Developed by

What is
Identity Literacy?

Evidence-based best practices to empower students to explore new possibilities.

Identity Literacy is a set of abilities which enable us to navigate the development of our identities more effectively.

Integrate

Can you critically integrate information you learn into your sense of self?

Our identities are made from cultural knowledge we've encountered in our lives through exposure to texts, social relationships and media. Identity Literacy enables students to critically assess and incorporate knowledge into the way we see and understand ourselves.

Reflect

Can you recognize how your identities drive your behaviors and attitudes towards others?

The configuration of our personal and group identities can affect our behaviors, choices, and attitudes toward others. Being able to 'zoom out' and see the hidden drivers of our actions provides critical "narrative choice and agency" and facilitates personal development in many ways.

Adapt

Can you change and adapt who you are depending on the context?

The ability to dynamically adapt personal and group identities has been shown to help overcome challenges, resolve conflicts, manage prosocial relationships, and self-actualize. In contrast, stuck, singular identities have been linked to vulnerabilities to manipulation, criminal influence, and antisocial behaviors.

IDENTITY LITERACY FAQ

What benefits does Identity Literacy bring to safeguarding practices?:

↘

Early identification of vulnerable individuals through identity mapping
Identification of complex underlying needs
More effective intervention by meeting those needs
Increase the effectiveness of preventative initiatives

What aspect of anti-bullying initiatives would benefit from Identity Literacy?

↘

Identity gives us a lens through which we can understand the deeper needs of perpetrators
Provide effective measures to increase ways in which those needs can be met
Increase resilience against bullying through pluralising identities

How does Identity Literacy work as a foundational layer for Mental Health and Wellbeing?

↘

Identify the deeper needs and provide appropriate support for pupils experiencing challenges
Pluralised identities provide multiple ways to meet the deeper needs which increases resilience
A mastery of identity literacy allows contextual flexibilities in identity expression as well as the ability to imagine different possibilities

Do you provide support and training to build teacher confidence in handling difficult conversations?

↘

We provide online workshops where these themes are discussed and capacities are built.
We have developed a micro course which provides advice on this topic.
We offer consultations on best practices and contextual strategy building and policy development.

IDENTITY LITERACY RESEARCH

What is Identity Literacy and why is it important?

↘

Identity literacy is a proficiency which sets out to provide the learner significant educational and life advantages, while also helping to avoid dangers that would otherwise negatively affect them and those around them. Identity literacy can be seen as an extension of cultural literacy and critical literacy, in that it relates to the ability to critically incorporate the cultural knowledge we encounter (e.g. in school texts and classrooms) into our own developing sense of who we are - or our personal identities (Schachter, E., & Galili-Schachter, I. 2012).

This evolving understanding of “who we are” - our personal identities - has been shown to impact with many other aspects of our individual and collective lives, such as: the way we make our life-choices, our sense of belonging to groups, our sense of validity or self-esteem, our view of who we are as learners - and therefore our levels of educational attainment, our well-being, our engagement in prosocial (or antisocial) behaviour, our personal development and self-actualisation, and our resilience to hardship, bullying, discrimination, and our approach towards interpersonal relationships, and even the way we categorise (and potentially stigmitise), others.

This is a long list of critical features, all of which can make individual life rich and meaningful, or impoverished and disempowering; many of which have significant knock-on effects for society-at-large. Indeed, when combined with challenges that are faced on a global scale - mass migration caused by conflict and climate, increasing levels of political cultural polarisation and mis/dis-information - promoting the ability to construct positive, resilient identities which can incorporate others into diverse yet cohesive communities, seems an essential educational, and even societal, goal.

How is Identity Literacy already achieved in education?

↘

Although defined in the academic education literature, identity literacy is not currently in general use within communities of educators. Indeed, there is no formal approach to incorporating identity into education, although a conceptual framework for “Identity Education” has been outlined (Schachter, E. P., & Rich, Y., 2011). This lack of a formal approach stands in contrast to the fact that educators currently informally - intentionally or unintentionally - engage in a range of practices which either positively or negatively impact student identities.

