Title: Identity struggles of adult returners
Source document: Studia paedagogica. 2020, vol. 25, iss. 4, pp. [183]-199
Extent
[183]-199
-
ISSN1803-7437 (print)2336-4521 (online)
Persistent identifier (DOI): https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2020-4-9
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/143459
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
This article addresses a perceived gap in higher education literature: there is very little writing that successfully combines the issues of individual learners who dropped out and then returned to higher education – the adult returners. To address this problem, the article draws upon data from the qualitative part of a larger research project that deals with non-traditional students in the Czech Republic. This article analyzes data from eight subjects with drop-out experience chosen from the initial corpus of thirty non-traditional students. The results indicate that adult learners have to deal with three central identities and with potential identity struggles as they interact: student identity, work identity, and familial identity. The final result of the interaction between these identities can be either the integration or the disintegration of identities, whereby one of the possible consequences of identity disintegration is to drop out from higher education.
Note
The text is published with the support of the Czech Educational Research Association and the Council of Scientific Societies of the Czech Republic at the Czech Academy of Sciences. It was presented at the XXVIII. Czech Educational Research Association Conference 2020. The study is an outcome of the "Non-Traditional Students Studying for Education Degrees in Tertiary Education within the Czech Republic" research project funded by the Czech Science Foundation (18-15451S).
References
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[29] Merrill, B. (2015). Determined to stay or determined to leave? A tale of learner identities, biographies and adult students in higher education. Studies in higher education, 40(10), 1859–1871. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.914918 | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2014.914918
[30] Merrill, B., & West, L. (2009). Using biographical methods in social research. Sage.
[31] Novotný, P., Brücknerová, K., Juhaňák, L., & Rozvadská, K. (2019). Driven to be a non-traditional student: Measurement of the academic motivation scale with adult learners after their transition to university. Studia Paedagogica, 24(2), 109–135. http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/SP2019-2-5 | DOI 10.5817/SP2019-2-5
[32] Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal Of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103 | DOI 10.1080/0951839950080103
[33] Quinn, J. (2004). Understanding working-class 'drop-out' from higher education through a sociocultural lens: Cultural narratives and local contexts. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 14(1), 57–74, https://doi.org/10.1080/09620210400200119 | DOI 10.1080/09620210400200119
[34] Quinn, J., Thomas, L., Slack, K., Casey, L., Thexton, L. W., & Noble, J. (2005). Rethinking working-class 'drop-out' from higher education. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/rethinking-working-class-drop-out-university
[35] Reay, D. (2003). A risky business? Mature working-class women students and access to higher education. Gender and Education, 15(3), 301–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540250303860 | DOI 10.1080/09540250303860
[36] Ricoeur, P. (1992). Oneself as another. University of Chicago Press.
[37] Roth, W.-M., Hwang, S., Goulart, M. I. M., & Lee, Y. J. (2005). Participation, learning and identity: dialectical perspectives. Lehmanns Media.
[38] Rozvadská, K., & Novotný, P. (2019). The Structure of non-traditional students' motives for entering higher education. Form@re – Open Journal Per La Formazione in Rete, 19(2), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.13128/formare-25262 | DOI 10.13128/formare-25262
[39] Shanahan, M.-C. (2009). Identity in science learning: Exploring the attention given to agency and structure in studies of identity. Studies in Science Education, 45(1), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260802681847 | DOI 10.1080/03057260802681847
[40] Schnepf, S. (2015). University drop-outs and labor market success. IZA World of Labor, 2015(182). https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.182 | DOI 10.15185/izawol.182
[41] Sfard, A., & Prusak, A. (2005). Telling identities: In search of an analytic tool for investigating learning as a culturally shaped activity. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 14–22. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X034004014 | DOI 10.3102/0013189X034004014
[42] Slowey, M., & Schuetze, H. G. (2012). All change – no change? Lifelong learners and higher education revisited. In H. G. Schuetze & M. Slowey (Eds.), Global perspectives on higher education and lifelong learners (pp. 1–34). Routledge.
