Males in enabling: Painting a portrait through narrative

The number of males entering higher education via an enabling pathway is increasing with noticeable diversity in age groups. Previous research undertaken by the authors began exploring the factors that inhibit or enhance the male experience within an enabling course. This paper will expand upon this research with a deeper focus into the male experience through personalised accounts derived from individual interviews. Using qualitative methodology and narrative inquiry, the findings provide a deeper understanding of the issues that males of different ages face when creating a new identity as a university student. The lens of transformative theory will underpin this research through exploring frames of reference that align to the students’ experiences. Portraits are woven into the narrative, and these personalised accounts are investigated and analysed in this paper.