No description available.

After immigrating to Canada, some foreign-trained professional women (FTPWs) enrol in adult high schoollevel upgrading to begin to reestablish their careers if their international credentials are unrecognized. To explore this phenomenon, the theoretical framework of possible selves was used as a mechanism to examine the effect of context (i.e., upgrading) on their personally relevant goals. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with four FTPWs who attended two postsecondary institutes in central Alberta. The participants salient possible selves were related to familial duties and employment; they viewed upgrading as a mechanism to work toward these hoped-for selves. Upgrading was also found to increase the number of and clarify their hoped-for selves. Because of the significant impact of immigration on the participants possible selves, upgrading should also include referrals to immigration services and support for the credential assessment process, help to build confidence, and encourage the development of social networks for immigrants.