Reviewing 111 recent studies on the role of schools in identity development, Verhoeven, M., Poorthuis, A. M. G., & Volman, M. (2019) found that the positive impacts of an informally practised “identity education” occur most often through educators deliberately setting out to broaden, deepen or allow reflection on children’s exposure to ideas of who they can be and what they can represent. Through the use of texts, writing assignments, class discussions and (new or alternative) learning activities, Verhoeven, M., Poorthuis, A. M. G., & Volman, M. (2019) found that educators can variously:

“Invite (children) to adopt new interests, to identify undiscovered talents, and to try out new identity positions” (p49).
Allow students to “adjust their self-understandings in a positive way in relation to previously unavailable identity positions” (p50).
Engage “adolescents in (internal) dialogues can help them to learn more about what their interests are, about what they value, and about what kind of persons they want to become” (p51).
“Engage a variety of hands-on and on-site learning experiences to support adolescents in making identity commitments” (p51).
“Foster adolescents’ understanding of how their identity development is influenced by their sociocultural context” (p51).
In turn, helping them to “become aware of and critically assess societal inequalities (that) may foster their identity development and make them more resilient” (p52).

Conversely, negative impacts of this informal identity education tended to occur most often when educators were operating unintentionally. This was observed happening through a variety of ways including: selection/differentiation processes that separate and ascribe status to individuals and student groups; teaching practices and expectations which reflect educators’ biases across ethnicity, gender and perceived academic ability; and an environment of “peer norms”, which the school can reenforce, which may marginalise children with particular perceived or ascribed characteristics (2019). The impact of any one of these unintentional practices can impact the student’s ability to explore new versions of themselves, or act to reinforce existing negative or restricted self-images. Either outcome essentially reverses the positive impacts noted in the deliberate attempts to impact identity above.

Existing research thus clearly demonstrates a wide variety of positive and negative effects of an informally practised identity education - one that operates as part of a “hidden curriculum”. It is into this context that the Identity Literacy project aims to provide a practical, formalised, and evidence-based approach which can maximise the benefits, while actively managing the risks, of identity education.

Broadly, the Identity Literacy project aims to:

Assist educators to incorporate a formal Identity Education approach into their work in order to maximise educational goals and exert a positive influence on child development, resilience, safeguarding, peer-on-peer conflict/abuse, and self-actualisation.
Assist educators in understanding and avoiding negative unintentional consequences of teaching practices, educator expectations and biases, and institutional policies on the identities of their pupils.
Provide a testing and evaluation ground (particularly through technique distribution and practice guidelines) for further research on the efficacy of identity-based educational practices and approaches.
Help schools to increase the ability to reach a broad range of educational goals and contribute proactively to building community cohesion through incorporating best practices in identity education.

References

↘

Arnold, M. E. (2017). Supporting Adolescent Exploration and Commitment: Identity Formation, Thriving, and Positive Youth Development. Journal of Youth Development, 12(4), 1–15.

Arvaja, M. (2016). Building teacher identity through the process of positioning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 392–402.

Baran, M. (2007). ‘ Girl, You Are Not Morena. We Are Negras!’: Questioning the Concept of" Race" in Southern Bahia, Brazil. Ethos, 35(3), 383–409.

Bekerman, Z. (2009). THE COMPLEXITIES OF TEACHING HISTORICAL CONFLICTUAL NARRATIVES IN INTEGRATED PALESTINIAN-JEWISH SCHOOLS IN ISRAEL. International Review of Education, 55(2–3), 235–250.

Bekerman, Z., & Nir, A. (2006). Opportunities and Challenges of Integrated Education in Conflict-Ridden Societies: The Case of Palestinian-Jewish Schools in Israel. Childhood Education, 82(6), 327–333.

Ben-Nun, M. (2013). The 3Rs of integration: Respect, recognition and reconciliation; concepts and practices of integrated schools in Israel and Northern Ireland. Journal of Peace Education, 10(1), 1–20.

