Postgraduate research students

My PhD research investigates the aspirations and post-school transitions of vocational (SMK) graduates in rural Indonesia, focusing on how socio-economic constraints shape young people’s imagined futures and strategic responses. Anchored in a critical realist perspective, and drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice and the Capability Approach, the study examines how underlying structural mechanisms influence rural youth’s opportunities, agency, and decision-making.

Using a participatory qualitative approach centred on photovoice as a creative and dialogic space for collaborative reflection, the project foregrounds the lived realities of marginalised rural youth. Through these multimodal methods, it explores how young people navigate local labour markets and interpret their future possibilities.

The study contributes to critical debates on youth aspirations, vocational education, and rural development in the Global South, offering insights for more equitable and context-sensitive policy design.

• Dr Leping Mou
• Professor Oscar Valiente

Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan – LPDP)