The choice of education – a life decision for young people in rural areas
A newly published book aims to help readers understand the unique challenges and opportunities for people and businesses in rural Sweden. One of the chapters deals with interests and conditions for higher education among prospective students in rural areas.
The book Lika välfärd för alla: landsbygdens möjligheter och utmaningar (Equal welfare for all: opportunities and challenges of rural areas), published by Liber, provides a current insight into the conditions in rural areas and how to create better conditions for living and working there. One of the chapters is entitled Move or stay? Higher education as a life choice for rural youth and is written by Klara Björkum, R&D coordinator at Campus Västervik, and associate professor Goran Basic at Linnaeus University.
The chapter is based on a qualitative study in which 26 upper secondary school students and eight adult education students from three rural municipalities were interviewed. The interviews were processed, analysed, and interpreted to shed light on the phenomenon that the choice of education is a life decision for young people in rural areas.
"Interests and conditions are complex dimensions that influence young people's life choices regarding higher education in rural areas. It is important to consider these dimensions to create more inclusive and accessible learning environments for all students, regardless of where they live", says Goran Basic.
Four important aspects
To support prospective students in rural municipalities in reaching their full educational potential, navigating the academic world, and making well-informed decisions about higher education, it is important to take into account four aspects, the study shows:
- range of courses and programmes offered,
- proximity and distance to studies,
- the relationship with academia, and
- the educational background of family and friends.
The study is concluded with two questions directed at actors who work, or will work, with young people in rural areas:
- How can organisations work on designing more tailored and supportive measures to facilitate access to higher education for young people in rural areas?
- How can these measures be developed to assist these young people?
The chapter is the fourth publication within the project Future students’ perspectives on higher education that is run in collaboration between Campus Västervik and Linnaeus University.