Stories of Self: Tracking Children's Identity and Well-being through the School YearsBy Jo Warin. Staffordshire: Trentham Books, 2010 ISBN: 978 1 85856 441 8, paperback, 212 pp

Abstract

When I started this book, I was already an admirer of Jo Warin's work and reading ‘Stories of Self’ has not dampened my appreciation for her scholarship. At the heart of this book is an issue that is at the heart of developmental psychology; namely, how can we make sense of the changes and transformations that occur to our sense of self and identity over time? Warin's book offers a rare chance to look at identity change across time using a range of in-depth ethnographic approaches. She documents the changes to self and identity of five young people (though there were more in her study) whom she followed between the ages of 3 and 17 years. Her observations and conversations with the young people begin in pre-school. She observed them as they started school and again at around 13 years of age and finally at 17 years of age. In addition, Warin collected interview data with the parents of the children and relevant teachers. The first half of the book is dedicated to the theoretical, conceptual and methodological implications of studying identity change across a long period of time. The second half of the book takes a case study approach, describing this transitional journey for each of the five children. A particular strength of the book is the way Warin situates herself as part of the self-other relationship developed with the young people over time. She includes comments about the incongruence of opinions and views held by the adults around the children. Take Shelley, one of the five case study children who Warin writes about in her book. Shelley's reception teacher described her as being ‘consistently bad’ with behaviour manifested as biting and hurting other children (p. 86). Warin wrote in response, ‘This comment came as a complete surprise to me as this kind of behaviour was not something I had noticed during my observations of Shelley as she settled into school, nor during my four observations at the church pre-school playgroup….’ (p. 86). In fact, through her time spent in the family home, Warin was able to develop a picture of Shelley which suggested she was a very different child at school to the one at home. As such, this book provides some rich examples of the inconsistencies of identity across contexts. Thankfully, Shelley's story is a testament to the possibilities of positive change. Her time in secondary school helped her to become a confident and ambitious adolescent. Warin was able to show how poor beginnings could change into a bright future. This is a book that would appeal to senior academics and students alike. As well as providing a very useful template for ethnographic study, it begins by presenting theoretical ideas of self that draw on Vygotsky and Mead and many more. Warin questions developmental psychology's ideas about the coherency of self over time as it is portrayed in some of the stage-related accounts of development like those presented by Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. Her case study respondents demonstrate a mixture of both stable and changeable identity development. Martin, one of her case study respondents, is a particularly good example of a narrative for a stable sense of self. Martin describes remaining true to his ‘authentic’ self and worked hard to maintain a particular identity. This is nicely contrasted with descriptions of ‘critical incidences’ or ‘fateful moments’ evident in the case study of Simon. When Simon was around 13/14 years old, he was beaten-up by a group of 15 boys. The physical and emotional consequences of this incidence meant that he missed 18 months of school and this had a deleterious effect on his educational achievements. However, Warin was able to show how over time Simon ‘strengthened his sense of self’ by going to the gym, taking up sports and ‘strengthening his body’ (p. 128). Warin lends a critical voice to the assumption that what happens in childhood determines adult pathways of development. While such a critique is not new in the academic literature, this idea still dominates policy and practice. Warin provides a rich tapestry of change and stability as she follows these young people over time. She encompasses concepts such as belonging, well-being, the changing trajectories of self-other relationships, moral identity and the (in)consistent self. There are some concepts that might have been examined more closely, such as the ‘authentic’ self, but she also helps us to question more closely the implications of using concepts like self-esteem and self-concept. The book ends by discussing what educational policy could do to enhance the social and emotional well-being of children and young people. In particular, she emphasises the crucial role played by schools and teachers in enhancing identity development.