Brison, K. (2009). Shifting Conceptions of Self and Society in Fijian Kindergartens. Ethos, 37(3), 314–333.

Brock, C., Mcvee, M., & Barone, D. (n.d.). SOCIOCULTURAL POSITIONING IN LITERACY Exploring Culture, Discourse, Narrative, & Power in Diverse Educational Contexts.

Bruner, J. S. (1965). Man: A course of study. Occasional Paper. Educational Services, 3.

Change, S. (2017). EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH FOR SOCIAL September 2017 Educational Research for Social Change (Vol. 6).

Eisenhauer, S. (2019). Youths’ Individual Pathways Towards Contextual Well-Being: Utilizing Electrodermal Activity as an Ethnographic Tool at a Theater After-School Program. Ethos, 47(2), 168–189.

Elmore, K. C., & Oyserman, D. (2012). If ‘we’ can succeed, ‘I’ can too: Identity-based motivation and gender in the classroom. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 176–185.

Faircloth, B. S. (2012). ‘ Wearing a mask’ vs. Connecting identity with learning. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 186–194.

Flum, H., & Kaplan, A. (2012). Identity formation in educational settings: A contextualized view of theory and research in practice. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 240–245.

Gallo, S., & Link, H. (2016). Exploring the Borderlands: Elementary School Teachers’ Navigation of Immigration Practices in a New Latino Diaspora Community. Journal of Latinos and Education, 15(3), 180–196.

Germeijs, V., Luyckx, K., Notelaers, G., Goossens, L., & Verschueren, K. (2012). Choosing a major in higher education: Profiles of students’ decision-making process. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 229–239.

Guest, A. (2007). Cultures of Childhood and Psychosocial Characteristics: Self‐Esteem and Social Comparison in Two Distinct Communities. Ethos, 35(1), 1–32.

Hall, L. A. (2016). The Role of Identity in Reading Comprehension Development. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 32(1), 56–80.

Hammack, P. L. (2015). Theoretical Foundations of Identity. In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development. Oxford University Press.

Heffernan, K., Peterson, S., Peterson, S. K., Kaplan, A., & Newton, K. J. (2020). Intervening in Student Identity in Mathematics Education: An Attempt to Increase Motivation to Learn Mathematics. Journal on Mathematics Education, 15(3).

Hickman, N., Wolff, P., & Chung, P. (2022). Overcoming Human Harm Challenges in Digital Identity Ecosystems. Trust Over IP Foundation.

Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to Transgress. In Teaching to Transgress.

Jayusi, W., & Bekerman, Z. (2020). Yes, We Can! Palestinian-Israeli Teachers in Jewish-Israeli Schools. Journal of Teacher Education, 71(3), 319–331.

Jugert, P., Çolak, F. Z., & Civitillo, S. (n.d.). The Cambridge Handbook of Ethnic/Racial Discrimination and Youth Development.

Kaplan, A., & Flum, H. (2012). Identity formation in educational settings: A critical focus for education in the 21st century. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 171–175.

Korostelina, K. (2008). History education and social identity. Identity, 8(1), 25–45.

Lazaridou, F. B., Heinz, A., Schulze, D., & Bhugra, D. (2023). Racialised identity, racism and the mental health of children and adolescents. International Review of Psychiatry, 35(3–4), 277–288.

Leach, L., & Leach, L. (2011). ‘ I treat all students as equal ’: Further and higher education teachers ’ responses to diversity teachers ’ responses to diversity. 9486.

McDermott, R. P. (2010). The acquisition of a child by a learning disability. Understanding Practice, 269–305.

McGlynn, C., & Bekerman, Z. (2007). The management of pupil difference in Catholic‐Protestant and Palestinian‐Jewish integrated education in Northern Ireland and Israel. Compare.

McLean, K. C., Syed, M., Cooper, C. R., Gonzalez, E., & Wilson, A. R. (2015). Identities, Cultures, and Schooling. In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development. Oxford University Press.

