Hannah and Lucy explore how aspiration develops, why it sometimes fades and what schools may be missing when disengagement is read as apathy.

Rather than blaming young people, the conversation looks at the conditions shaping aspiration. Poverty, local opportunity, constant comparison and narrow definitions of success all play a role. For some students, ambition feels risky. When futures seem inaccessible or irrelevant, disengagement can become a form of self-protection.

The discussion challenges the idea that aspiration is simply about motivation or effort. Hannah reflects on how students learn early which futures feel “for people like them”. Lucy argues that aspiration often goes underground rather than disappearing. Many students care deeply, but hesitate to voice hopes that feel fragile or unsafe.

Schools are part of this story. Performative accountability, rigid pathways and limited narratives of success can unintentionally narrow how students imagine their futures. Throughout the conversation, relationships, trust and belonging emerge as central. Aspiration grows when students feel seen, valued and understood in the present.

Hannah & Lucy close with a reframing of the question. It’s less, “why don’t students aspire?”, and more, “what conditions help aspiration grow?”

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Chapters

00:00 Why aspiration is being questioned

02:45 What educators mean by “lack of aspiration”

06:10 Structural barriers and lived realities

10:20 Aspiration as self-protection

14:40 Narrow definitions of success

19:10 Schools, accountability and unintended messages

23:50 Relationships, trust and belonging

29:30 Helping aspiration feel safe and possible

34:40 Rethinking the question of aspiration

38:20 Final reflections

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