This study explores how student participation in the development of a school computer-network (SCN) motivated students to learn and promoted service and collegial relationships in the school. Students participated in a Technology Leadership (TL) community and engaged in activities that were central to the development of the SCN. The research examines the co-evolution of the SCN and student activities and the relationships between TL students and the school. In the study, data on students' experiences in the TL program came from non-participant observation, conversations, semi-structured interviews and document analyses. Using a sociocultural perspective of identity construction and informed by Lave and Wenger's notion of participation in a community-of-practice, with actor-network approaches, the analysis of the data showed that student level of engagement increased when the activities were relevant to their in-school and out-of-school technology experiences, or to their future career goals. Program participants provided technical support to the SCN and taught what teachers and students wanted to learn at a time when they needed to know it. In so doing, these leadership students moved towards greater technical expertise, improved interpersonal skills and increased leadership responsibilities as demonstrated by the availability of improved technical support services in the SCN. As newcomers to the TL community gradually advanced to full participation and old-timers became computer consultants to the school before they eventually graduated, the TL community was subjected to a continual process of renewal in terms of participants. With progressive student participation and with translations of diverse technology actors, the services the SCN provided to the school improved. Over time, the SCN's technical character changed and the relationships of service and collegiality between TL students and the school were enhanced. Thus, both participants and the school realized educational value. The implication for curriculum and pedagogy of discipline-based courses is that if students are to be attracted to school initiatives and retained, the curriculum and its delivery need to increase opportunities for students' changed relationships with the school community to take place, and for student participation in a relevant community-of-practice that is responsive to students' future aspirations.

The qualitative case study on which this thesis is based was designed to investigate the relationship between migration and identity construction of three young people who immigrated as children and adolescents, two of them as refugees, from the former Yugoslavia to Germany and finally to Canada. The autobiographical narrative interviews of the manifold migration stories were mainly analyzed from the point of view of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, which considers speech and thought in a close relation, to illustrate how identity must be understood as both individual and social in nature, and as a complex narrative action. The socialization processes in all countries of migration were viewed in order to investigate how the previous acculturation affects the cultural identity of the young people today and how it is unfolded in the story. The study reveals that these subjects with threefold migration position themselves between their lifeworlds which enable them not only to say where they belong to or which is their homeland but to answer the simple question “Who am I?” This is revealed by the way of their narration which contains a lot of contradictions. The individuals deal differently with their dynamic identity construction, while one of them seems to suffer under the instability of his identity, and of being different in all his lifeworlds, other subjects however can see advantages related to it. The way how they deal with this dynamics has a crucial influence on their view of their migrations today and consequently on their identity construction as a narrative action.

The qualitative case study on which this thesis is based was designed to investigate the relationship between migration and identity construction of three young people who immigrated as children and adolescents, two of them as refugees, from the former Yugoslavia to Germany and finally to Canada. The autobiographical narrative interviews of the manifold migration stories were mainly analyzed from the point of view of Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory, which considers speech and thought in a close relation, to illustrate how identity must be understood as both individual and social in nature, and as a complex narrative action. The socialization processes in all countries of migration were viewed in order to investigate how the previous acculturation affects the cultural identity of the young people today and how it is unfolded in the story. The study reveals that these subjects with threefold migration position themselves between their lifeworlds which enable them not only to say where they belong to or which is their homeland but to answer the simple question “Who am I?” This is revealed by the way of their narration which contains a lot of contradictions. The individuals deal differently with their dynamic identity construction, while one of them seems to suffer under the instability of his identity, and of being different in all his lifeworlds, other subjects however can see advantages related to it. The way how they deal with this dynamics has a crucial influence on their view of their migrations today and consequently on their identity construction as a narrative action.

This dissertation investigates the workplace experiences of gay and lesbian teachers. In-depth interviews and field observations were conducted with 51 teachers in Texas and in California, two states with different legal approaches to gay rights and worker rights. This comparative study highlights the importance of social, political, and cultural context in individual decision-making about sexual disclosure and performance, explores the consequences of "normalization" of LGBT experiences in the classroom, and addresses the role of identity politics in social change. By taking an intersectional approach to gay/lesbian identity construction, this dissertation considers how race, class, gender, and sexuality inequalities are expressed and reinforced in the experiences of gay and lesbian teachers. / text

