Situated Identity Research Articles

Examining Competing Notions of Social Justice at the Intersections of High-Stakes Testing Practices and Parents’ Rights: An Inclusive Education Perspective

In this article, we examine tensions that can materialize at the intersection of high-stakes accountability assessments and the rights of parents of students with dis/abilities. We bring to the surface and analyze the competing notions of social justice that have fueled the implementation of both high-stakes testing and the inclusion of students with dis/abilities in public schooling. Our purpose is to problematize narrow discussions about high-stakes testing and students with dis/abilities, contextualizing them in broader struggles for inclusive education. To achieve this task, we examine an event, framed as a case study, which emerged from a larger research project. Our analysis is informed by an understanding of inclusive education as situated practice in which historically evolving notions of justice are tangled and enacted to negotiate situated identities. We conclude with implications for practice and accountability models.

“I am Out of My Comfort Zone”: Self-study of the Struggle of Adapting to the Professional Identity of a Teacher Educator

It is often assumed that graduate students will develop as teacher educators simply by participating in a doctoral program. However, research has shown that doctoral students find the shift from teaching K-12 to preparing teachers to be a difficult transition. Within the context of a doctoral program community of practice established specifically for the purpose of examining this transition through self-study research, we sought to understand the shift in identity of a novice teacher educator working as an early field experience instructor with elementary science and mathematics preservice teachers. Our findings indicate that the process of self-study research, when supported within a community of practice, offered Jared the opportunity to recognize different aspects of his shifting professional identity, the dominance of particular aspects of his identity in certain situations, and the impact this was having on his students’ development as teachers. Developing this awareness of his adapting professional teaching identity from a classroom teacher to a teacher educator should help as he continues to develop his knowledge and skills working with teachers in different contexts and at different grade levels. Implications for how teacher education programs could better support the professional identity development of novice teacher educators through the use of a self-study focused community of practice are discussed.

Between Children and Transnational Economic Actors:The Discounted “Belongings” of Young Chinese Migrants

Each year, approximately 1,500 Chinese youth (typically aged 15–17) migrate alone and clandestinely to the United States. While most intend to advance themselves and their families socially and economically, not all are immediately successful: some are apprehended and placed in removal proceedings. Here, immigration cause lawyers are tasked with presenting clients who might otherwise be termed “economic migrants” as uniquely vulnerable and deserving of legal status. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, this article confronts a disconnect between the forms of belonging many young Chinese migrants prioritize—belonging to the workforce and to transnational kin and peer networks—and lawyers’ strategic disregard for these situated identities. It asks: How do young migrants reconcile their largely autonomous maneuvering with the accounts put forth by their attorney—accounts of cultural coercion, parental deficiency, and unagentive “children”? What forces give rise to these narratives, and what are their consequences for clients, and for lawyers? Tracing the utilization and suppression of meaningful identities in various institutional, kin, and community contexts, this article illuminates the ways in which young migrants’ pursuit of one form of status, namely legal, powerfully impacts their valuation and attainment of other, more discrete markers of success.

Identity construction through English language learning in intra-national migration: a study on Uyghur students in China

ABSTRACTThis study explores how a group of Uyghur minority students construct their identities in and through English language learning experiences as they move from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region to study in a prestigious East coastal university in China. The research findings show that the processes of English language learning enable the ethnic minority students to develop multiple yet powerful identities, that is, a situated elite identity constructed as opposed to other Uyghur members and a positive heritage identity negotiated within the academic community, and allow them to imagine multilingual and multicultural memberships for themselves. The favourable identities thus forged are found to facilitate their adaptation to the host community. However, these minority elites are confronted with a series of problems in learning English compared to their Han counterparts, which hinder their socialisation into the society and upward social mobility. Finally, implications for policy-makers, the host institution, and ethnic students are discussed.

