Identity, Agency, and Action Mediated by Culture and History Among Teenage Newcomers From Israel

• In Event: Roundtable Session 37
  In Roundtable Session: The Culture and Context of Learning and Development

Abstract

One of the more pressing issues in the integration of teenage newcomers pertains to their learning in a context that is different from the one previously known. This problem exacerbates in learning school mathematics and English as an additional language (EAL)—the two school subjects that are considered key to academic attainment. Although research has provided substantial evidence that show strong association between learning and identity as it is shaped within social, cultural, and historical contexts, there is a dearth of research that focuses on teenage newcomers. Seven families that included at least one dyad of a teenager and a parent were interviewed. A four-part analytical model was employed to operationalize and analyze the concepts of identity, agency and action.

Author

• Osnat Fellus, University of Ottawa