The Educational Identity Formation of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Abstract

Through qualitative research this study addresses the inadequate amount of research investigating the educational identity formation of individuals who are raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW). Narratives from semi-structured interviews suggest participants negotiated multiple identities in multiple frames—their identity as religious members and their personal educational identity in their secular education. Individuals whose parents subscribed to the religion’s notion that higher education was unnecessary and detrimental, formed educational identities that rejected their talents, suppressed their motivation, and foreclosed opportunities for autonomy and self-satisfaction in personal goal setting and career selection.