Abstract

This article investigates vulnerabilities in transitions from secondary and tertiary education to work among the indigenous Mapuche youth in Chile. The study draws from 2014 social survey and qualitative in-depth interviews of indigenous students in secondary and higher education focused on the magnitude of accumulative disadvantages and the decision processes involved in their choice of future life-paths. Despite socioeconomic convergence with the non-Mapuche population, the results reveal the importance of urban economic conditions and previous educational disadvantages in shaping the aspirations of Mapuche youth.