[43] Spanard, J. M. A. (1990). Beyond intent: Reentering college to complete the degree. Review of Educational Research, 60(3), 309–344. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543060003309 | DOI 10.3102/00346543060003309
[44] Thunborg, C., & Bron, A. (2019). Being in constant transition or recurrent formation: Non-traditional graduates' life transitions before, during and after higher education in Sweden. Studies in the Education of Adults, 51(1), 36–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2018.1523102 | DOI 10.1080/02660830.2018.1523102
[45] Thunborg, C., Bron, A., & Edström, E. (2012). Forming learning identities in higher education in Sweden. Studies for the Learning Society, 2(2–3), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10240-012-0002-5 | DOI 10.2478/v10240-012-0002-5
[46] Thunborg, C. & Edström, E. (2010). Changing learning identities and higher education. In B. Merrill & J.G. Monteagudo (Eds.), e journeys and changing lives: Adult student experiences (pp.76–87). Digital@Tres.
[47] Woosley, S. (2003). Stop-out or drop-out? An examination of college withdrawals and re-enrollments. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 5(3), 293–303. https://doi.org/10.2190/6NW2-FUJ4-4ATU-EKHC | DOI 10.2190/6NW2-FUJ4-4ATU-EKHC
[2] Beck, U., Giddens, A., & Lash, S. (1994). Reflexive modernization: Politics, tradition and aesthetics in the modern social order. Stanford University Press.
[3] Bonham, L. A., & Luckie, J. A. I. (1993). Taking a break in schooling: Why community college students stop out. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 17(3), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361697930170306 | DOI 10.1080/0361697930170306
[4] Bourgeois, É., Duke, C., Guyot, J.-L., & Merrill, B. (1999). The adult university: The Society for Research into Higher Education. Open University Press.
[5] Brickhouse, N. W., & Potter, J. T. (2001). Young women's scientific identity formation in an urban context. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38(8), 965–980. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.1041 | DOI 10.1002/tea.1041
[6] Bron, A., & Thunborg, C. (2017). Theorising biographical work from non-traditional students' stories in higher education. International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, 54(2), 112–127.
[7] Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Harvard University Press.
[8] Brücknerová, K., Rozvadská, K., Knotová, D., Juhaňák, L., Rabušicová, M., & Novotný, P. (2020). Educational trajectories of non-traditional students: Stories behind numbers. Studia Paedagogica, 26(4), 93–114. https://doi.org/10.5817/SP2020-4-5 | DOI 10.5817/SP2020-4-5
[9] Brunton, J., & Buckley, F. (2020). 'You're thrown in the deep end': Adult learner identity formation in higher education. Studies in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1767049 | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2020.1767049
[10] Chappell, C., Rhodes, C., Solomon, N., Tennant, M., & Yates, L. (2003). Reconstructing the lifelong learner: Pedagogy and identity in individual, organisational and social change. Routledge.
[11] Ecclestone, K. (2007). An identity crisis? Using concepts of 'identity', 'agency' and 'structure' in the education of adults. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39(2), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2007.11661544. | DOI 10.1080/02660830.2007.11661544
[12] Frank, A. W. (2002). Why study people's stories? The dialogical ethics of narrative analysis. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 1(1), 109–117. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690200100102 | DOI 10.1177/160940690200100102
[13] Gee, J. P. (1999). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. Routledge.
[14] Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.
[15] Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford University Press.
[16] Grau-Valldosera, J., Minguillón, J., & Blasco-Moreno, A. (2019). Returning after taking a break in online distance higher education: From intention to effective re-enrollment. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(3), 307–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2018.1470986 | DOI 10.1080/10494820.2018.1470986
[17] Irvine, H. (2005). Adults returning to education: Gender and identity processes. In P. Weinreich & W. Saunderson (Eds.), Analysing identity: Cross-cultural, societal and clinical contexts (pp. 255–276). Routledge.
[18] Jovchelovitch, S., & Bauer, M. W. (2000) Narrative interviewing. In M. W. Bauer & G. Gaskell (Eds.), Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A practical handbook (pp. 57–74). Sage.
[19] Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University.
[20] MacFarlane, K. (2018). Higher education learner identity for successful student transitions. Higher Education Research & Development, 37(6), 1201–1215. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1477742 | DOI 10.1080/07294360.2018.1477742
[21] Mazouch, P., Ptáčková, V., Fischer, J. & Hulík, V. (2018). Students who have unsuccessfully studied in the past – Analysis of causes. Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 11(3), 65–71. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2018.110303 | DOI 10.7160/eriesj.2018.110303
[22] McAdams, D. P. (1985). Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. Guilford Press.
[23] McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. Guilford Press.
[24] McAdams, D. P. (1996). Personality, modernity, and the storied self: A contemporary frame-work for studying persons. Psychological inquiry, 7(4), 295–321. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli0704_1 | DOI 10.1207/s15327965pli0704_1
[25] McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100 | DOI 10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100
[26] McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721413475622 | DOI 10.1177/0963721413475622
[27] Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society: A standpoint from a social behaviorist. University of Chicago Press.
