Adolescent Psychology midterm

Identity formation is a complex and multifaceted process for adolescents, particularly during middle school and early high school. Therefore, it is far more likely that students who appear disengaged to school faculty and administrators are actually navigating the multiple pathways to finding their own unique identities. It is simply unfair to assume that a student is not personally motivated when he or she is constructing an identity that reflects diverse social and/or cultural backgrounds. Na’ilah Suad Nasir writes about a student named Amanda in her article regarding student identities in learning contexts. Amanda is a highly achieving student “who spent her time in class appearing ‘disengaged’”. Although Amanda performed near the top of her class, her academic success did not seem to reflect her classroom behavior. However, Amanda’s identity was shaped by the people she interacted with, particularly her peers. Nasir states, “People act in accordance with their local settings, and... we cannot assume the meaning of those behaviors or determine which ones are identity relevant, and in which ways, without a perspective on what they mean in the local context”(Nasir, 2010). Therefore, it is a detriment to students like Amanda and the ones at the tutoring program to suggest that their own lack of motivation is at the root of their apparent disengagement. Rather, it is relative to the context they live in. In Nasir’s article, Amanda self-identified as smart, and her peers looked to her for academic help. However, researcher field notes described Amanda’s apparent disengagement, involving the passing of notes and answering her cell phone, which seemed “incongruous with [her] perception of herself and others’ perceptions of her as an exceptionally competent student”(Nasir, 2010). However, Nasir later explains that the school Amanda attended “had nonstandard norms for student attendance, engagement, and conduct”(Nasir, 2010) that made Amanda’s behaviors not an