Counselling to stay or to leave? - Comparing career counselling of young people in rural and urban areas

Abstract

Sweden may be wealthy, but uneven distributions of resources still affect students' access to higher education and career choices. Some variation is linked to rural/urban divides, but myriads of other factors may also influence young people's options in transitions. Here I explore these issues, using data collected from interviews with study and career counsellors in both rural and urban areas of Sweden, using a framework including Masseyian concepts of place, and horizons of action. The results confirm the general poverty of access in rural areas linked to limitations of locally available educational programmes, an associated tendency for counsellors to promote 'learning to leave', and hence ongoing 'metrocentric' flows to city centres. However, they also highlight (inter alia) the importance of students' resources, which enable or constrain their ability to leave and breadth of opportunities (in rural and urban areas), and gendered socialisation factors that may promote or counter the flows.

Tell me what you study and where you live! Exploring the role that these aspects play when choosing a university

“…With regard to H2, the size of the municipality of residence had a significant impact on almost all the university selection criteria, with the sole exceptions of high school teachers' advice, study abroad programs and intersihips/practicum programs. These results are consistent with previous studies that have highlighted the importance of the environment of residence (rural versus urban) in the choice of university (Rosvall, 2020).…”

“…The literature on the choices and decisions that students make regarding which Higher Education (HE) institutions they should apply to is influenced by a considerable number of factors (Baker, 2019).Little, however, is known about how the students' places of residence (rural or urban areas) influence this decision. The work of Rosvall (2020) stresses that the transition to HE and careers could be more difficult for students in rural areas than for their urban peers. This author also states that students in rural areas are dealing with an ambivalence as regards staying in and leaving rural areas, and the poverty of access that occurs in some cases.…”

Local Places Ruling Life: Compromises and Restricted Career Choices in Rural Sweden

“…In this sense, choice based on interest is primarily available to rural students from more privileged economic backgrounds or students in urban areas. Rosvall also ( 2020 ) analyses school counsellors’ work in rural locations in relation to students’ choice and local space. Here, students’ desires to stay and their local place attachment are often downplayed in favour of narratives that promote educational and work opportunities, often portrayed as necessitating mobility.…”

Determinantes del empleo no pleno de los jóvenes rurales del Ecuador durante el 2020

“…El primero relaciona al individuo con una actividad que empareje sus habilidades con un empleo, y el segundo relaciona sus deseos individuales y aspiraciones. No obstante, las y los jóvenes de las áreas rurales no siempre tienen la opción de escoger una de las dos opciones, debido a las limitaciones que tienen para acceder a la educación, y para tener un lugar donde habitar en caso de migrar (Rosvall, 2020;Bok, 2010). Esto da como resultado la incorporación a empleos informales y/o poco remunerados (Rodin et al, 2012).…”

“…Las zonas rurales enfrentan varios retos que no son frecuentes en las ciudades como el cierre de escuelas, la precarización de los sistemas de salud, la falta de fuentes de financiamiento, y el poco acceso a internet. Esto deriva en problemas estructurales para la consecución de un empleo formal (Rosvall, 2020;Bairagya, 2012;Trahar et al, 2020). Aunque muchos países se han comprometido en aumentar el acceso a la educación superior, estos esfuerzos aún no son suficientes, más aún 1 PEA: todas las personas mayores a 15 años que trabajaron al menos una hora en la semana, o, aunque no trabajaron, tuvieron trabajo (ocupados), o bien las personas que no tenían empleo, pero estaban disponibles para trabajar y están en la búsqueda de empleo (desempleados) (Ulcuango et al, 2021).…”