ERIC Number: EJ735887
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Aug
Pages: 34
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0361-0365
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Available Date: N/A
Forming Identities in College: A Sociological Approach
Kaufman, Peter; Feldman, Kenneth A.
Research in Higher Education, v45 n5 p463-496 Aug 2004
Using data from 82 in-depth interviews with a randomly selected sample of college students, we explore how these students are forming felt identities in the following domains: intelligence and knowledgeability, occupation, and cosmopolitanism. We study the formation of students' identities by considering college an arena of social interaction in which the individual comes in contact with a multitude of actors in various settings, emphasizing that through these social interactions the identities of individuals are, in part, constituted. In using a symbolic interactionist approach in our research in conjunction with consideration of the social structural location of colleges in the wider society, we demonstrate the sorts of information and insights that can be gained from a nondevelopmental approach to the study of college student change.
Descriptors: College Students, Interviews, Peer Influence, College Environment, Intelligence, Interpersonal Competence, Social Structure, Student Attitudes, Occupations, Identification (Psychology), Knowledge Level, Social Influences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A