Chapter 4: Aaliyah's Story

In this chapter, we draw on a series of interviews and informal conversations with Aaliyah, a Guinean woman, offering a close-up account of her journey from aspirant higher education (HE) applicant to qualified teacher in the UK. We describe Aaliyah's encounters with the policies and practices of a university. The data, collated over several years, are presented in chronologic order, and mapped against key points in Aaliyah's student journey, describing both her struggles and her successes.

The Republic of Guinea is located on the western coast of Africa. A predominantly Islamic country, with Muslims representing 85% of the population, Guinea was colonised by the French in the mid-19th century, eventually becoming an independent republic in 1958. Its people belong to 24 ethnic groups, with more than 24 Indigenous languages spoken, although the main language is French.