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This paper aims to explore the role of space and social inequalities in shaping youth aspirations in rural Catalonia (Spain) and its consequences for their upper secondary VET choices.

Transitions to upper secondary education occur against a political backdrop that emphasises the raising, management and regulation of students' aspirations to ensure realistic choices (Hart, 2012), obscuring the highly conditioned character – by social background and educational context – of such processes (Ball et al, 2000). As Appadurai (2004) points out, the capacity to aspire is unevenly distributed across different social groups. Research highlights that aspirations are mediated by students’ habitus, shaping how they perceive opportunities, as well as by dominant conceptions of valued educational pathways within the system (Hart, 2012; Gale & Parker, 2018). Moreover, imagining and pursuing particular futures requires capacities conditioned by students positions and capitals.

At the same time, research has emphasized the spatial embeddedness of social and educational inequalities and the importance of place in shaping young people’s biographies and identities (Farrugia, 2014). Therefore, making decisions about academic and professional futures often involves choices about (im)mobility (Finn, 2017). In this sense, mobility goes beyond the physical act of moving (Urry, 2008) and relates to individuals’ imagined spatial futures (Rönnlund, 2020), which are constructed based on their sense of place belonging and their horizons for action (Hodskinson & Sparkes, 1997). This process is particularly relevant in the Catalan context where VET provision is unequally distributed and centralized, and vocational education is often devalued, considered a ‘second-best’ option suitable for more vulnerable students. The way in which students imagine their futures and make decisions is therefore strongly influenced by their capacity to exercise spatial reflexivity (Cairns, 2014), in a context where mobility becomes almost mandatory for successful transitions.

This paper aims to contribute to the analysis of the intertwining of social and spatial inequalities in shaping educational transitions and, specifically, young people’s aspirations. A single case study based on a mixed-methods design with embedded units of analysis was conducted in a rural area of Catalonia, which portrays a particular upper secondary circuit of schooling composed of different types of high schools – in terms of ownership, social composition, supply and location – and student mobility flows. A questionnaire was distributed (N=632) and 45 in-depth interviews with students in the final year of compulsory education were conducted. The analysis explores how students from different social backgrounds, gender and migrant origin construct and navigate their spatial horizons regarding education, work and place to live. First, we identify unequal patterns of upper secondary choice – between tracks and programmes within tracks – in relation to structural variables, students’ place of residence and their attachment to it. Second, we analyse students’ imagined futures in terms of the highest level of education they aspire to achieve, the occupations they envision and the characteristics of the place where they would like to live. Overall, this paper sheds light on how social and spatial inequalities structure youth educational trajectories.