ABSTRACT
This chapter makes an argument for extending the analytical scope of theories of possible selves, from their original location in psychology linking self-concept to motivation (Markus and Nurius, 1986), to encompass more sociologically informed notions of the self and temporality. It argues that the notion of possible selves is potentially productive in theorising because it points to the importance of the self and agency as key concerns in understanding student and others’ behaviour and the ways these are shaped by policy. The chapter outlines a view of theorising and its role in empirical research and argues that possible selves provides a theory of the middle range that is helpful in conceptualising empirical research. It draws on theoretical work on temporality and sociological theories of the self to offer a more critical reading of theories of possible selves. The chapter shows how some initial research on students’ understanding of their learning was reconceptualised in terms of the self and temporality and how in subsequent research ‘possible selves’ was explicitly used to provide a critical conceptual framing.
