BERA Bites 15

EDUCATING FOR ALL

Coherent lives: Making sense of adoptees’ experiences in education through narrative identity

ANDREW BROWN UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

‘Who am I? Where do I fit in? What do I want to be?’ These are common questions we associate with adolescent development. 1 For young people who have left care through adoption, these questions about identity and self have added layers of nuance and complexity that may not be fully appreciated by peers, extended family or adults in the school workforce. These extra layers, and their potential implications for educational experience, are explored in this blog post and discussed in greater detail in our study (Brown & Shelton, 2024). Our study considers the potential of applying a ‘narrative adoptive identity’ perspective (Grotevant & von Korff, 2011) to answer questions about how 1 Original blog post, published 17 April 2024: https://www. bera.ac.uk/blog/coherent-lives-making-sense-of-adoptees- experiences-in-education-through-narrative-identity

adopted young people experience school as an ‘adopted’ person; that is, how does their lived experience as an adopted member of a school community impact on how they engage with their school, schoolwork and social network? We theorise that by taking this approach to understanding adoptees’ unique challenges, opportunities for better educational experience may be enhanced. ‘Our study shows a dearth of academic research into adoption and education,

and that the voice of adoptees is strikingly absent.’

BERA BITES 15 | EDUCATING FOR ALL

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