Laziness and competence: The discursive social construction of resilient learner identity

Abstract

Students from marginalised and impoverished areas face significant challenges that increase the likelihood of school dropout and social exclusion. However, some students exhibit a resilient trajectory, completing compulsory studies and pursuing education beyond that level. To do so, these students must construct a learner identity that is coherent with school continuation while navigating the difficulties present in their context. The objective of this article is to examine the social construction of the learner identity of students who present such a resilient trajectory. The sample consisted of four focus groups of post-compulsory education students from Spain. Their discourse was studied qualitatively through an I-position and voices analysis, examining their view of themselves, the voices of their parents, teachers, peers and people from their neighbourhood, and the student’s view of others. 963 I-positions were identified, categorised, and analysed. The results indicated that the students developed a ‘lazy but capable’ view of themselves, in line with the social discourses present in the voices of their parents, teachers, and peers. Their voices served as resources for identity construction in interaction, which allowed the students’ confrontation and navigation of several risk factors from their context. Additionally, the view of others (i.e. enriched neighbourhoods) impacted the students’ construction of themselves. Lastly, the transformation of negative past self-views as positive ones in the present was frequent. The implications for psychosocial interventions in vulnerable neighbourhoods are discussed.