What does 'local' mean when it describes a student or an institution of higher education? Holly Henderson explores this question by telling the story of students studying undergraduate degrees outside of the university, at colleges that offer degree courses but do not have university status. Because the students live at home while studying, and because the institutions themselves are seen to cater for a local rather than global student population, these are local students, studying local higher education. Importantly, the students are also studying in localities without a history of higher education provision, where the possibility of living in this place and studying for a degree is relatively new. The book takes an in-depth approach to exploring how relationships to these places affect educational experience, how decisions are made about whether to leave or to stay for degree study, and what it means to be an undergraduate student who does not attend a university. As well as working against the easy assumptions to be made about the lives and characteristics of a surprisingly diverse and complex group of students, the book offers insights into the ways that place and space are crucial and often overlooked factors for anyone thinking about systemic and structural inequality in higher education.

Drawing together example studies from international contexts, this edited collection provides a new and cross-disciplinary perspective on the concept of the possible self, exploring its theoretical, methodological and empirical uses with regards to Higher Education. Building on research which examines the ways in which possible selves are constructed through inequalities of class, race and gender, the book interrogates the role of imagined futures in student, professional and academic lives, augmenting the concept of possible selves, with its origins in psychology, with sociological approaches to educational inequalities and exclusionary practices. Possible Selves and Higher Education considers both the theoretical and methodological frameworks behind the concept of possible selves; the first section includes chapters that consider different theoretical insights, while the second section offers empirical examples, exploring how the possible selves concept has been used in many diverse higher education research contexts. With each chapter considering a different aspect of the structural barriers to or within education, the examples provided range from the experiences of students and teachers in the language learning classroom, to graduates entering employment for the first time, and refugees seeking to rebuild lives through engagement with education. Offering a broad and diverse examination of how concepts of our future selves can affect and limit educational outcomes, this book furthers the sociological dialogue concerning the relationship between individual agency and structural constraints in higher education research. It is an essential and influential text for both students and academics, as well as anyone responsible for student services such as outreach and widening participation.

Drawing together example studies from international contexts, this edited collection provides a new and cross-disciplinary perspective on the concept of the possible self, exploring its theoretical, methodological and empirical uses with regards to Higher Education. Building on research which examines the ways in which possible selves are constructed through inequalities of class, race and gender, the book interrogates the role of imagined futures in student, professional and academic lives, augmenting the concept of possible selves, with its origins in psychology, with sociological approaches to educational inequalities and exclusionary practices. Possible Selves and Higher Education considers both the theoretical and methodological frameworks behind the concept of possible selves; the first section includes chapters that consider different theoretical insights, while the second section offers empirical examples, exploring how the possible selves concept has been used in many diverse higher education research contexts. With each chapter considering a different aspect of the structural barriers to or within education, the examples provided range from the experiences of students and teachers in the language learning classroom, to graduates entering employment for the first time, and refugees seeking to rebuild lives through engagement with education. Offering a broad and diverse examination of how concepts of our future selves can affect and limit educational outcomes, this book furthers the sociological dialogue concerning the relationship between individual agency and structural constraints in higher education research. It is an essential and influential text for both students and academics, as well as anyone responsible for student services such as outreach and widening participation.

What does 'local' mean when it describes a student or an institution of higher education? Holly Henderson explores this question by telling the story of students studying undergraduate degrees outside of the university, at colleges that offer degree courses but do not have university status. Because the students live at home while studying, and because the institutions themselves are seen to cater for a local rather than global student population, these are local students, studying local higher education. Importantly, the students are also studying in localities without a history of higher education provision, where the possibility of living in this place and studying for a degree is relatively new. The book takes an in-depth approach to exploring how relationships to these places affect educational experience, how decisions are made about whether to leave or to stay for degree study, and what it means to be an undergraduate student who does not attend a university. As well as working against the easy assumptions to be made about the lives and characteristics of a surprisingly diverse and complex group of students, the book offers insights into the ways that place and space are crucial and often overlooked factors for anyone thinking about systemic and structural inequality in higher education.