The purpose of this study was to provide a clearer understanding of current Korean American adolescents under the recognition that their stories are barely told in educational research. Based on the literature that has described identity as a core concept in understanding adolescence and literacy practice as a dominant tool for identity construction, this study focused on Korean American adolescents' identity construction through their self-directed Internet literacy practices. Four Korean American adolescents living in a mid-size city in the Southwest participated in this study for several months. Data sources included face-to-face interviews, literacy practice logs, participants' literacy products on the Internet, online chat logs, and emails. Collected data were analyzed based on the constant comparative method. Results showed that these youth are active meaning makers with agency, that they constructed multiple, fluid identities within their sociocultural context, and utilized the Internet to stage these identities strategically. The result of this study implies a successful pedagogy needs to begin with careful consideration of each student's changeability and complexity by removing the labels imposed on them related to their ethnicity, race, gender, class, and so forth. This study also implies that literacy researchers' contribution, as messengers of adolescents' literacy practices outside of school, is critical for the a clearer understanding of adolescents. Finally, this study suggests that Korean American community take more interest in diverse voices among Korean American adolescents in the era of globalization. / text

This study explores how student participation in the development of a school computer-network (SCN) motivated students to learn and promoted service and collegial relationships in the school. Students participated in a Technology Leadership (TL) community and engaged in activities that were central to the development of the SCN. The research examines the co-evolution of the SCN and student activities and the relationships between TL students and the school. In the study, data on students' experiences in the TL program came from non-participant observation, conversations, semi-structured interviews and document analyses. Using a sociocultural perspective of identity construction and informed by Lave and Wenger's notion of participation in a community-of-practice, with actor-network approaches, the analysis of the data showed that student level of engagement increased when the activities were relevant to their in-school and out-of-school technology experiences, or to their future career goals. Program participants provided technical support to the SCN and taught what teachers and students wanted to learn at a time when they needed to know it. In so doing, these leadership students moved towards greater technical expertise, improved interpersonal skills and increased leadership responsibilities as demonstrated by the availability of improved technical support services in the SCN. As newcomers to the TL community gradually advanced to full participation and old-timers became computer consultants to the school before they eventually graduated, the TL community was subjected to a continual process of renewal in terms of participants. With progressive student participation and with translations of diverse technology actors, the services the SCN provided to the school improved. Over time, the SCN's technical character changed and the relationships of service and collegiality between TL students and the school were enhanced. Thus, both participants and the school realized educational value. The implication for curriculum and pedagogy of discipline-based courses is that if students are to be attracted to school initiatives and retained, the curriculum and its delivery need to increase opportunities for students' changed relationships with the school community to take place, and for student participation in a relevant community-of-practice that is responsive to students' future aspirations.

Facebook offers users a mode in which to (re)construct their identity. Recent studies examining identity and Facebook explore how impression management is a major factor when participating in the site. However, a research gap exists regarding the perspectives and experiences of older adult users and how they construct their identity on Facebook. This study extends the current knowledge base on identity in online environments. Qualitative face-to-face interviews with 16 individuals (8 male, 8 female) between the ages of 48-67 followed by a detailed thematic analysis indicate that identity is not fixed; but rather, is multiple and ever-changing. Findings reveal the performative nature of identity on Facebook through the identification of seven identities: expressive, hesitant/cautious, censored, vain, controlled, confident, and validated. Results give voice to older adults, an age group largely ignored when exploring the use of social media.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis focuses on a community of multilingual adolescents who are high performers in mathematics and science, and whose primary language of teaching and learning is English. The participants who form part of the study all attend selected educational enrichment programmes in the greater Johannesburg area. The thesis is particularly interested in how students' language repertoires feature in their learning and in how their language repertoires contribute to their identity construction. This research is informed by literature which views identity not only as complex, contradictory, multivoiced and multifaceted, but also as dynamic and subject to constant renegotiation across space and time. In seeking answers to specific questions about the linguistic identities of the teenage participants in this study, this study will establish what the full linguistic repertoire of each participant is, and whether or not participants identify themselves by means of language. While there have been a number of very authoritative studies of language repertoires, many of these have focused on indigenous minorities, migrants or refugees who need to improve their life chances in a context where their L1 is not dominant. Although this study does include a number of participants originally from outside of South Africa, the majority of the participants are South Africans whose first languages are official languages. This study uses a multimodal approach in data collection and analysis in an attempt to investigate the multi-semiotic nature of the linguistic identities of the participants. Following the work of Busch (2010), I argue, that multilingualism can no longer be seen as an abstract competency, and that "language crossing", the appropriation of elements across boundaries, becomes a competency in its own right. These competencies can thus be used as a way of constructing a speaker's linguistic identity. Finally, the thesis makes a recommendation that more multimodal studies should be conducted in order to investigate the 'performativity' of 'identity construction'. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis fokus op ʼn gemeenskap van veeltalige adolessente wie toppresteerders is in wiskunde en wetenskap en vir wie Engels die primêre taal van leer en onderrig is. Die deelnemers aan die studie woon almal geselekteerde opvoedkundige verrykingsprogramme by in die groter Johannesburg area. Die tesis is spesifiek geïnteresseerd in hoe studente hul 'taal repertoires' gebruik wanneer hulle leer en hoe dit moontlik bydra tot die konstruering van hul identiteite. Die studie gebruik as uitgangspunt literatuur wat 'identiteit' as kompleks, teenstellend, veelstemmig en dinamies beskou. Verder word 'identiteit' ook beskou as onderworpe aan konstante heronderhandeling in elke spesifieke situasie en konteks. Die studie probeer vasstel wat die volle 'taalrepertoire' van elke deelnemer is en of die deelnemers hulself d.m.v. taal identifiseer. Hoewel daar verskeie belangrike studies oor taal repertoires bestaan fokus baie van hierdie studies op inheemse minderhede, migrante of vlugtelinge wie hul lewenskanse moet verbeter in ʼn konteks waarin hulle eerstetaal (T1) nie dominant is nie. Alhoewel hierdie studie ʼn aantal deelnemers insluit wat oorspronklik van buite Suid-Afrika afkomstig is, is die meerderheid van die deelnemers aan die studie Suid-Afrikaners wie se eerstetale, amptelike tale is. Die studie gebruik ʼn multimodale manier van data insameling en analise in ʼn poging om die multisemiotiese aspekte van die 'taalidentiteite' van die deelnemers te ondersoek. In ooreenstemming met Busch (2010) stel ek voor dat veeltaligheid nie langer gesien kan word as ʼn abstrakte vermoë nie maar dat ander praktyke soos 'taal oorkruissing', die gebruik van elemente oor taalgrense, ʼn vaardigheid in eie reg is. Hierdie soorte vaardighede kan dus ook gebruik word om die 'taalidentiteit' van ʼn spreker te konstrueer. Laastens word die aanbeveling gemaak dat meer multimodale studies gebruik moet word om die 'performatiwiteit' (performativity) van identiteitskonstruksie te ondersoek.

