1996/97 PCERII Funded Research Abstract
Research Title: The Influence of Contexts on Identity Formation Among Adolescent Immigrants
Research Team:
Research Domain(s): Education
Planned for a 12-month period from January through December 1997, this project is the first part of an international pluridisciplinary study focussing on identity formation in terms of contexts, strategies and systems, and involving three cities of comparable size in societies with different immigration policies. Given that adolescence is a time of searching for self, this project intends to describe and compare the school and community contexts of selected immigrant groups or pluri-ethnic classes/cohorts as these pertain to identity formation of adolescents, of 13 years or more, enrolled in secondary institutions. Hypothesizing that community, school, identity formation and strategies are crucially linked together in social integration and situated within the qualitative paradigm, case studies of two communities will be undertaken, involving interviews with parents, community leaders, and educators; documentary analysis and, if possible, invited participation in school and community events. Analytic elements include an ensemble of socio-structural factors of ethnic/immigrant community vitality concerning status, formal and informal institutional support, the organization of family life and educational systems within immigrant groups; external, internal and moral factors of ethnic identity formation; as well as socio-educational factors such as the schools’ catchment area; building; boundaries and spaces; roles and participant structures; interaction patterns; timetables; explicit and implicit curriculum; and languages. As the data emerges, its interpretation will take into consideration existing theoretical frameworks of ethnic identity formation as well as approaches within the qualitative paradigm, with a view to contributing to theory-making and policy development.