Abstract:
There is a growing recognition that identity formation must become an important goal in education. In the 21st century, when ways of building knowledge and accessibility to different types of knowledge are growing and diversifying rapidly, academic learning cannot be separated from the development of values, goals, social roles and worldviews in adolescents. This article presents the important role of the school and provides teachers with insights into how the development of adolescents' identity can be supported, bringing into discussion the results of theoretical and empirical studies. The findings highlight the complex, dynamic, indeterminate, and inherently contextualized nature of identity exploration. Teens feel the need to receive guidance from peers, parents, teachers, and other significant individuals or backgrounds to learn and practice effective identity exploration strategies and skills. Other studies suggest that exploratory learning experiences need to be meaningful and situated in a supportive classroom climate to encourage adolescent identity development. Many researchers and educators seem to agree that school would be more effective if teachers sought to correlate school activities and content with students' life experiences and interests. To a large extent, the type of people and activities in the school context frame and shape the experiences that serve as material for the exploration and formation of adolescents' identity.
