Re/configuring possible selves and broadening future horizons: the experiences of working-class British Asian women navigating higher education

Hoskins, K. and Wong, B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7310-6418 (2022) Re/configuring possible selves and broadening future horizons: the experiences of working-class British Asian women navigating higher education. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 24 (1). pp. 114-138. ISSN 1466-6529 doi: 10.5456/WPLL.24.1.114

Abstract/Summary

Improving ‘‘non-traditional’’ students’ access to higher education has been an aim of United Kingdom (UK) governments since 1997. However, less is known about what enables ‘non-traditional’ British Asian female students to consider different career options on completion of their studies, and if/how their degree course has enabled them to reconfigure their possible future professional selves. In this paper, we draw on interviews to examine the experiences of working-class British Asian women undertaking an undergraduate degree in Greater London. We highlight the support provided by the participants’ families to enable their aspirations for higher education. We also examine the importance of work placements in enabling a reimagination of their future possible professional selves. Our data lead us to argue that reconfiguring did occur, and work placements and the confidence gained through placements enabled our participants to construct professional future selves that would otherwise be unthinkable.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/104086
Identification Number/DOI	10.5456/WPLL.24.1.114
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Arts, Humanities and Social Science > Institute of Education > Improving Equity and Inclusion through Education
Publisher	Ingenta Connect
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