This Policy Note highlights the important role of educational aspirations in shaping the academic trajectories of Filipino youth. It finds that children who aspire to attain higher levels of education are more likely to earn better grades, remain enrolled in school, complete upper secondary education, and avoid grade repetition. Yet children from less wealthy households are less likely to hold such aspirations, despite benefiting from them to the same extent as their more affluent peers. The Note also highlights how education costs and unequal access to educational assistance can undermine families’ confidence in achieving their children’s educational goals. To help more youth realize their aspirations, the authors recommend integrating aspiration-building into learning and mentoring programs and expanding access to scholarships and other forms of educational assistance. They also call for supporting the out-of-school youth in returning to formal education and strengthening interventions that address the financial and social barriers faced by children from disadvantaged groups.
