Adolescent Identity Formation in the Context of Vocationally Oriented Special Needs Schools

Autor/inn/en	Jacobs, Carmelita; Collair, Lynette
Titel	Adolescent Identity Formation in the Context of Vocationally Oriented Special Needs Schools
Quelle	In: South African Journal of Education, 37 (2017) 3, Artikel 1249 (10 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Jacobs, Carmelita) ORCID (Collair, Lynette)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0256-0100
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Adolescent Attitudes; Self Concept; Vocational High Schools; High School Students; Student Attitudes; Special Needs Students; Special Schools; Teacher Student Relationship; Qualitative Research; Semi Structured Interviews; Content Analysis; Student Experience; Social Influences; Sense of Community; Peer Acceptance; Education Work Relationship; Outcomes of Education; Goal Orientation; Barriers; South Africa + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Selbstkonzept; High school; High schools; Student; Students; Oberschule; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Schülerverhalten; Sonderpädagogischer Förderbedarf; Special school; Sonderschule; Teacher student relationships; Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung; Qualitative Forschung; Inhaltsanalyse; Studienerfahrung; Sozialer Einfluss; Lernleistung; Schulerfolg; Zielorientierung; Zielvorstellung; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	Adolescence is a phase that is associated with important identity-relevant issues. Shaping a clear sense of identity is an important step in developing a healthy psychosocial disposition, and the school is an important context where this can happen. In this article, we explore how adolescents who had attended a special needs school of skills in the Western Cape, South Africa, perceived the role that their school experiences played in shaping their sense of identity. These were learners who entered the school of skills with a poor sense of self, due to years of academic difficulties and exclusion in mainstream primary schools. Using a qualitative research design, data was collected through interviews, and analysed by means of the inductive process of thematic content analysis. The findings showed that participants' school experiences shaped their sense of identity in a more positive way. The participants' narratives speak to the complexity in the individual, the school and the community in contributing to a sense of identity with both positive and negative aspects. Though the participants experienced a sense of belonging and felt accepted by their teachers and peers, the school did not deliver on its implicit promise of a job-related skill, and this in turn negatively affected their thinking about future life paths and careers, which is important for identity formation. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01