‘Supportive’, ‘real’, and ‘low-cost’: implicit comparisons and universal assumptions in the construction of the prospective college-based HE student

Henderson, Holly

Abstract

This paper first argues for the importance of continued analysis of marketising discourses in Higher Education (HE), both despite and because of their ubiquity. Secondly, the paper looks specifically at college-based HE provision in English Further Education (FE). Using the ‘possible selves’ concept alongside critical discourse analysis, the paper analyses the representations of prospective students on marketing web pages for HE provision in FE colleges. Arguing that the web pages reveal more than just the limited language of HE marketing strategy, the paper highlights common representations of the college-based HE student across policy, research and marketing sources. By exploring both the celebratory and the limiting nature of these representations, the paper therefore asks what the pages’ projections of future or prospective students can tell us about current understandings of English college-based HE.

Citation

Henderson, H. (2018). ‘Supportive’, ‘real’, and ‘low-cost’: implicit comparisons and universal assumptions in the construction of the prospective college-based HE student. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 42(8), 1105-1117. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1349885

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 19, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jul 20, 2017
• Publication Date: Nov 17, 2018
• Deposit Date: Apr 4, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Further and Higher Education
• Print ISSN: 0309-877X
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9486
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 42
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1105-1117
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2017.1349885
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1739801
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1349885
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=cjfh20