Overcoming limiting labels - how supportive teaching transformed Dr Jacqui Harrison’s future

08/01/2025

Overcoming limiting labels - how supportive teaching transformed Dr Jacqui Harrison’s future

If you’ve always been doubted by your parents, teachers or siblings, experienced a tough home life, felt like the black sheep in your family or struggled with feelings of low self-worth; you’re just like our very own Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Dr Jacqui Harrison. Today, learn from her story, explore the idea of self-limiting beliefs and find out how you can use social identity theory to redefine yourself entirely.

Where limiting labels come from

“I was always bad at maths,” Jacqui recounts. “At least that’s what everyone told me.”

Jacqui’s story might be a lot like yours. She failed GCSE maths 3 times, which stopped her from getting jobs that needed maths - a ball and chain that stayed with her from that point on. As a result, she didn’t go to university right away - instead taking on a range of jobs before settling on working with horses. “I was pressured into learning concepts that I didn’t understand. My brain just couldn’t process numbers and the meaning behind them. The pressures of having to learn something that I didn’t understand built-up anxiety in my head and that was a blockage that kept me from progressing. Sadly, I spent 30 years of my life being scared of numbers because I thought I didn’t have any mathematical ability. Ironically, I now teach research methods and statistics!” Looking back after nearly 20 years of life-fulfilling teaching at Bolton, Jacqui feels her story could have been very different.

That fear became a part of who she was, how she’d refer to herself and it held her back from opportunities. That’s what a self-limiting belief is and the impact it can have on your life. “The focus of my identity became what I was bad at, not what I was good at. This led to a life-long fear of numbers. [And] I sense in a lot of my students that same fear. It’s my mission to hold their hand and tell them it’s going to be alright.” Imposter syndrome or fear of a subject you don’t think you’re good at is normal. But determination, support from a good university like Bolton and supportive tutors made all the difference.

Why would you limit yourself?

Jacqui explains, “Freud says that if there’s a breakdown in our development, we’ll carry that for our lives [and] attention-seeking behaviour comes from a lack of achievement in an area. Perhaps [you] have emotional intelligence but that’s not the sort of intelligence that’s rewarded in the home or at school.” You might begin to say to yourself, ‘I’m not smart’ and start to act like how you think an uneducated person acts; when, in reality, you’ve not had a chance to apply the intelligence you do have. Plus, who you surround yourself with matters as well… “The basis of social identity theory is that we define ourselves by the groups we choose to be part of and self-categorise ourselves within that group. Our self-esteem is built by the in-group and we criticise the out-group because they’re not part of our social circle.”

But when you come to university, you form a new social identity - that of a student. This means you can reinvent yourself and have those limiting beliefs changed by praise and encouragement not just from your tutors but from the other students as well. Jacqui decided to go back to university as a mature student and she felt alone for a while, but then one tutor took her under their wing and gave her the confidence to do well in school - even maths. It just takes a little bit of positive reinforcement to begin to change a life, and I am proud that’s what studying at Bolton is about.

Jacqui shares that by the end of semester one, she usually sees self-limiting beliefs like imposter syndrome, shame about having to do a foundation year or fears around being ‘first in family’ begin to turn around. “And this is because of the way learning is delivered at Bolton - with a focus on supportive, inclusive teaching. As you put in effort and get marks which show you are achieving, you’ll experience the cognitive dissonance needed to challenge your self-limiting beliefs. We’re really good at recognising students, challenging them and encouraging them to take one step after another.”

 

Why is university a great place to overcome these limitations?

Taking control of your identity through your education is liberating. You can be who you want to be and find your true self if you study psychology. “Here at Bolton, we give you the choice. We facilitate your development in academia and also personally. Sure, there may be times that you’ll feel like you’ve failed but getting back in the saddle is the most important thing. We enable that self-exploration here, encouraging you to take a shot, take those careful risks, fail sometimes but still make a decision to get back on the horse,” Jacqui explains. “I’ve been at Bolton for 18 years because the whole ethos is student-focused and that’s so different from the environments I experienced everywhere else. We want to see students succeed. You’ll feel safe, comfortable and yet still challenged.” she beams. “I’ve grown at Bolton and you will too. When you’re part of the Bolton family, it’s a true partnership - we’ll both bring things to the table. You’ll develop confidence, maturity and self-assuredness when you study at Bolton.”

If you see yourself in Jacqui’s story, know that you’re not alone. You just need to take one simple step towards the life you want to have. All our lecturers, like Jacqui, are experts at finding opportunities to lift you up so you have the best chance of success in the future. To start a new chapter in your own story, give us a bell on 01204 903 940 or email admissions-team@bolton.ac.uk to experience #UniAsItShouldBe at Bolton for yourself.

 

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