YOUTH ASPIRATIONS, SOCIAL MOBILITY AND EDUCATIONAL TARGET ACHIEVEMENT IN SRI LANKA

• Main Authors: S.J.M.N.G. Samarakoon, S. Rasnayake, D.T. Chandrasekara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: WUFI 2016-04-01
• Series: Social Affairs
• Subjects: Youth aspirations; Social mobility; Competency levels
• Online Access: http://socialaffairsjournal.com/Achive/Spring_2016/1.Youth%20Aspirations,%20Social%20Mobility%20and%20Educational%20Target%20Achievement%20In%20Sri%20Lanka%20-%20Samarakoon_Rasnayake_Chandrasekera.pdf

This study attempts to identify how young students set educational targets in major competency levels of their education namely, GCE Ordinary Level (O/L), GCE Advanced Level (A/L), First Degree and Post-Graduate level, and how far they achieve those targets or deviate, which can be used as a yardstick to measure the impact and relevance of education in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted in the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka in 2011. A questionnaire was provided to 150 respondents who were selected based on formal systematic random sampling method. The study reveals that students select their future field of education during the period of GCE O/L based on their performance and set future targets accordingly. The ‘white collar job mentality’ is infused to most students during this period with considerable contribution from parents, family members, teachers and other social networks, which intensifies competition in the job market later on. The Chi-square test concluded that there is a relationship between the selection of subject stream at A/L and family income at 5% level of significance (P value=0.043, probability 95%), which later determines job prospects and their payoffs. Additionally, 67% of the undergraduates in the sample have decided to follow a postgraduate degree due to the challenges in the job market. The paper concludes that though youth aspirations and social mobility are based on education, they are also heavily conditioned by structural realities such as family wealth, status, and life opportunities, as well as unequal distributions of education facilities.