En théorie des organisations, une conception dominante étudie la construction de l’identité individuelle lors d’événements majeurs de l’existence. En contrepoint, suivant une approche processuelle, nous cherchons à mieux comprendre la construction identitaire en situation de travail. Pour opérationnaliser la notion de situation, nous empruntons le concept d’épreuve au sociologue Danilo Martuccelli. Nous réalisons une étude de cas multiples. 29 récits d’épreuves de gestion de collaborateurs en détresse sont collectés via 45 entretiens auprès de 24 managers et plusieurs journées d’observation. Au travers de l’analyse approfondie de quatre cas choisis pour leur intérêt intrinsèque et d’une analyse inter-cas, nous faisons émerger trois grands types de dynamiques identitaires. Ces dynamiques sont ensuite regroupées dans une modélisation de la construction identitaire en situation capable d’intégrer simultanément divers degrés de changement et de maintien identitaire. Nous montrons ainsi que l’apparente stabilité de l’identité dissimule un processus permanent de reconstruction de soi indissociables de la réalisation des tâches du travail quotidien / Previous work about identity construction in management studies has focused on a stable individual identity that only evolves with major events. Conversely, this research aims to explore a more situated identity construction in front of day-to-day working activities. We borrow Danilo Martuccelli’s concept of trial in order to operationalize what a situation is. Through a multiple qualitative case study, we analyse 29 narratives of managers’ trial of their subordinates’ distress. These data were collected through 45 semi-structured interviews with managers and several days of observation inside one organization. Our analysis emcompasses the in-depth presentation of four cases and a global comparative analysis of the 29 narratives. Our findings are composed of the identification of three main dynamics of identity construction. Finally, we offer an integrative processual representation of identity construction during work situations. We show that the underlying stability of identity is better conceived as the result of an ongoing process of identity (re)construction

Master of Arts / Department of History / Bonnie Lynn-Sherow / At the conclusion of the first decade of the twentieth century, 60 percent of high school graduates were women. They were also the first generation of young women to be labeled as “adolescents” by psychologists. By 1950, the word “teenager” had not only been coined; it was part of everyday vernacular. Historians now recognize that adolescence — as a common set of ideas about how young people behave and interact with society — is a cultural construction that has changed over time. Using a combination of scholarly literature on the subject as well as primary sources to demonstrate and interpret the interplay between the exterior forces that shaped the cultural construction of adolescence and the interior forces that shaped young women's identities, this report addresses both how a collective memory of female adolescent identity arose and how individual memory operated in the context of this collective identity. Applying theories of collective memory to the individual diaries of six young women who came of age between 1870 and 1940, this analysis represents a departure from the traditional use of diaries in historical scholarship and provides a fresh approach to the analysis of collective memory.