Unleashing "Possible Selves": How College Students in England Conceptualize University

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: The Intersections of College Knowledge, Social Capital, and College Choice

Abstract

Higher Education (HE) researchers have for some time struggled to agree upon a theoretical lens through which inequitable access to university can be most helpfully viewed. Following Harrison (2018), this paper borrows the notion of ‘Possible Selves’ (Markus and Nurius 1986) to explore how young people negotiate their perceived options, and express their educational dispositions and anxieties. Our case study involves in-depth interviews with learners aged 16 to 18 at further education (FE) colleges in the North of England from which access to university is limited. The project involved structured collaboration between universities and FE colleges, which we argue is essential if the academic potential of students from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds is to be more systematically realized.

Authors

• Steven Jones, The University of Manchester

• Rita Hordosy, Nottingham University

• Jenna Mittelmeier, The University of Manchester

• Tee McCaldin, University of Manchester

• Aunam Quyoum, The University of Sheffield