Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Postsecondary Education Aspiration Capabilities

This study examines how teachers perceive students’ postsecondary education (PSE) aspirations and whether teachers’ perceptions differ depending on the income levels and PSE application rates of students in secondary schools. The study contributes to research about students’ PSE aspirations by analyzing the kinds of perceptions teachers hold of students’ PSE aspirations and why they might support some aspirations over others. The premise was that teachers’ perceptions could be a limiting factor on students’ aspirational capabilities if teachers perceived students as not having the aptitude to be successful, and that this might further be correlated with students’ family incomes. The research used a mixed methods convergent research design: Quantitative data consisted of teachers’ responses (n =113) to a survey about their perceptions of students’ PSE aspirations, and qualitative data were generated from semi-structured interviews (n =12) with teachers. Participants were drawn from three schools of varying income and PSE participation levels from within the same public-school board in southern Ontario. The findings were interpreted using the Sen-Bourdieu Analytical Framework as proposed by Hart (2019), combining both Sen’s capability approach and Bourdieu’s theory of social reproduction. The quantitative data revealed that teachers’ perceptions of students’ aspirations and how teachers prepared students for PSE did not significantly differ across schools. The qualitative data, however, showed that teachers evaluated students’ capacity to aspire on the basis of students’ capability sets, as perceived by teachers, and that teachers’ pedagogy and PSE praxis differed depending on the income level of the school in which they taught. Further analysis revealed that teachers were frustrated with policies that limited their ability to effectively support and encourage students’ PSE aspirations. A conclusion drawn from this study was that, to increase students’ capacity to aspire, teachers must adjust their pedagogy and praxis to address the distinct needs of students with different levels of access to forms of capital and different family habitus; however, secondary and PSE leaders must also collaborate with teachers when developing policies and protocols that enhance students’ aspirational capabilities and functionings so all students, regardless of income level, have equitable opportunities to aspire to a PSE.

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