McLean, K. C., Syed, M., Schwartz, S. J., Luyckx, K., & Crocetti, E. (2015). What Have We Learned Since Schwartz (2001)? In K. C. McLean & M. Syed (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Identity Development. Oxford University Press.

Meharg, D., Cairncross, S., & Varey, A. (2018). “So far back, I’m anonymous”: Exploring Student Identity using Photovoice. 1–9.

Menter, I. (Ed.). (2023). The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research.

Pascale Haag, Titouan Fantoni, & Stéphanie Dubal. (2022). Fostering Engagement, Reflexivity, and 21st-Century Skills in Middle School: A Pilot Collaborative Action Research on Identity Formation with Adolescent Co-Researchers. Journal of Intelligence, 10(3), 64–64.

Pollard, A. (2007). The Identity and Learning Programme: ‘Principled pragmatism’ in a 12-year longitudinal ethnography. Ethnography and Education, 2(1), 1–19.

Pollard, A., & Filer, A. (2007). Learning, differentiation and strategic action in secondary education: Analyses from the Identity and Learning Programme. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 28(4), 441–458.

Raeff, C. (2006). Individuals in relation to others: Independence and interdependence in a kindergarten classroom. Ethos, 34(4), 521–557.

Rajuan, M., & Bekerman, Z. (2011). Inside and outside the integrated bilingual Palestinian-Jewish schools in Israel: Teachers’ perceptions of personal, professional and political positioning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(2), 395–405.

Reese, E., Fivush, R., Merrill, N., Wang, Q., & McAnally, H. (2017). Adolescents’ intergenerational narratives across cultures. Developmental Psychology, 53(6), 1142–1153.

Resnik, J. (2006). Alternative identities in multicultural schools in Israel: Emancipatory identity, mixed identity and transnational identity 1. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27(5), 585–601.

Rich, Y., & Schachter, E. P. (2012). High school identity climate and student identity development. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 218–228.

Rushton, E. A. C., & Reiss, M. J. (2021). Middle and high school science teacher identity considered through the lens of the social identity approach: A systematic review of the literature. Studies in Science Education, 57(2), 141–203.

Schachter, E. P., & Galili-Schachter, I. (2012). Identity Literacy: Reading and teaching texts as resources for identity formation. Teachers College Record, 114(5), Advance online publication.

TCR

Schachter, E. P., & Rich, Y. (2011). Identity education: A conceptual framework for educational researchers and practitioners. Educational Psychologist, 46(4), 222–238.

Schlüter-Müller, S., Goth, K., Jung, E., & Schmeck, K. (2015). Assessment and Treatment of Identity Pathology During Adolescence. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 3(1), 63–70.

Scott, D., Bundick, M. J., & Johnson, R. (2012). The role of future work goal motives in adolescent identity development: A longitudinal mixed-methods investigation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 206–217.

Sinai, M., Kaplan, A., & Flum, H. (2012). Promoting identity exploration within the school curriculum: A design-based study in a Junior High literature lesson in Israel. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(3), 195–205.

Siteine, A. (2017). Recognising ethnic identity in the classroom: A New Zealand study. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 26(4), 393–407.

Smith, A. (2001). Religious segregation and the emergence of integrated schools in Northern Ireland. Oxford Review of Education.

Toren, C. (2007). Sunday lunch in Fiji: Continuity and transformation in ideas of the household. American Anthropologist, 109(2), 285–295.

Verhoeven, M., Poorthuis, A. M. G., & Volman, M. (2019). The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review. Educational Psychology Review, 31(1), 35–63.

Wang, Q., Wang, Q., Lan Hou, Hong, J.-C., Yang, X., & Zhang, M. (2022). Impact of Face-Recognition-Based Access Control System on College Students’ Sense of School Identity and Belonging During COVID-19 Pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 13.

Warin, J. (2015). Identity capital: An application from a longitudinal ethnographic study of self-construction during the years of school. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(5), 689–706.

What is Identity Literacy?