Paper short abstract:

Grounded in theoretical insights from anthropology, migration and education studies, this paper shows how the educational aspirations and trajectories of young men in northern Senegal reflected their negotiations of masculinity, caste hierarchy, a 'culture of migration' and social positionality.

Paper long abstract:

Much migration studies and anthropological literature documents how young Senegalese men negotiate the difficult transition into adulthood given the lack of lucrative local economic opportunities, and as migration to Europe has become increasingly restricted and dangerous. Yet, this scholarship pays little attention to young men's educational aspirations experiences, although schooling presents a potential source of cultural and social capital. In contrast, educational studies on the relationships between migration and education are mainly quantitative analyses of the impact of remittances on school attainment. They ignore the ways that youths' identities and agency influence their aspirations and trajectories.

I address this disconnect by analysing the narratives of male youths from northern Senegal, whether they engaged in full-time Qur'anic schooling, completed primary state schooling but left shortly afterwards, or obtained secondary school diplomas. I demonstrate that gendered expectations linked to income-generating potential and sexual performance, and a 'culture of migration' which rendered male physical and social mobility largely synonymous, shaped youths' educational aspirations and trajectories. Their capacity to aspire and their ability to realise their aspirations were further influenced by social networks and access to capital, reflecting family precedent and their position in the caste-like social hierarchy. Paying attention to youths' negotiations of masculinity, as it intersects with other identity constructions and social positionality, thus enhances our understanding of both migration and educational trends in this context.

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