Storying the silences of social mobility

This chapter explores class as a multi-faceted, intersectional concept best understood through subjective, storied realities rather than objective metrics. It critiques the tendency of universities to rely on reductive, clichéd understandings of student experiences and outcomes, thereby overlooking the complex emotional dimensions of class in Higher Education and missing crucial opportunities to design truly inclusive curricula and programmes. Drawing on findings from narrative research, the chapter argues for the creation of collective, person-centred spaces where working-class experiences can be openly shared, recognised, and valued. By illuminating often-unspoken class struggles, it offers empowering insights into social mobility and demonstrates the transformative potential of narrative approaches to class in Higher Education. In a sector increasingly dominated by metrics, such discourse is not only important but urgently needed.