personal identity

Social conditions of current life do not exactly constitute an ideal framework for the serene implementation of a balanced temporal perspective in the educational system. The article tries to contribute to: 1) substantiating the anthropological value of time, showing the decisive character that, in the current circumstances of accelerated change, the time domain has in the configuration of personal identity; 2) with a more applied nature and awareness of the interaction between time, power, and educational action, rethinking the meaning and scope of today's educational policy decisions.

Methodologically, we adopt a hermeneutical approach in which we critically analyse the temporal perspective as a coordinate of personal and social experience, as well as the predominant patterns that explain and justify the connections between time, power, and education.

We show how, within our individual possibilities, the balanced organisation of time contributes to achieving a successful personal identity, strengthening the ethical impetus of the educational task and transforming our lifestyle. However, the encounters and disagreements between time and education also depend on the horizons of meaning that we adopt at the collective level, which leads to power being seen as an explanatory variable.

Rethinking time and education leads us to reconsider educational policy decisions, in which we simultaneously notice obstacles and innovative possibilities. The change in individual and collective lifestyles, linked to a balanced temporal orientation, is associated with complex interactive and not merely unidirectional socio-cultural dynamics.

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Please, cite this article as follows: Bernal Guerrero, A., Valdemoros San Emeterio, M. Á., & Jiménez Eguizábal, A. (2020). Tiempo, poder y educación. Repensando la construcción de la identidad personal y las decisiones de la política educativa | Time, power and education. Rethinking the construction of personal identity and educational policy decisions. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 78 (277), 377-394. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP78-3-2020-02

Adolescence is an important period in the process of constructing personal identity, particularly at times of educational transition. One such transition occurs at the end of compulsory secondary education and it results in an important biographical assessment of the school career that the adolescent has pursued. One factor that appears to be fundamental in this career is the dynamic of human relations. Focusing our attention on students, we have examined their perceptions of this matter, shaped by their level of personal maturity and linked to their awareness of their identity status or style. A biographical- narrative approach was used with a sample of 121 students, using quantitative and qualitative techniques and instruments (EOM-EIS-II questionnaire, autobiographical accounts, interviews and discussion groups). We have observed differences in young people’s perceptions depending on their level of maturity. At the same time, by comparing their perceptions as a whole, we can see that their family (the main agent in the construction of their identity) and peer group, more than school, are the most highly valued areas. Quality educational processes appear to require careful interpersonal relationships, regardless of the areas in which they are developed. Corroborating various deficiencies in human relationships through adolescents’ perceptions alerts us to their importance. The need to find suitably contextualized models for convergence between the main areas in which our students develop is also shown. This study involves the identification of certain elements that play a role in advancing the process of achieving personal identity. These require attention if the development of personal maturity during the compulsory stages of our school system is to be improved.

 

Cite this article as: Bernal Guerrero, A. & König Bustamante, K. L. (2017). Percepciones de adolescentes sobre la educación según la identidad personal | Adolescents’ perceptions of education according to personal identity. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 75 (267), 181-198. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP75-2-2017-01