[28] Mercer, J. (2010). Exploring the processes of self-development encountered by adult returners to higher education: A lifespan psychology perspective. Psychology Teaching Review, 16(1), 24–36.
[29] Merrill, B. (2015). Determined to stay or determined to leave? A tale of learner identities, biographies and adult students in higher education. Studies in higher education, 40(10), 1859–1871. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.914918 | DOI 10.1080/03075079.2014.914918
[30] Merrill, B., & West, L. (2009). Using biographical methods in social research. Sage.
[31] Novotný, P., Brücknerová, K., Juhaňák, L., & Rozvadská, K. (2019). Driven to be a non-traditional student: Measurement of the academic motivation scale with adult learners after their transition to university. Studia Paedagogica, 24(2), 109–135. http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/SP2019-2-5 | DOI 10.5817/SP2019-2-5
[32] Polkinghorne, D. E. (1995). Narrative configuration in qualitative analysis. International Journal Of Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(1), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/0951839950080103 | DOI 10.1080/0951839950080103
[33] Quinn, J. (2004). Understanding working-class 'drop-out' from higher education through a sociocultural lens: Cultural narratives and local contexts. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 14(1), 57–74, https://doi.org/10.1080/09620210400200119 | DOI 10.1080/09620210400200119
[34] Quinn, J., Thomas, L., Slack, K., Casey, L., Thexton, L. W., & Noble, J. (2005). Rethinking working-class 'drop-out' from higher education. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/rethinking-working-class-drop-out-university
[35] Reay, D. (2003). A risky business? Mature working-class women students and access to higher education. Gender and Education, 15(3), 301–317. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540250303860 | DOI 10.1080/09540250303860
[36] Ricoeur, P. (1992). Oneself as another. University of Chicago Press.
[37] Roth, W.-M., Hwang, S., Goulart, M. I. M., & Lee, Y. J. (2005). Participation, learning and identity: dialectical perspectives. Lehmanns Media.
[38] Rozvadská, K., & Novotný, P. (2019). The Structure of non-traditional students' motives for entering higher education. Form@re – Open Journal Per La Formazione in Rete, 19(2), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.13128/formare-25262 | DOI 10.13128/formare-25262
[39] Shanahan, M.-C. (2009). Identity in science learning: Exploring the attention given to agency and structure in studies of identity. Studies in Science Education, 45(1), 43–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260802681847 | DOI 10.1080/03057260802681847
[40] Schnepf, S. (2015). University drop-outs and labor market success. IZA World of Labor, 2015(182). https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.182 | DOI 10.15185/izawol.182
[41] Sfard, A., & Prusak, A. (2005). Telling identities: In search of an analytic tool for investigating learning as a culturally shaped activity. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 14–22. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X034004014 | DOI 10.3102/0013189X034004014
[42] Slowey, M., & Schuetze, H. G. (2012). All change – no change? Lifelong learners and higher education revisited. In H. G. Schuetze & M. Slowey (Eds.), Global perspectives on higher education and lifelong learners (pp. 1–34). Routledge.
[43] Spanard, J. M. A. (1990). Beyond intent: Reentering college to complete the degree. Review of Educational Research, 60(3), 309–344. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543060003309 | DOI 10.3102/00346543060003309
[44] Thunborg, C., & Bron, A. (2019). Being in constant transition or recurrent formation: Non-traditional graduates' life transitions before, during and after higher education in Sweden. Studies in the Education of Adults, 51(1), 36–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/02660830.2018.1523102 | DOI 10.1080/02660830.2018.1523102
[45] Thunborg, C., Bron, A., & Edström, E. (2012). Forming learning identities in higher education in Sweden. Studies for the Learning Society, 2(2–3), 23–34. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10240-012-0002-5 | DOI 10.2478/v10240-012-0002-5
[46] Thunborg, C. & Edström, E. (2010). Changing learning identities and higher education. In B. Merrill & J.G. Monteagudo (Eds.), e journeys and changing lives: Adult student experiences (pp.76–87). Digital@Tres.
[47] Woosley, S. (2003). Stop-out or drop-out? An examination of college withdrawals and re-enrollments. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 5(3), 293–303. https://doi.org/10.2190/6NW2-FUJ4-4ATU-EKHC | DOI 10.2190/6NW2-FUJ4-4ATU-EKHC