Future oriented identity construction during adolescence in different contexts of socialisation.

During adolescence, identity and meaning are important existential challenges. In this project we consider young people to be designers of their own lives, making choices which have consequences for the development of their identity. At the same time, young people are affected by strong, goal directed social structures and influences; some controlled by public authorities (e.g. schools), others by market forces (mass media, fashion, cultural industry).

The project recurrently contacted a strategically selected panel of about 100 young people from 8 stretegically selected schools; during the period May 2000 - May / June 2004. In 2000 they were 15, in 2004 they were 19 years old. During this period, we have asked how these young people's own projects and participation on different arenas inside and outside school is connected to their own identity construction and learning activities. We have also asked what young people find attractive / repulsive with school work compared to participation on other arenas / in school-external projects. Experiences of, learning about, and connection with social reality inside and outside the context of 'school", and the importance of these experiences for young people's identity construction, have been central questions in this research project.

Central questions in this study are: What are the meanings and importance of different arenas and fields of action for young people"s identity construction and what role school projects may play in that connection. What do young people consider to be attractive/ repulsive with school compared to other arenas ? What role does school play in their identity construction? Do schools bring external phenomena and social arenas into the context of education? How ? What role can or could externally oriented school projects play for young people's identity work, compared to traditional, school internal classroom activities?

We school classes of 15 year old students at 8 schools; These schools were selected for the purpose of variation in environment and conditions of socialisation (rural/urban, middle class/ working class,
uni- -/ multi-cultural etc). We followed these adolescents through a period of 4 years, i.e. from the year 2000-2004, by interviews and/ or questioinnaires at least once a year. We also looked more closely into 
ca. 20 cases. Our main aim has been to describe and under- stand variation rather than do quantititative comparisons; find change as well as continuity at the personal, interpersonal, person-community and person-society level.

Funding: The Norwegian Research Council, the Welfare Program; University of Tromsø.

Publications:
http://uit.no/iplu

Researchers:

Professor Edmund Edvardsen edmund@sv.uit.no
Associate Professor Vidar Vambheim vidarv@peace.uit.no
Associate Professor Sylvi Hovdenak  sylvi.hovdenak@ils.uio.no

Project Period: 2000-2004.