An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace

Felicia Wolontis

doi:10.29333/ajqr/12626

Felicia Wolontis ¹ ^*

More Detail

AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp. 251-268

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

OPEN ACCESS 1422 Views 490 Downloads

Download Full Text (PDF)

Abstract

Transitions, such as the school-to-work transition, are of particular interest to developmental science research because they mark different periods in life where a person moves from one period to the next. Using data from an ethnographic study with young women who recently moved from school to work, the researcher examines how the women construct identities through narratives and position themselves vis-à-vis others and vis-à-vis dominant discourses in both ethnographic interviews and participant observation. Making use of a fine-grained analytic approach referred to as the narrative practice approach, the researcher showcases how the women position themselves as having transitioned from the individual identities they had before moving into the workplace to more of a collaborative identity after having connected with others in their new work environment. With the analysis, the researcher also delves deeper into the uncertainties and the ambivalence of identity changes that the women claim having experienced. By investigating how the women actually experienced their school-to-work transition in situ and in vivo, and by studying the nuances and complexity of their experiences, the article makes contributions to both narrative research and psychology. It also informs organizations how they can train their employees and improve individual, team, and organizational performance by infusing collaboration into the organizational culture.

Keywords: ethnographic approach, identity construction, narrative practice approach, positioning, school-to-work transition.