A case study of diverse multimodal influences on music improvisation using visual methodology

This case study employed multimodal methods and visual analysis to explore how a young multilingual student used music improvisation to form a speech rap. This student, recently arrived in Australia from Ethiopia, created piano music that was central to his music identity and that simultaneously, through dialogue with his mother, enhanced his linguistic skills. He selected and redesigned communicative modes across principal modes (learning domains). Through analysis of this student’s redesign of a speech rap during his music improvisation at the piano, it was demonstrated that he promoted cognition and higher thinking. Conclusions showed he made a shift in understanding or meaning, empowering relations with his parents through a heightened understanding of music modes as the elements of music. The study revealed that modes encompassed all the senses (visual, aural, gestural and proxemics) in music improvisation while enhancing his verbal linguistic skills. By triangulating interviews and observations with video analysis, this study established that modes are not just unchangeable tools, but a means of situated social positioning and identity formation, and therefore resources for learning. It established that prior multicultural music learning was crucial to assist students’ music improvisation to enhance communication across borders in local and global information societies.

Identity Under Construction: How Individuals Come to Define Themselves in Organizations

Individuals need a situated identity, or a clear sense of “who they are” in their local context, to function. Drawing largely on interpretivist research, we describe the process of identity construction in organizations. Organizations set the stage for members to construct their identities through sensebreaking, rendering individuals more receptive to organizational cues conveyed via sensegiving. Individuals utilize sensemaking to construe their situated identity as they progress toward a desired self. Affect (feeling “this is me”), behavior (acting as “me”), and cognition (thinking “this is me”) are each viable and intertwined gateways to a situated identity that resonates with one's desired self and a given context. Individuals formulate identity narratives that link their past and present to a desired future, providing direction. If their identity enactments and narratives receive social validation, individuals feel more assured, fortifying their emergent identities. The result of these dynamics is a visceral understanding of self in the local context, facilitating adjustment.

“Is This What You’re Talking About?”: Identity Negotiation in International Teaching Assistants’ Instructional Interactions with U.S. College Students

ABSTRACTThe instructional performance of international teaching assistants (ITA) in U.S. universities is generally considered as problematic due to linguistic and cultural differences in existing studies. Drawing on interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and positioning theory, this study aims to find out how ITAs are juxtaposed between content expert and language novice in the actual instructional interactions with U.S. college students. The data under study consist of a number of dyadic office hour interactions. The matter of analytic interest is the type of sentence completion that U.S. college students use to assist or improve on ITAs’ instructional discourse. While interactionally accommodating, sentence completion may position the ITA instructors as language novices, and furthermore cast doubt on their situated identity as instructors. The findings here may shed some light on our understanding of how ITAs are negatively perceived and even stereotyped in their instructional discourse.

Distant Relations: The Affordances of Email in Interorganizational Conflict

This article explores the role of email in the ambiguous circumstances of an established international partnership that is developing into competition. Using the naturally occurring interaction of a longitudinal ethnographic study, we study the ensuing task and relationship conflicts through the communication medium. Results show that the conflict is facilitated by email, not as an unfortunate side-effect but as a strategic choice of distance, partly for passive protection but also for active control of the interaction. We use the results to chart the multiple situated identities of the communicators that are made salient in their virtual interaction. The double aspect of social and organizational contexts is shown to have an effect on different issues, such as organizational authority at the home organization, the buyer-supplier relationship, nonnative language use, and norms of communication style in the interaction.

Into the IRIS: a model for analyzing identity dynamics in conflict

ABSTRACTI propose a lens model for understanding how core identities (ethnic, sectarian, racial or national) are affected by past interactions and narratives increasing the chances of the outbreak of violent conflict. The model can be used to show how core identities are polarized during conflict escalation and how they might de-polarize during periods of de-escalation and conflict resolution, leading to potential transformation of core identities in post-conflict situations. Northern Ireland will be used to illustrate the Integrated Relational Identity Structure model, showing how conflicting identities have changed, or not, as a result of history, the conflict and the peace process.

