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The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

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You are reading: ‘Don’t let anyone bring me down again’: Applying ‘possible selves’ to understanding persistence of mature-age first-in-family students

Janine Delahunty and Sarah O’Shea

Published in Higher Education Research & Development
Published online 1 Jun 2020

Abstract

This article applies the framework of possible selves to the motivation and persistence behaviours of one group of university students. We draw on possible selves to consider how particular goal-focused actions and life experiences may significantly shape movements towards imagined futures. Utilising a narrative approach from longitudinal data, this article considers the ways in which possible selves were articulated by five first-in-family students, all of whom were mature-aged women returning to formal learning. A series of vignettes enabled us to explore how students themselves conceived of this movement into university, and how hoped-for selves were considered and enacted (or not). The ways in which societal expectations and expected life trajectories impact (re)conceptualisation of ‘selves’ are discussed, particularly when individuals choose an unexpected or non-normative life course.

‘Don’t let anyone bring me down again’: Applying ‘possible selves’ to understanding persistence of mature-age first-in-family students

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‘Don’t let anyone bring me down again’: Applying ‘possible selves’ to understanding persistence of mature-age first-in-family students
J Delahunty, S O'Shea, 2020
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