References

Antaki, C., & Widdicombe, S. (Eds.). (1998). Identities in talk. SAGE Publications.
Bamberg, M. (2006). Biographic-narrative research, quo vadis? A critical review of ‘big stories’ from the perspective of ‘small stories.’ In K. Milnes (Ed.), Narrative, memory and knowledge: Representations, aesthetics, contexts (pp. 63-79). University of Huddersfield.
Bamberg, M. (2020). Narrative analysis: An integrative approach: Small stories and narrative practices. In M. Järvinen & N. Mik-Meyer (Eds.), Qualitative analysis – Eight traditions (pp. 243-264). SAGE Publications.
Bamberg, M. De Fina, A., & Schiffrin, D. (2011). Discourse and identity construction. In S. J. Schwartz, K. Luyckx, & V. L. Vignoles (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research: Vol. 1 Structures and processes (pp. 177-199). Springer.
Blascovich, J., & Mendes, W. B. (2000). Challenge and threat appraisals: The role of affective cues. In J. P. Forgas (Ed.), Feeling and thinking: The role of affect in social cognition (pp. 59-82). Cambridge University Press.
Blascovich, J., Seery, M. D., Mugridge, C. A., Norris, R. K., & Weisbuch, M. (2004). Predicting athletic performance from cardiovascular indexes of challenge and threat. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(5), 683-688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2003.10.007
Brunila, K., & Lundahl, L. (2020). Introduction. In K. Brunila & L. Lundahl (Eds.), Youth on the move: Tendencies and tensions in youth policies and practices (pp. 1-14). Helsinki University Press. https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-3-1
Bucholtz, M., & Hall, K. (2005). Identity and interaction: A sociocultural linguistic approach. Discourse Studies, 7(4-5), 585-614. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461445605054407
De Fina, A. & Georgakopoulou, A. (2008). Introduction: Narrative analysis in the shift from texts to practices. Text & Talk, 28(3), 275-281. https://doi.org/10.1515/TEXT.2008.013
De Fina, A. (2011). Discourse and identity. In T. A. Van Dijk (Ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary introduction (pp. 263-282). SAGE Publications.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Erikson, E. H. (1980). Identity and the life cycle. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Fugate, M., Kinicki, A. J., & Ashforth, B. E. (2004). Employability: A psycho-social construct, its dimensions, and applications. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 65(1), 14-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2003.10.005
Gubrium, J. F., & Holstein, J. A. (2008). Narrative ethnography. In S. Hesse-Biber & P. Leavy (Eds.), Handbook of emergent methods (pp. 241-264). Guilford.
Gumperz, J. J. (1982). Discourse strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Harris, A. (2004). Future girl: Young women in the twenty-first century. Routledge.
Heath, S. B. (2012). Words at work and play: Three decades in family and community life. Cambridge University Press.
Hirschi, A. (2010). The role of chance events in the school-to-work transition: The influence of demographic, personality and career development variables. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(1), 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.02.002
Holmes, L. (2001). Reconsidering graduate employability: The ‘graduate identity’ approach. Quality in Higher Education, 7(2), 111-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/13538320120060006
Holmes, L. M. (2015). Becoming a graduate: The warranting of an emergent identity. Education + Training, 57(2), 219-238. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-08-2013-0100
Holstein, J. A., & Gubrium, J. F. (2008). Constructionist impulses in ethnographic fieldwork. In James A. Holstein & Jaber F. Gubrium (Eds.), Handbook of constructionist research (pp. 373-395). The Guilford Press.
Jefferson, G. (2004). Glossary of transcript symbols with an introduction. In G. H. Lerner (Ed.), Conversation Analysis: Studies from the first generation (pp. 13-31). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Jones, S. R., & and Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity development of college students: Advancing frameworks for multiple dimensions of identity. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Josselson, R., & Lieblich, A. (2009). Reflections on the narrative study of lives. Narrative Inquiry, 19(1), 183-198. https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.19.1.10jos
Kaufman, P. (2014). The sociology of college students’ identity formation. New Directions for Higher Education, 166, 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20093
Kovacheva, S., & Pohl, A. (2007). Disadvantage in youth transitions: Constellations and policy dilemmas. In H. Colley, P. Boetzelen, B. Hoskins, and T. Parveva (Eds.), Social inclusion for young people: Breaking down the barriers (pp. 31-42). Council of Europe Publishing.
Kuron, L. K. J., Lyons, S. T., Schweitzer, L., & Ng, E. S. W. (2015). Millennials’ work values: Differences across the school to work transition. Personnel Review, 44(6), 991-1009. https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-01-2014-0024
LaPointe, K. (2010). Narrating career, positioning identity: Career identity as a narrative practice. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 77(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2010.04.003
Lundahl, L. (2011). Paving the way to the future? Education and young Europeans' paths to work and independence. European Educational Research Journal, 10(2), 168-179. http://dx.doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2011.10.2.168
Marcia, J. E. (1966). Development and validation of ego identity status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3(5), 551-558. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0023281
Marshall, E. A., & Butler, K. (2015). School-to-work transitions in emerging adulthood. In J. J. Arnett (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of emerging adulthood (pp. 316-333). Oxford University Press.
Masdonati, J., Lamamra, N., & Jordan, M. (2010). Vocational education and training attrition and the school-to-work transition. Education + Training, 52(5), 404–414. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911011058343
McAdams, D. P. (2013). The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by (Rev. and expanded ed.). Oxford University Press. (Original book published in 2006).
Murchison, J. M. (2010). Ethnography essentials: Designing, conducting, and presenting your research. Jossey-Bass.
Pinquart, M., Juang, L. P., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2003). Self-efficacy and successful school-to-work transition: A longitudinal study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63(3), 329-346. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0001-8791(02)00031-3
Ryan, P. (2001). The school-to-work transition: A cross-national perspective. Journal of Economic Literature, 39(1), 34-92. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.1.34
Shehu, E, & Nilsson, B. (2014). Informal employment among youth: Evidence from 20 school-to-work transition surveys. Work4Youth Publication Series No. 8. International Labour Office.
Tilbury, C., Buys, N., & Creed, P. (2009). Perspectives of young people in care about their school-to-work transition. Australian Social Work, 62(4), 476–490. https://doi.org/10.1080/03124070903312849

Citation

Wolontis, F. (2022). An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), 251-268. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

Wolontis, F. (2022). An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), pp. 251-268. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

Wolontis F. An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3), 251-268. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

Wolontis, Felicia. "An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2022 6 no. 3 (2022): 251-268. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

Wolontis, Felicia "An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 6, no. 3, 2022, pp. 251-268. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626

Wolontis F. An Ethnographic Approach to the School-to-Work Transition: Constructing Identities in the Workplace. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3):251-68. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12626