, were chosen as participants for the study. Data was generated through four semi-structured interviews. The narratives gave insight into how the participants used aspirational capital in the navigation of the new school context. A social constructivist paradigm was followed to capture the participants’ unique experiences. The data was analysed using Appadurai’s (2004) capacity to aspire, Yosso’s (2005) model of cultural wealth in communities, and Somers’ (1994) narrative identity as theoretical lenses. The data is presented under the following themes: the learners’ community narratives focusing on their personal aspirational experiences, their school narratives linked to aspirations within the school context, and navigation using aspirational capital. The analysis of the narratives indicates that learners with the capacity to aspire effectively utilise resources to unfold a culture of possibility and act as agents of change.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Learner Diversity and Identities
KEYWORDS
Agency, Aspiration, Aspirational Capital, Learner Challenges, Navigation, Rural School