Editor’s Introduction

Through shared music, people claim and bring to life diverse, overlapping, and situational identities. Music has special resonance for indigenous peoples making valiant efforts to keep their langua...

Narrative and Situational Identity in Eva Menasse's ‘Habgier’

Narrative and Situational Identity in Eva Menasse's ‘Habgier’

Narrative and Situational Identity in Eva Menasse's ‘Habgier’

Narrative and Situational Identity in Eva Menasse's ‘Habgier’

Construction of gender roles in perceived scarce environments – Maintaining masculinity when shopping for fast fashion apparel

AbstractGender refers to ways men and women socialize into the male and female roles that are commonly attributed to them. These roles are continuously (re)constructed within and through our daily activities. Prior literature suggests a need for more research in investigating how men and women construct their identity in various exchange situations and in various cultural settings. This paper explores the situational construction of male and female identities (especially the male one) when shopping for fashion products in environments with strategically created scarcity. The findings of this study suggest that, when shopping for fashion products in scarce environments, men and women tend to exhibit gendered behaviors that are considered more consistent with their traditional gender norms. We find that men, although concerned about their appearance, adhere to urgent buying behavior. This behavior helps men maintain some of their traditional masculine identity. In addition, they do not participate as frequently in the in‐store hoarding and in‐store hiding that are more frequently exhibited by women and that are more consistent with a feminine identity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Intersubjective identity work and sensemaking of adult learners on a postgraduate coaching course: Finding the balance in a world of dynamic complexity

This article explores how we make sense of identity in situations of dynamic complexity. It contributes to debates on how dynamic complexity, conceived as periods of heightened uncertainty, disrupts the balance between acting and thinking that is constitutive of sensemaking. The article follows narratives of adult learners (including the first author) aspiring to become academically trained coaches within an emerging industry. We examine dynamic complexity in terms of individuals relating to multiple contexts (e.g. biographical, learning and industry), arguing that each of these creates varying degrees of complexity as individuals relate to a multitude of others within them. We show that heightened uncertainty resulting from such complexity makes greater demands on identity work. This involves both failure (more persistent intransigence of identity) and success (transience of identity). We suggest a mediating role for relationality and reflexivity in making sense of identity as they offer a balance between acting and thinking. By exploring the professional identity work of the first author in relation to the participants, we explicate the intersubjective nature of identity work and sensemaking. The contribution we make is to theorize identity work as intersubjectively conducted.

“Incompleteness” and the Quest for Multiple Identities in South Africa

The article explores the contours of multiple identities in contrast to singular identities in situations of social complexity and cultural diversity. Nyamnjoh's concepts of “incompleteness” and “frontier Africans” imply an alternative approach to identity formation. Although the formation of one's own, singular identity is a necessary stage in the development of each individual, it has specific limitations. This is especially true in situations of complexity and diversity and where the achievement of social cohesion is an important goal. With reference to existing theories of identity formation, an alternative framework is proposed that is more appropriate for the dynamic, open-ended nature of identity and better suited to encourage the enrichment of identity. The role of imagination, a strategy for crossing borders (with reference to Clingman's concept of a “grammar of identity”), the search for commonality, and the effect of historical memory are discussed. Enriched and multiple identities are not achieved by replacement or exchange, but by widening (existing) singular identities into a more inclusive and diverse understanding of the self.

"Roots and Routes": Professional Educators’ Transformative Insights Into the Linguistic and Experiential Worlds of Generation 1.5 Language Minority Students

This article explores findings of a project that addressed the academic literacy development of children who are born and/or begin their formal schooling in Canada, but who are raised in homes where the societally dominant language is not the primary idiom. It focuses on collaborating educators’ professional learning through engagement in community-referenced action research that provided opportunities for eighth graders to explore themes related to their developing personal and socially situated identities. One key insight pertained to students’ access to information regarding their family histories and trajectories; a second, to linguistic dynamics internal to generation 1.5 linguistic minority youths’ households.

