The sense of identity of academic youth from the socio-ecological perspective Cover Image

Poczucie tożsamości młodzieży akademickiej w perspektywie socjoekologicznej
The sense of identity of academic youth from the socio-ecological perspective

Author(s): Emilia Żyłkiewicz-Płońska
Subject(s): Higher Education , Environmental interactions, Sociology of Education
Published by: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
Keywords: sense of identity; emerging adulthood; academic youth; socio-ecological conditions; Ecological System Theory by U. Bronfenbrenner;

Summary/Abstract: The article is aimed at analyzing the identifications of academic youth, with pedagogy students as an example, on the basis of the assumptions of Uri Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model. Particular importance was given to the socioecological and contextual determinants in which the sense of identity of emerging adults is formed. The aim of the research was to analyse the development of the sense of identity resulting from participation in the socio-cultural conditions surrounding the individual. The surveyed emerging adults (140 individuals) aged 20–25 answered the question “Who am I?” using the TST (Twenty Statement Test) by M.H. Kuhn and T.S. McPartland (1954). The research was a pilot study. The collected research material was developed using a holistic content analysis of self-definitions. On the basis of the research results, it can be concluded that the surveyed emerging adults most often use identifications related to the individual with respect to gender, possessed personality traits or to the defining oneself as a human being. In addition, there were categories of sense of identity resulting from social roles in the microsystem (a family member, a student or an employee). Less frequently, respondents identified themselves with their nation or religion, which are the result of macrosystem participation. In relation to this, educational and preventive premises were formulated.

  • Issue Year: 21/2023
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 98-116
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Polish