Main Article Content
Abstract
The article is about methodology of theorising, i.e. how we can get knowledge about non-traditional students struggles and crisis when learning and working with their biographies. Often we use theories to support research questions and results. But seldom do we know how to theorise from our own data and build a theory. This article is about the process of theorising by talking example from our research on non-traditional students in Sweden. By discovering biographical work that students were involved in, we could understand processes of forming and transforming their identities. We present our thoughts on theorising and developing a theory, and next we give an example of a student?s story outlining the process of biographical work to show the stages in the analysis that leads us to the theory. Trusting that everybody can learn how to theorise we discuss also how our theory could be used in further research regarding adults? life.
Keywords
Article Details
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References
- ALASUUTARI P., 1996, Theorizing in qualitative research: a cultural studies perspective, Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 2, No. 4.
- BLUMER H., 1954, What is wrong with social theory?, American Sociological Review, No. 19.
- BOURDIEU P., 1990, The logic of practice, Polity Press, Cambridge.
- BRON A., 1999, The price of immigration. Life stories of two Poles in Sweden, International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 36, No. 2.
- BRON A., 2000, Floating as an analytical category in the narratives of polish immigrants to Sweden, [in:] E. Szwejkowska-Olsson, M. Bron, Jr. (eds.), Allvarlig debatt och rolig lek, En festskrift tillägnad Andrzej Nils Uggla, Uppsala Universitet, Centrum för multietnisk forskning, Uppsala.
- BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., THUNBORG C., 2010, Struggles in student identity – A space for poetry, ESREA Life history and biography network conference, Växjö University College.
- BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., THUNBORG C., 2012, To make a difference for the others and myself’: Second Generation Immigrants Students’ Learning Narratives in Sweden, ESREA Migration, racism, and xenophobia research network conference, Karl-Franzens Universität Graz.
- BRON A., SCHEMMANN M. (eds.), 2002, Social science theories and adult education research, BSIEA Vol. 3, Lit. Verlag, Münster.
- BRON A., THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2014, Ethnicity and class, does it Matter?, [in:] F. Finnegan, B. Merrill, C. Thunborg (eds.), Student voices on inequalities in European higher education, Routledge, London.
- BRON A., THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2013, Theorizing learning lives of non-traditional students. Paper presented at the ESREA Life history and biographical research network, Canterbury, 28 February– 3 March 2013.
- BRON A., WEST L., 2000, Time for stories; the emergence of life history methods in the social sciences, International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 37, No. 2.
- CASTELLS M., 1999, Flows, networks, and identitites: A critical theory of the information society, [in:] M. Castells, F. Ramon Flecha, P. Freire, A.H. Giroux, P. Willis (eds.) Critical education in the new information age, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham.
- EZZY D., 1998, Theorizing narrative identity: symbolic interactionism and hermeneutics, The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 2.
- FENWICK T., 2006, Escaping/becoming subjects. Learning to work the boundaries in boundaryless work, [in:] S. Billet, T. Fenwick, M. Somerville (eds.), Work, subjectivity and learning. Understanding Learning Through Working Life, Springer, Dortrecht.
- FIELD J., 2012, Transitions in lifelong learning: Public issues, private troubles, liminal identities, Studies for the Learning Society, No. 2–3.
- GIDDENS A., 1991, Modernity and self-identity. Self and society in the modern age, Cambridge Polity Press, Cambridge.
- GLASER B., 2002, Conceptualisation. On theory and theorising using grounded theory, [in:] A. Bron, M. Schemmann (eds.), Social science theories and adult education research, BSIEA, Vol. 3, Lit. Verlag, Münster.
- GLASER B., STRAUSS A., 1967, The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research, University Press, Chicago.
- HANSON NORWOOD R., 1965, Patterns of discovery. An inquiry into the conceptual foundations of science. University Press, Cambridge.
- HOCHSCHILD A., 1979, Emotion work, feeling rules, and social structure, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 85, No. 3.
- HOCHSCHILD A., 1983, The managed heart: The commercialization of human feeling, The University of California Press, Berkeley.
- JARVIS P., 2009, Learning to be a person in society, Routledge, London.
- KELLE U., 2007, “Emergence” vs. ”forcing” of empirical data? A crucial problem of “grounded theory” reconsidered, Historical Social Research, Supplement, No. 19.
- MEAD G.H., 1934, Mind, self and society. A standpoint from a social behaviorist, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
- MERTON R.K., 1967, On theoretical sociology, The Free Press, New York.
- MEZIROW J., 1978, Perspective transformation, Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2.
- PEIRCE C.S., 1974, 1979, Collected Papers, Published by C. Hartshore, P. Weiss, A. Burks, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
- RANLHE – www.dsw.edu.pl/fileadmin/www-ranlhe/index.htm
- SWEDBERG R., 2012, Theorizing in sociology and social science: turning to the context of discovery, Theor. Soc., No. 41.
- THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2011, Forming and transforming learning identities in higher education, [in:] L. Jögi, K. Krabi (eds.), Raamat Öppimisest (The book of learning), Tallinn Ûlikooli Kasvatusteaduste Instituut, Tallinn.
- THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2012, Forming learning identities in higher education in Sweden, Studies for the Learning Society, No. 2–3.
- THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2013, Motives, commitment and student identity in higher education – Experiences of non-traditional students in Sweden, Studies in Education of Adults, Vol. 45, No. 2.
- THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2010. Changing learning identities in higher education, [in:] B. Merrill, J.G. Monteagudo (eds.), Educational journeys and changing lives. Adult student experiences, Vol. 1, Édición Digital@tres, Sevilla.
References
ALASUUTARI P., 1996, Theorizing in qualitative research: a cultural studies perspective, Qualitative Inquiry, Vol. 2, No. 4.
BLUMER H., 1954, What is wrong with social theory?, American Sociological Review, No. 19.
BOURDIEU P., 1990, The logic of practice, Polity Press, Cambridge.
BRON A., 1999, The price of immigration. Life stories of two Poles in Sweden, International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 36, No. 2.
BRON A., 2000, Floating as an analytical category in the narratives of polish immigrants to Sweden, [in:] E. Szwejkowska-Olsson, M. Bron, Jr. (eds.), Allvarlig debatt och rolig lek, En festskrift tillägnad Andrzej Nils Uggla, Uppsala Universitet, Centrum för multietnisk forskning, Uppsala.
BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., THUNBORG C., 2010, Struggles in student identity – A space for poetry, ESREA Life history and biography network conference, Växjö University College.
BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., THUNBORG C., 2012, To make a difference for the others and myself’: Second Generation Immigrants Students’ Learning Narratives in Sweden, ESREA Migration, racism, and xenophobia research network conference, Karl-Franzens Universität Graz.
BRON A., SCHEMMANN M. (eds.), 2002, Social science theories and adult education research, BSIEA Vol. 3, Lit. Verlag, Münster.
BRON A., THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2014, Ethnicity and class, does it Matter?, [in:] F. Finnegan, B. Merrill, C. Thunborg (eds.), Student voices on inequalities in European higher education, Routledge, London.
BRON A., THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2013, Theorizing learning lives of non-traditional students. Paper presented at the ESREA Life history and biographical research network, Canterbury, 28 February– 3 March 2013.
BRON A., WEST L., 2000, Time for stories; the emergence of life history methods in the social sciences, International Journal of Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 37, No. 2.
CASTELLS M., 1999, Flows, networks, and identitites: A critical theory of the information society, [in:] M. Castells, F. Ramon Flecha, P. Freire, A.H. Giroux, P. Willis (eds.) Critical education in the new information age, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham.
EZZY D., 1998, Theorizing narrative identity: symbolic interactionism and hermeneutics, The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 2.
FENWICK T., 2006, Escaping/becoming subjects. Learning to work the boundaries in boundaryless work, [in:] S. Billet, T. Fenwick, M. Somerville (eds.), Work, subjectivity and learning. Understanding Learning Through Working Life, Springer, Dortrecht.
FIELD J., 2012, Transitions in lifelong learning: Public issues, private troubles, liminal identities, Studies for the Learning Society, No. 2–3.
GIDDENS A., 1991, Modernity and self-identity. Self and society in the modern age, Cambridge Polity Press, Cambridge.
GLASER B., 2002, Conceptualisation. On theory and theorising using grounded theory, [in:] A. Bron, M. Schemmann (eds.), Social science theories and adult education research, BSIEA, Vol. 3, Lit. Verlag, Münster.
GLASER B., STRAUSS A., 1967, The discovery of grounded theory. Strategies for qualitative research, University Press, Chicago.
HANSON NORWOOD R., 1965, Patterns of discovery. An inquiry into the conceptual foundations of science. University Press, Cambridge.
HOCHSCHILD A., 1979, Emotion work, feeling rules, and social structure, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 85, No. 3.
HOCHSCHILD A., 1983, The managed heart: The commercialization of human feeling, The University of California Press, Berkeley.
JARVIS P., 2009, Learning to be a person in society, Routledge, London.
KELLE U., 2007, “Emergence” vs. ”forcing” of empirical data? A crucial problem of “grounded theory” reconsidered, Historical Social Research, Supplement, No. 19.
MEAD G.H., 1934, Mind, self and society. A standpoint from a social behaviorist, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
MERTON R.K., 1967, On theoretical sociology, The Free Press, New York.
MEZIROW J., 1978, Perspective transformation, Adult Education Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2.
PEIRCE C.S., 1974, 1979, Collected Papers, Published by C. Hartshore, P. Weiss, A. Burks, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
RANLHE – www.dsw.edu.pl/fileadmin/www-ranlhe/index.htm
SWEDBERG R., 2012, Theorizing in sociology and social science: turning to the context of discovery, Theor. Soc., No. 41.
THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2011, Forming and transforming learning identities in higher education, [in:] L. Jögi, K. Krabi (eds.), Raamat Öppimisest (The book of learning), Tallinn Ûlikooli Kasvatusteaduste Instituut, Tallinn.
THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2012, Forming learning identities in higher education in Sweden, Studies for the Learning Society, No. 2–3.
THUNBORG C., BRON A., EDSTRÖM E., 2013, Motives, commitment and student identity in higher education – Experiences of non-traditional students in Sweden, Studies in Education of Adults, Vol. 45, No. 2.
THUNBORG C., EDSTRÖM E., 2010. Changing learning identities in higher education, [in:] B. Merrill, J.G. Monteagudo (eds.), Educational journeys and changing lives. Adult student experiences, Vol. 1, Édición Digital@tres, Sevilla.