Learner identities in the context of undergraduates: a case study

Abstract

Background: A ‘learner identity’ can be broadly defined as how an individual feels about himself/herself as a learner and the extent to which he/she describes himself/herself as a ‘learner’. The literature suggests that those from non-traditional backgrounds may struggle to adapt to a university environment with all its related expectations (e.g. Reay, Crozier, and Clayton 2009). This paper examines the idea of learner identity in the context of marketing undergraduates. Learner identity is investigated from a widening participation (WP) perspective.

Purpose: This small-scale study investigates the links between marketing students’ learner identities, backgrounds and subject choice. It was hypothesised that marketing students, having selected a degree in a specific business discipline, were likely to be aware of employability issues and may be committed to their learning, leading to relatively strong learning identities. This hypothesis was based on an assumption that those students who have chosen a degree subject allied to a specific career may have thought about the end result of their study and may have a more deliberate approach to employability.

Sample: The sample was composed of undergraduate marketing students at a university in England. A total of 99 students participated in a questionnaire survey, resulting in 83 completed questionnaires for analysis. A sample of six self-selected students participated in follow-up interviews.

Design and methods: The research consisted of a questionnaire about learning experiences/attitudes administered to undergraduate marketing students and follow-up semi-structured interviews with a small number of students. The interviews examined issues in more depth and sought individual narratives of educational experience. The particular topics for exploration in the interview were the study of marketing, future employment and whether subject choice was in any way affected by previous educational experience, family background or ideas about employability.

Findings: On the basis of questionnaire responses, students were categorised in terms of learner identity. Nearly half the sample was identified as having positive learner identities. Students’ perspectives from the interview data are presented within this framework.

Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that students of business disciplines are not necessarily strongly focussed on employability. It is hoped that this case-study examination adds to the growing body of knowledge about learner identity by providing specific examples from a defined group.

Keywords:

• learner identity
• higher education
• widening participation