| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze personal narratives of school counseling students so as to better understand how they perceive the influence of their own adolescence on their present views regarding adolescence and counseling. Through the textual analysis of the narratives, we map their perceptions of adolescence and counseling. We consider if and how traditional adolescence views are replicate in the students’ narratives, and reflect on the students’ characterizations of the school counselor’s roles and tasks. The sample includes 34 female respondents aged between 25 and 47 years old. We show that many of the issues raised in the narratives seem to point to a perception of the participants of a need to radically change the school (institutional) culture. We conclude by pointing at the potential confluence between the narratives’ discourse and traditional conceptualizations in sociology and anthropology regarding the organization and practices of informal social spheres.Dr. Zvi Bekerman, teaches anthropology of education at the School of Education and The Melton Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His main interests are in the study of cultural, ethnic and national identity, including identity processes and negotiation during intercultural encounters and in informal learning contexts. He has also recently become involved in the study of identity construction and development in educational computer-mediated environments. He is one of the editors of the soon to be published “Learning in Places: The informal education reader” (Peter Lang).Dr. Moshe Tatar, Senior Lecturer with Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Counseling, School of Education, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Received Ph.D. in Psychology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His major research interests are adolescent help-seeking behaviors and attitudes, counseling adolescent immigrant populations, and parental perceptions of schools |
