Identity and transfer: a new focus for home–school knowledge exchange

Wanting to be ‘known’: Redefining self‐awareness through an understanding of self‐narration processes in educational transitions

“…To illustrate the importance of such a redefinition, we discuss data from a longitudinal study examining (a) how children construct a story of self over time and (b) how this construction is influenced by key experiences such as the transition from one key educational phase to the next. On occasion, we also draw on data from two other studies we have undertaken (Warin & Dempster, 2007), on the transition to higher education of a sample of male undergraduates, and Muldoon (2005) on the transition from primary to secondary school. However, the emphasis is primarily on the data emerging from the study of identity construction.…”

“…This misrecognition acts as a catalyst to confirm his story of self. Similarly, in a study specifically concerned with children's perceptions during the transition to secondary school (Muldoon, 2005), children expressed discomfort when they felt teachers held perceptions of them that were ‘wrong’. Katrina, for example, experienced a discontinuity between her self‐perceptions and the false expectations teachers held about her derived from knowledge of her brother:…”

“…For other children, such determination may be difficult to sustain, particularly in times of transition when identities may be ascribed different values. An example can be found in Naomi's interview transcripts (Muldoon, 2005). Naomi talks about changes in the way other people perceive her, but clings to a picture of herself that has, up until now, served her well:…”

“…In Muldoon (2005) children who were struggling to cope with secondary school life imparted a sense of not feeling cared for, known or understood. Olivia articulated this feeling well.…”

“…People prefer to be 'known', to be 'recognised', to bolster their sense of who they are, rather than construct a new self. However, whilst this provides security, it may be of more benefit to these children, in terms of helping them cope with transition, to produce an expanded story of self rather than entrench an existing story (Collins, 2000;Osborn et al, 2006).…”