Drug treatment in a Swedish women’s prison

This article describes life in a drug-treatment wing (a prison therapeutic community) in a Swedish women’s prison, and aims to analyse prisoners’ and prison officers’ relations and identities, through observation field notes and interviews with staff and prisoners. The studied prison has a drug-treatment programme based on Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy, with external therapists. Within the treatment wing, prison officers are abandoning the traditional staff identity for one of ‘co-therapist’. The female prisoner-identity is initially that of the ‘traditional prisoner’, but is often replaced by other situational identities such as the ‘conscious addict’ and the ‘good group-member’. In cases of frustration and threats in the wing, the more traditional identities might temporarily be ‘re-activated’. This might be a source of confusion and inner conflict, especially for the prisoners.

‘Unthinkable’ Selves: Identity boundary work in a summer field ecology enrichment program for diverse youth

The historical under-representation of diverse youth in environmental science education is inextricably connected to access and identity-related issues. Many diverse youth with limited previous experience to the outdoors as a source for learning and/or leisure may consider environmental science as ‘unthinkable’. This is an ethnographic study of 16 diverse high school youths’ participation, none of who initially fashioned themselves as ‘outdoorsy’ or ‘animal people’, in a four-week summer enrichment program focused on herpetology (study of reptiles and amphibians). To function as ‘good’ participants, youth acted in ways that placed them well outside their comfort zones, which we labeled as identity boundary work. Results highlight the following cultural tools, norms, and practices that enabled youths’ identity boundary work: (1) boundary objects (tools regularly used in the program that facilitated youths’ engagement with animals and nature and helped them work through fear or discomfort); (2) time and space (responsive, to enable adaptation to new environments, organisms, and scientific field techniques); (3) social support and collective agency; and (4) scientific and anecdotal knowledge and skills. Findings suggest challenges to commonly held beliefs about equitable pedagogy, which assumes that scientific practices must be thinkable and/or relevant before youth engage meaningfully. Further, findings illustrate the ways that fear, in small doses and handled with empathy, may become a resource for youths’ connections to animals, nature, and science. Finally, we propose that youths’ situated identity boundary work in the program may have the potential to spark more sustained identity work, given additional experiences and support.

Food, Eating and Identity in Early Medieval England. By Allen J. Frantzen (Rochester, N.Y., Boydell Press, 2014) 290 pp. $90.00

A simple bone spoon with a leaf-shaped handle illustrates the cover of Frantzen’s study of how food shaped identities in Anglo-Saxon England. Excavated from the middle Saxon settlement site at Flixborough, Lincolnshire, the spoon stands for the material culture of food production and consumption, the subjects that Frantzen seeks to elucidate in this genuinely interdisciplinary book. Most of our images of medieval food relate to feasting and its associated ceremonies—drinking, singing, and making speeches—because those are the occasions most frequently described in contemporary written sources. Frantzen widens his study beyond literary texts to include the words found in Old English to describe foods and the physical objects associated with agriculture and cooking, as well as the material evidence of the ordinary, everyday items used by the Anglo-Saxons to grow, transport, prepare, and eat their food. In addition to spoons and knives, he considers bowls, cups, cooking pots, and kneading troughs. He examines not only the tools of consumption but also the food producers—those who planted fields, kept swine, caught fish, brewed beer, or ground wheat—and the objects that they used in the production of food and drink.Close focus on the material (and on excavated food waste) enables Frantzen to set legal and admonitory evidence about food discipline (for example, from penitentials) in new light. He argues that discussion of Anglo-Saxon social identity has paid too little attention to material culture, failing to acknowledge the extent to which the material world (amply evidenced through the archaeological record) served to construct social systems. Central to his study, therefore, is the integration of physical objects with linguistic and textual evidence, with an emphasis on the ordinary and mundane, and with the networks of food production and distribution that gave objects meaning in communication. Because food is personal in the literal sense of becoming part of the body, Frantzen argues that the act of eating is “the most-identity-producing point in the food network,” thus conferring on the objects associated with it (cups, spoons, etc.) the capacity to reveal individual identities, just as larger, often shared, objects involved with production—like quernstones and iron tools—signal community identity (173).Frantzen locates his study theoretically in two contexts—Bourdieu’s theory of habitus (as developed in recent Anglo-Saxon archaeology) and Frazer’s theory about social identity (“situational identity” in this work) in medieval culture.1 Frantzen frequently criticizes other scholars who have not engaged with theory, and with those who have perpetuated a polarized Anglo-Saxon world, contrasting the feasting of the rich with the hunger of the poor. He is markedly less transparent about his own ideological stance, particularly his repeated implication that the Church represented a negative force, exerting an unwelcoming control over lay society. Observing religion only through the lens of legislation and prescription seriously distorts its role in creating and enriching social identities. Frantzen clearly enjoys the anticlerical satirical poem The Seasons of Fasting (early eleventh century), with its ridicule of priests who failed to obey the injunctions of their preaching, but he never mentions the place of food at the heart of Christian liturgy in the Eucharist. His demonstration that fish became more plentiful in the late Anglo-Saxon period as a mark of high status that only the wealthy could afford, however, is important; fish was a luxury, not a fasting food. The increased finds of fish bones after c. 1000 do not reflect adherence to stricter rules about abstinence, as had once been thought.Methodologically, the book has much to contribute but, as Frantzen admits, it is harder to provide explanations of objects than it is of texts. He has asked many questions of his spoons, but they do not always have the answers. To misquote Grierson, “It has been said that the spoon cannot lie, but it owes this merit in part to the fact that it cannot speak.”2

The Increasing Significance of Boundary Psychology as a Theoretical Perspective in International Relations

Boundaries are always important in international politics. Disputes between countries are often explained to begin out of border conflict. Protagonists on both side of a border continually assess the strength and capability of their neighbor across the border. Conflict can result as there are perceived disequalities across boundaries. Management of tensions and conflict across boundaries has become more complex as Internet as introduced significantly different information capabilities. The extent of Internet penetration among policy making influentials is uncertain. The extent Internet affects misunderstandings across boundaries becomes a variable. Whether perceptions of issues can successfully globalize is still uncertain. This paper suggests that boundary psychology is a useful theoretical perspective for better analyzing across border conflicts. Two models of personality are presented to explain the reasons this observation is valid. The Five Factor Model of personality is one relevant model that exemplifies boundary psychology's importance. Often associated with the acronym OCEAN, this model's traits include openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Emphasis is placed on how well the personality can move from one experience to another successfully. In terms of boundaries, the Five Factors Model values personality that is low and rigidity and capable of effortlessly accommodating many realities. Many psychologists explain personality in terms of the Five Factors Model. The Identify Negotiation Model of Personality is a second example that agrees with the emphasis on boundary psychology. This personality model is associated with Ting-Toomey. Individual difference in the Identity Negotiation Model occurs as people differ in their cognitive strengths and abilities at integrating several identity influences. Identities can be divided into primary and situational identities. Primary identity includes four personal identity domains including cultural identity, ethnic identity, gender identity, and personal identity. These identity domains can be contrasted to situational identities' four domains: role identity, relational identity, face work identity, and symbolic interaction identity. People are continually negotiating their personal identity within these the eight identify domains in the Identify Negotiation Model. Possible of qualitative data to analyze conflicts such as in the Ukraine and potentially between North and South Korea is discussed. The paper questions whether narrative qualitative data could usefully improve analysis of boundary conflicts in international politics. The Interpretivism required to move from qualitative narrative data to results about border conflicts is discussed. Boundary psychology and the two models of personality presented in this paper are suggested as possibly valuable in accomplishing the interpretivism required in qualitative methods to produce knowledge building results.