“I Wanted a Better Life”: Higher Education Aspirations and Agency of Kazakhstani Youth from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds

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Although a large body of literature explored the mechanisms that shape social mobility of youth, it remains unclear how youth, in general, especially from marginalized backgrounds, exercise agency in pursuing aspirations. Drawing on life history narratives of prestigious university graduates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds in Kazakhstan, this study examines challenges that the graduates faced in pursuing aspirations for higher education and how they exercised agency within these constraining conditions. This research makes significant contributions to the literature on youth aspirations, agency, and Bourdieu’s theory of field while highlighting circumstances that improve higher education access of youth from marginalized backgrounds.