abstract: 'Higher education (HE) is regarded as a pathway to upward social mobility

  for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Social mobility is

  itself seen as important both for individual and national prosperity and

  is a key driver of government funding for HE. While access to HE has

  substantially increased over the past number of years, the evidence

  suggests that social inequalities continue to be reproduced, with

  working-class students more frequently accessing lower status

  institutions and courses. This in turn can impact negatively on their

  labour market outcomes. This paper offers a critical appraisal on the

  employability discourse. Drawing on a survey of 268 distance graduates

  from an Irish university, together with 5 individual interviews,

  findings indicate that distance graduates are likely to be from lower

  socio-economic backgrounds and have delayed participation in university

  education for reasons relating to social class. Although mostly in

  employment, they are motivated to participate in HE by their concerns

  regarding their long-term employability. The literature identifies that

  our employability is something we negotiate with others. This paper

  posits that, for distance graduates, in addition to this process of

  convincing others, the graduate must also convince themselves of the

  value of their own achievement. Transitioning to graduate employment,

  and developing a graduate identity, can therefore be a slow internal and

  external process of negotiation.'
affiliation: 'Delaney, L (Corresponding Author), Dublin City Univ, Natl Inst Digital
  Learning, Dublin, Ireland.

  Delaney, Lorraine, Dublin City Univ, Natl Inst Digital Learning, Dublin, Ireland.

  Farren, Margaret, Dublin City Univ, Sch Educ Studies, Dublin, Ireland.'
author: Delaney, Lorraine and Farren, Margaret
author-email: lorraine.delaney@dcu.ie
author_list:
- family: Delaney
  given: Lorraine
- family: Farren
  given: Margaret
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1080/02680513.2016.1208553
eissn: 1469-9958
files: []
issn: 0268-0513
journal: OPEN LEARNING
keywords: Graduates; employability; higher education; class; part-time
keywords-plus: HIGHER-EDUCATION; WIDENING PARTICIPATION; STUDENTS; MOBILITY
language: English
number: '3'
number-of-cited-references: '48'
pages: 194-208
papis_id: 688b95191589bee745f751555b41ba2a
ref: Delaney2016noself
times-cited: '7'
title: 'No `self'' left behind? Part-time distance learning university graduates:
  social class, graduate identity and employability'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000391220500002
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '11'
volume: '31'
web-of-science-categories: Education \& Educational Research
year: '2016'