Constructing narratives of success : understanding the pursuit of private higher education among polytechnic graduates

• Main Authors: Deanna Nabilah Misbahuddin, Neo, Rui Wen
• Other Authors: Zhan Shaohua
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Social sciences::Sociology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78811
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the rise of a skills-based economy, the role of higher education is gradually becoming ambiguous as the attainment of university credentials is no longer perceived as a necessity for employment. This study aims to supplement existing literature of higher education by analysing how the actions of polytechnic graduates are governed by the influence of social institutions in their pursuit towards private higher education. In doing so, we examine ways in which individuals construct their educational and career aspirations around conflicting narratives of success. We adopt Foucault’s technologies of power and technologies of self and further introduce the concept of technologies of social to provide a comprehensive understanding of the paper chase phenomenon.