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

Abstract

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 leads 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.