Young people's career choices in Swedish rural contexts: Schools' social codes, migration and resources

Successful social and economic integration into Swedish society increasingly demands a post-compulsory education, but such education is increasingly centralised, posing problems for rural young people. To help efforts to address such problems, this article considers social codes and resources that may influence rural young peoples' trajectories to post-secondary and higher education. This is done by analysing how codes and resources (social, cultural and material) influenced thoughts of students preparing to leave compulsory education regarding their educational/career choices. The empirical data were gathered using ethnographic approaches (classroom observations, and interviews with students, teachers, heads and study/work counsellors) in six classes in six rural Swedish towns, differing in terms of size, access to post-compulsory education, unemployment and young peoples' trajectories. The theoretical framework is based on Massey's understandings of place and power geometry, i.e. the distinct ways different social groups and individuals are placed in relation to the flows and interconnections of socio-economic and cultural interactions. The results indicate that social resources such as siblings and cousins ‘paving the way’, or relatives in towns offering possible options, may influence choices of upper secondary school. Cultural resources such as institutional recognition, in the form of academic credentials or qualifications, were also important. So too were financial resources, partly because economically privileged students tended to pick the programme of their choice, without reflecting much about where they would live, while less privileged students had to consider potential accommodation problems. In conclusion, differences in resources seem even more important to rural young people than they reportedly are for their urban peers.