‘I've Got to Do This I've Just Got to Find My Way Through It!’: An Autoethnographic Case Study of Mature Working‐Class Students Studying on a Foundation Programme

ABSTRACT This paper shines a light on the influence of policy surrounding widening participation and the introduction of vocational qualifications and the increase in the number of mature part‐time students in higher education. This study involved adopting autoethnographic approaches and developing five biographical stories of part‐time mature, working‐class women on a Foundation Degree programme in England and its influence on self‐identity. Drawing upon a transformative model of Bourdieu's concept of habitus, this enquiry highlights how, through the adoption of coping mechanisms, examples of adaptations to habitus are revealed. The biographical stories provide insights into how the participants negotiate perceived structural inequalities in institutional culture to become independent resilient agents. The study concludes that a more inclusive pedagogy needs to be explored to consider the vocational capital mature students can potentially acquire when entering higher education.