Opportunity, perception, and privilege : community resources and upward mobility as perceived by Spryfield youth

Abstract

This research aims to understand the relationship between youth access to community resources in Spryfield and Spryfield youth’s perception of their chances of attaining upward socioeconomic mobility. The main research question I investigate is: how do Spryfield youth perceive the availability of community resources as contributors to their potential upward mobility? I also explore questions such as: what community resources are available to Spryfield youth? How do youth of different genders and ages perceive the availability of community resources in Spryfield? I use Pierre Bourdieu’s forms of capital and neighbourhood effect theory to assess the Moving to Opportunity experiment as it relates to Spryfield youth. Primary data from a focus group formed through convenience sampling is compared to results from the Moving to Opportunity study. From the focus group, three themes are developed: 1) neighbourhood effects on Spryfield youth, 2) Spryfield lacks community resources that specifically focus on mental and physical health, and 3) the results coming out of Pathways to Education Spryfield challenge the MTO experiment. This thesis argues that disadvantages in attaining upward mobility are more effectively challenged when community resources for youth are implemented within their communities and when neighbourhood effects are addressed. The findings in this research suggest that community resource implementation within socioeconomically disadvantaged communities may prevent gendered differences in impact from occurring, as was the case in the Moving to Opportunity experiment.