‘The whole world is my home’: An investigation into how a globalised lifestyle, international capital and an international schooling experience influence the identities and aspirations of young people

Abstract

This article discusses the findings of a study involving the aspirations of students in an international school in Belgium. Aspirations are framed and formed via the interaction and interrelationship of self and social context. The originality of this work is in its emphasis on students’ own perceptions of the influences on their aspirations, within a new geographical arena and the social sub-culture of a fluid, semi-transient international group. The findings will add to our understandings of international schooling and might usefully inform pedagogical practices and programmes of professional development for staff in order to better serve students.