This paper uses the critical realist concept of human reflexivity to dev­elop a theoretical critique of the notion of 'skills' in current policy discourses, particularly in vocational education. We argue that current policy reifies skills as market commodities and alienates them from the minds, bodies, and hands of those who exercise them and the…

This article explores a small number of African international students' narratives on their identity work through work-integrated learning (WIL) in Chinese higher education. Applying a sociological use of the 'possible selves' concept to interview data, the findings show that individual participants accumulate a pool of like-to-be, aspire-to-be…