ABSTRACT
This chapter takes the possible selves concept from its original discipline of social psychology and explores its potential for use in the sociology of education. The chapter begins by introducing the possible selves concept, and then sets out recent research from various disciplines to demonstrate its common applications. The chapter then takes the possible selves concept through theorisation of narrative subjectivity, arguing that this theorisation is crucial to using the concept sociologically. This theorisation focuses on the discursive and performative features of narratives of possible selves. The chapter argues that the possible selves concept allows insight into the systemic inequalities that limit and enable particular kinds of imagined futures for particular educational subjects. The chapter closes with a discussion of the uses and limitations of the possible selves concept, asking how much and how far the concept can be adapted and stretched for the purposes of researching higher education.
