Off-time higher education as a risk factor in identity formation

• Authors: Konrad Piotrowski , Radosław Kaczan , Małgorzata Rękosiewicz
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

One of the important determinants of development during the transition to adulthood is the undertaking of social roles characteristic of adults, also in the area of finishing formal education, which usually coincides with beginning fulltime employment. In the study discussed in this paper, it has been hypothesized that continuing full-time education above the age of 26, a phenomenon rarely observed in Poland, can be considered as an unpunctual event that may be connected with difficulties in the process of identity formation. Relationships between identity dimensions and identity statuses, and age and educational context were analyzed. 693 individuals aged 19-35 took part in the study. The participants attended three types of educational institutions: (1) full-time university studies (BA or MA level), (2) part-time university studies (BA or MA level), and (3) full-time post-secondary school (certificate courses such as: medical rescue, massage therapy, cosmetology, occupational therapy). Among the students of full-time university studies predictable dependencies, also in respect of highlevels of indicators of identity crisis and a high frequency of diffused identity occurrence, were observed. Such dependencies were not found in the group of full-time post-secondary school students.

Keywords

EN

commitment; educational context; exploration; identity; off-time education; unpunctuality

• Publisher: Committee for Psychological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Polish Psychological Bulletin
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 44
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 299-309

Contributors

author

Konrad Piotrowski

• Educational Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

author

Radosław Kaczan

• Educational Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

author

Małgorzata Rękosiewicz

• Doctoral Studies at the Institute of Psychology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland