Narrative Identity Dimensions of Students in Private Alternative Schools

Abstract

This study examines how students’ identities are co-constructed through educational experiences. We analyzed narratives of fifth and seventh grade students from two private alternative schools in the Czech Republic. The findings reveal that students identified with friends, had positive relationships with teachers and the school, and experienced interesting education, closeness, and respect. These insights highlight typical identity characteristics for their age group and emphasize the importance of positive educational experiences in shaping students’ identities. This study contributes to research on narrative identity and the role of alternative private schools in primary and lower secondary education.

Plain Language Summary

This study explored student identity through written narratives of fifth and seventh grade students from two private alternative primary and lower secondary schools. The researchers collected data from 65 students using a narrative approach, where students wrote about important school experiences. The topics of narratives highlighted common experiences with classmates during school trips or projects, encompassing enjoyable activities, friendships, hobbies, and situations involving shame or conflicts. The form of the narrative structure reflected students’ age and developmental stage, following a chronological order, and including references to food, sleep, and boredom. Causal chaining and goal orientation were identified in the storytelling. The primary focus of this research centered on students’ social identity in relation to other school actors. With classmates, students emphasized the importance of being with their best friends, describing fun activities, cooperation, and positive relations. Conflict situations and their resolution also appeared to contribute to identity shaping. Regarding teachers, students expressed respect, gratitude, and a sense of partnership in learning. Teachers were seen as supportive, providing interesting education and shared aspects of their personal lives. This study highlights the significance of friendships, positive class experiences, and supportive teacher-student relationships in shaping student identity. However, it is important to acknowledge certain study limitations. The narratives were co-constructed, introducing potential subjectivity in their interpretation. The findings may also be specific to the pandemic, and students might not have included all relevant information in their narratives. Awareness of these limitations is important when interpreting the study’s outcomes.

Introduction

Researching students’ narrative identity is a way to understand not only students themselves, but also to understand the educational processes and school culture. Considering learning as both knowledge and identity construction necessitates that identity construction becomes an integral part of the curriculum to complement knowledge construction (Varelas et al., 2020). Narrative investigations show what learners say about their lived and imagined experiences (Barkhuizen, 2014) and enable us to investigate the instruction from the point of view of learners. An important aspect of these processes is how students perceive themselves (who they are) and how their narrative identity is formed by the influence of the educational process, by the school interaction and by the influence of the school culture.

Published narrative research of students’ identity is often focused on disadvantaged students (e.g., alternative schools in the USA, schools with a majority of different minorities like Black people, Latinos, migrants; and in relation to curriculum (science, music, and especially language teaching) and higher education (Archakis, 2022; Holmegaard et al., 2015; Martínez-Sierra et al., 2022; Mei & Pe Symaco, 2022; Paananen, 2022; Simpson, 2011; Varelas et al., 2020). Our research aims at the other side of the spectrum – at private primary and lower secondary alternative schools, which can be perceived as elite schools, around which families of students with high socio-economic status accumulate (Levin et al., 2013). Since private schools are linked to the reproduction of inequalities in society (Bittencourt, 2021), there is a need to investigate how private schools address their students’ experiences from the students’ perspective.

In our research, we do not focus only on individual subjects taught, but on students’ narrative identity in relation to the school as a whole and the school actors. The aim of our research is to find out what narrative identity dimensions appear in the students’ narratives of Czech private alternative primary and lower secondary schools.

Narrative Student Identity

The theoretical framework for our research is the theory of narrative identity. We conceptualize identity in accordance with Edwards and Burns (2016) as dynamic, multisided, negotiated and co-constructed in the interaction of actors and conditions. Archakis (2022) work on the research of identity construction of immigrant students in their narratives with the concept of a continuum of identities, that is, students do not have one identity but several possible identities (e.g., moral, spiritual, gender, family, cultural, group, and school identity). These various student identities influence the educational process and concurrently, the educational process forms the students’ identities, as school education is an integral part of the process of molding the identity of new generations (Szczurek-Boruta, 2022). It is important to consider the influence of culture on identity as well, as identity is conceptualized as a fluid, multifaceted process, constantly in flux, informed by intersecting roles and cultural contexts (Ronkainen et al., 2016) and communicated as a single, cohesive story (McAdams, 2001).

Students’ identity is currently conceptualized as narrative identity, among others. Students construct their identity in a story they tell (Freeman, 1991). They try to understand the chronology of situations and act within them (Carrithers, 1992). Narrative identity is understood as a never-ending story constructed in time and space, that is, as a constructional and relational process (Somers, 1994). Researchers have examined the process of self-authorship through an examination of an array of types of narratives, from the high and low points of our lives, to self-defining memories and turning points, all of which constitute important moments in our lives and can be fodder for the larger life story (McLean et al., 2020).

The narrative point of view in the research of students’ identity is developed by different methodological approaches and disciplines. Narrative psychology contributes with new knowledge on how students’ choices are an ongoing process of identity formation being negotiated over time. From around the 1970s studies about narrative identity appeared in psychology which attempted to understand personality differently than by examining and measuring. In the foreground are qualitative research methods (Holmegaard et al., 2015). In narrative psychology, self-narratives are perceived as information on sources of identities. Individuals come to know who they are through the stories they tell about specific events in their life (Paananen, 2022).

Our research is anchored only partly in psychology through the characteristics of the narrative competence of adolescents (see next chapter). We adopt a socio-cultural perspective of narrative identity. The core of this approach lies in the assumption that students construct identities through their engagement in an activity associated with others (Wenger, 1998). School represents one of the key surroundings for forming identity because learning of any sort “is an experience of identity” (Wenger, 1998). School is widely understood as a space enacted by adults – but in reality, it is arguably better seen as a set of interacting spaces co-enacted by children and adults (Sime et al., 2021). Understanding students’ ways of being in worlds such as school could offer an invaluable view into their identity construction (Varelas et al., 2020). Thus, for a productive exploration of identity construction, we need to explore the ways in which students’ multiple identities are intertwined with the role relationships they associate with these identities. We also need to consider both how these relationships relate to social and other structures and how they motivate behavior and emotions and relate to an individual’s agency. (Varelas et al., 2015) For instance, Jackson and Seiler (2017) demonstrated the significance of fostering solidarity, support, and a sense of togetherness among teachers and fellow students with those who were positioned as “not smart or motivated enough to excel in science.” They emphasized the importance of students’ ability to ask questions, demonstrating competence, which played a pivotal role in their success in science class and potentially contributed to their future identification with science.

Identity of Students at Private Alternative Schools

Many schools focus on development of sense of belonging or school identity (Flitcroft & Kelly, 2016), but public schools seem to be often unaware of the many ways in which they impact the identity development of students (Verhoeven et al., 2019). Private alternative schools generally focus on this more than public mainstream schools as they focus on the sense of belonging not only with students but as well with parents and teachers and it is typically one of their main specific characteristics. Students, parents, and teachers at private alternative schools are on average more active in the school community, more education oriented, from families with a good relation to education or from families that need an individualized approach that other schools are not offering.

In terms of student identity, a sense of shared identity can be exploited not only in private schools in getting students to be more involved in classroom decision-making through teachers willing to relinquish a certain part of their authority to the students (Idrus, 2015). Not only for this reason private schools are an elite and exclusive surrounding which defines a specific type of learning experience (Bittencourt, 2021). Moreover, socioeconomic background plays a role as students in these schools may share a belief in the assuredness of inherited advantage (Bittencourt, 2021) and intensive mothering may inform the lives of children at a private school (Caputo, 2007). Thus, a private alternative school background seems to be an important space for identity construction.

Students’ Psychological Specifics and Narrative Competence

In our research, we focus on students at the age of 10 to 11 (fifth grade of primary education) and 13 to 14 (second grade of lower secondary education in the Czech Republic). These age groups represent a specific context for identity development.

Regarding identity, in middle childhood (roughly ages 8–12) it is typical that students often compare themselves and their skills to other children. These social comparisons begin to influence their self-esteem (Frey & Ruble, 1990), for example, a student sees that she can’t throw a ball as far as her schoolmates, or run as fast, and concludes that she is not as good at sports as others. Children’s self-esteem is often domain-specific (Smith, 2014), that is, they differentiate between their abilities in different domains (i.e., the girl will say she is not good at sport, but she is good at math). They are beginning to make trait-attributions for themselves, for example, the girl believing that she will never be good at sport, but she will continue to be good at math. At the age of 12 adolescence starts (until the age of 21) along with sexual maturation and quick physical growth.

From the point of view of developmental psychology, the investigated students are in the process of identity formation, and they have not formed a stable self-concept yet (identity diffusion –Marcia, 1980). According to Erikson (1963) the main task of adolescents (12–19 years) is to form their own feeling of personal identity. Adolescents go through a period of identity crisis that is a part of healthy psychological development when they ask themselves the questions who they are and where they are going; they try out different roles and ways of behavior and neglect the ways that do not fit for them, that is, they re-evaluate own old values and choices.

In our view, students’ identity is co-constructed by their own narratives and the narratives of others. The narratives of younger learners are specific compared to adults. As described in narrative psychology (Chrz, 2007; Ricoeur, 1984) the narrative competence of young learners consists in the precondition for narrative structuring (1), the ability to create fiction stories (2), and the ability to create lived stories (3). The precondition for narrative structuring refers to the foundational cognitive and linguistic abilities that individuals, especially young learners, must possess to effectively structure and engage in the creation and interpretation of narratives. These abilities include the capacity to sequence events, connect them logically, understand cause-and-effect relationships, and have a basic grasp of narrative elements such as characters, settings, and plot development. The development of narrative structure is dependent on an understanding of the intentionality of human behavior.

Students of the fifth grade (compared to younger learners) use clearer causal chaining and goal-oriented story telling. In 11-year-old students (Chrz, 2007) we can observe stories about life paths. The basis of the stories are descriptions of their own activities, for example, sports. These stories help students to be aware of who they are and what they can expect in their lives.

Research Design

To investigate narrative student identity, we chose a narrative approach mirroring the identity and narrative of a student (Holstein & Gubrium, 2000). Students of the fifth and seventh grades of two primary and lower secondary private schools (school year 2020/21, 4 classes, n = 65) wrote a short story about a situation that was important for them, that they experienced in school, and in which they played a main role. This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation in the project Narrative Identities of Participants in Education at Private Alternative Schools [grant number GA20-12828S].

Narrative research developed especially over the last 35 years and is related to the analysis of narrative materials (life story, storytelling). As Riessman (2008) mentions, the term “narrative research” encompasses a wide range of approaches that vary in terms of data types, theoretical perspectives, epistemological positions, research questions, and even definitions of narrative. According to Lieblich et al. (1998), the term “narrative research,” in its broadest sense, can be applied to any study that utilizes or analyzes narrative material. A narrative or story can be the subject of research interest (e.g., life story), the narrative perspective can be emphasized in the research method (e.g., narrative interview), and the data analysis method (narrative analysis). Our approach emphasizes all three elements to varying degrees. We utilized narrative material (students’ written stories), and our analysis was inspired by Narrative Oriented Inquiry (NOI) as outlined by Hiles and Čermák (2008), where the narrative aspect (Čermák et al., 2013) can be seen in the method of data collection (narrative interviews) as well as in the method of data analysis (narrative analysis). In our research, the boundaries between the story and its interpretation are blurred because, from a methodological standpoint, the stories themselves already represent interpretations (Riessman, 2008). The voices of students are conveyed through direct quotations of their written expressions.

Research Aim and Research Questions

The aim of the study is to contribute to research on narrative identity and the role of alternative private schools in primary and lower secondary education. Our research questions focus on students’ general narrative identity related to education and they were divided into two main areas as follows:

• •Which identity dimensions are manifested by students at primary and lower secondary private alternative schools in their written identity narratives?

• •How are these identities related to school actors (classmates, teachers, school principal, their parents, and siblings), class and school, and to the principles and practices of the given alternative school?

Sample

The sample consists of four classes of two private alternative schools in a reasonably large city in the Czech Republic. The schools were chosen by intentional sampling as they represented private schools, new alternatives appearing in the Czech Republic. Both schools cover all nine compulsory education grades and are ethnically homogeneous. Generally, the number of migrants in the Czech Republic is very low. Data collection took place before the migration wave resulting from the war in Ukraine. In Czech schools, in term of ethnic diversity, there are Roma children, some of whom attend segregated schools in specific areas. Compared to other schools in the Czech Republic, the investigated private schools were smaller, with class sizes of around 20 students in primary education and around 10 students in the lower secondary level, which was just starting. In comparison to public schools (Czech Statistical Office [CZSO], 2021, p. 4), the class size in primary education was on average similar, but compared to other private schools, it was higher (private schools had an average of 11.8 students per class).

From each school we investigated two classes. From school 1 we had 27 narratives from fifth grade students and 10 from the seventh grade. From school 2 we had 27 narratives (7 students were from the seventh grade and 20 from the fifth grade). In total we had 4 classes (n = 65). The average age of fifth-graders was 10 to 11 years, while seventh-graders were around 13 to 14 years old. The sample included an equal proportion of male and female students. The data were collected in the school year 2020/21 during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Data Collection Method: Students’ Written Narratives

Narrative oriented inquiry (NOI) according to Hiles and Čermák (2008) was selected as the methodological approach for students’ written narratives. In this approach, we focus on the relationship between the story that is being told (fabula), the re-telling (sjuzet) of that story, and an inevitably obscured teller (identity). Story (as fabula) is what is depicted in a narrative, and discourse (as sjuzet) is the how (Chatman, 1978, p. 19). In the narrative (story) the authors order situations chronologically one after the other, connect them in a causal way and construct a plot, a story line (Ricoeur, 1985). The story both reveals the reality and forms it as well, that is, the story is not a true picture of reality: it always includes interpretation and reconstruction of a happening, a situation. Narrative can contain an intentional twist of reality, for example by not giving all the information to make the story more interesting, funnier or to show the desired me. We try to estimate the level of unreliability in the research.

Narrative research started 50 years ago and in education it focused especially on teachers’ professional life history, the life history of teachers-mothers, exceptional teachers, autobiographies of teachers, narrative curriculum analysis (e.g., Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Gao, 2021; Kasperiuniene & Zydziunaite, 2019). Students’ narratives have relatively seldom been used.

In our study, the students’ narratives were collected via short written narratives on a key story (topic focused, not life histories) that had the same instructions for the fifth graders as for the seventh graders: “Write a story about a situation that you experienced at school. It should be about something that is important for you, and you were playing an active role in this situation. Describe it in as much detail as possible and as specifically as possible. You do not need to worry; the teacher will not share the stories with others; they will be used in research in an anonymous way.”

We collected data during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic from September 2020 to June 2021. Students mostly wrote their texts at school, and some at home during the online school period. The results of our research might therefore be specific for this pandemic situation, particularly in terms of which situations the students considered important. The students were asked to write stories from their past, with the majority of these stories predating the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. These stories covered various topics, such as trips, class competitions, and activities both inside and outside of school. Only a few stories referred to changes in their lives due to the pandemic, such as taking an animal from school home or expressing a preference for in-person school attendance over online learning. Students also remembered the beauty of school trips in comparison to being confined at home. Students were instructed to select and describe a significant school-related situation without a specified time frame.

The written narratives were administered by the teachers, primarily during Czech lessons, and subsequently collected by them. They were then scanned and sent to us via email. The original student handwriting was transcribed into electronic form for computerized analysis. We obtained written informed consent from the school principals, class and subject teachers, and the legal representatives of the students (parents). The students’ narratives were anonymous, and students voluntarily agreed to write them when asked by their teachers.

Narrative Data Analysis

First, students’ handwritten texts were transcribed in electronic documents. The names of students, teachers, schools, families, and specific locations were anonymized for the purpose of this study to ensure participant safety and privacy. The data were imported into the qualitative data analysis software, Atlas.ti and analyzed according to the principles of narrative analysis (Čermák et al., 2013).

First, we thoroughly familiarized ourselves with the collected narrative data, that is, we repeatedly read the students’ texts without a specific focus and created an overall idea about the students’ stories and their context, which constituted the primary level of our interpretations.

After this, the narratives were open coded and categorized based on our research question. Open coding involved reading through the texts and assigning initial codes to segments or passages (discursive items) that were relevant to our research questions. In our case, the research question pertained to identity dimensions related to various school actors, classes, schools, and school principles and practices.

Then, we identified recurring themes, patterns, and variations within the narratives. We looked for patterns in how students expressed their identities concerning school actors, class, school, and principles/practices. Attention was paid to narrative elements such as characters (school actors), settings (class, school), and plot development (interactions with principles/practices) within the narratives.

Next, we analyzed the narrative structure (sjuzet) in the narratives. We examined how students structured their stories, the language they used, and the storytelling techniques employed. We explored how the narrative structure reflects the relationships and dynamics between the students and various school-related elements.

Following that, we mapped the connections and interactions between students’ identities and school actors, class, school, and principles/practices. In a contextual analysis, we considered the broader context of the narratives, including the specific private alternative schools, their philosophies, and educational practices. We analyzed how these contextual factors influenced the manifestation of identity dimensions. We conducted a comparative analysis to identify similarities and differences in identity dimensions across different narratives, classes, or schools. This provided insights into common themes and unique experiences. Finally, we interpreted and synthesized the findings in the context of your research questions. The interpretation perspective of collective levels of students’ identity from the point of view of other actors of education was used.

Validity Threats of the Research

Students’ narratives are always co-constructed by the researchers (e.g., by the instructions for the written narratives) and the findings interpretation is co-constructed as students are interpreting what is happening and researchers interpret students’ narratives. Mishler (1986) refers to “the joint construction of meaning.” Josselson and Lieblich (2001) write about “shared participation in a matrix of signification.” In this sense we need to understand our data and results of our research as co-constructed.

The construction of the narratives by students also means that not everything relevant must be described in the narrative. Students do not remember some things (compare Smith, 2014– false memories etc.) or they describe older stories, but this is good for identity research as it is important what they remember and what they report (in our data food, feelings, friends,…) as this might be important things in their lives or just things they remember and share with researchers (they do not necessarily need or want to share some things with teachers and others, but in our data it looks as if students were sharing without this concern).

Validity threat might be also satisfactory transparency of the data analysis, and replicability of the research itself. In the analysis, as researchers we decide where the story starts and ends and what kind of story it is. As every piece of research contains specific validity threats, it is useful to keep these in mind while interpreting outcomes and applying them.

Findings

Our findings are divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides a description of the fabula, that is, the topics of students’ identity narratives. The second is focused on sjuzet, that is, the form of the identity-related narratives of students. The main third chapter consists of the findings regarding the social narrative identity of students in relation to other school actors as classmates, teachers, school principals, and family.

The Fabula: The Topic of Students’ Identity Narratives

The students’ identity was deducted from their narratives about a school situation. Student chose a narrative of common experiences with their classmates/friends from school trips or interesting common project activities at the school or outside the school (skiing course, trip to Finland, night walk alone through the forest to show courage; overnight sleeping at school, craft fair, television broadcasting at school, theater, project called “alphabet of finances,” floorball competition against another class, etc.). The students described fun, interesting activities, enjoyment from being together, their qualities and hobbies. Nevertheless, narratives also appeared where students described their shame, conflict with a classmate or the disappearance of worries from starting a new school and the help of a teacher in the discipline of students (stealing Pokémons).

The Sjuzet: The Form of Students’ Identity Narratives

The form of students’ narratives was naturally age specific (e.g., level of developed sentences, the content, topics, formulations). Students told their narratives in the chronology of a day. Very often they repeatedly related to food as a source of experience and sensation satisfaction and as a time framework of activities during the day. They referred to sleeping as an important framework for the day, a long time (of waiting) on travels, trips, and their thoughts about being bored. In accordance with developmental psychology, we identified causal chaining as well as the aim orientation of the story telling (compare Chrz, 2007). “Causal chaining” is a storytelling technique in which events or actions in the narrative are linked together in a cause-and-effect sequence. This means that the narrator presents a series of events or actions in such a way that one event leads to the next, creating a chain of causality. In students’ narratives, causal chaining was used to explain how a sequence of events or decisions led to a specific outcome or experience. It served as mean to provide context and explain the progression of events in a story.

Social Identity: Students’ Narrative Identity in Relation to Other Actors at the School

The narrative of students is constructed by relationships and experiences in situations, and based on our research question, we focused on how students relate to the school actors, and we built on identity as a relational phenomenon: how students talk about other school actors, that is, how they relate to them.

Students’ identity in relation to classmates: Being with the best friends

Students often wrote that they wanted to be and tried to be with their best friend. They described experiences with the ones they like (best friends). They focused on who will be with whom in the room, who sleeps next to whom, who will sit next to whom. They called classmates friends. They often mentioned the fact of going somewhere and a friend being there already as important (in the class, train, bus, at the bus stop, etc.). Students differentiated between girls and boys but co-operated across the genders. Girls preferred girls, and boys preferred boys. Most of the stories were about friends, games played together (war, football), fun, amazing activities, about trips abroad with friends from school, and traveling together. Students described playing with friends before the lesson starts. A few students described shame situations that happened to them. Students reported positive relations to friends: it is important for them to have friends and to be accepted in the group.

Students were friends: they liked each other, looked forward to being together, wanted to be together and friendship was a value for them:

“When we arrived at the train station I met Ellen, Sofia and Nela there, and we were looking forward to it so much. It is a pity that Aga was not there. Me and my girlfriends went to the train. It was a very long journey; it took two hours. In the train we were bored a lot and we were looking forward to the trip.” (School 1, fifth grade, girl 5)

Students were helping each other, supporting each other, and preferring to do things together: “It was evening, the evening before the Path of Courage. I was really looking forward to it, but I was also quite scared because I’m afraid of the forest even during the day… Us girls were planning who would go with whom, but we couldn’t agree… The youngest went first, and that was us. Ela and I agreed that she would wait for me in the woods and go ahead of me. So, we waited for a while, and then Ela’s turn came, so she went. I waited for about 5 minutes among the others, and I was quite scared. Well, after 5 minutes, I also went out. Ela was waiting behind a tree, and we started walking. After a while, while we were talking, Ela heard a wild boar. I didn’t hear anything, so we thought she might have imagined it. But then I heard it too. We stopped, and we heard it again. At that moment, we started running back to the beginning…” (School 2, seventh grade, girl 7, note: recording of a boar)

Students appreciated each other as people: “My first week at the school I went by tram to school. Then I learned that there are great people here and I even met new friends.” (School 1, fifth grade, boy 11)

Students borrowed each other’s things: “I woke up unusually early to be on time for the bus. In the bus we are not supposed to have telephones. It was a long and boring journey that took about 8 hours. I was sitting with my friend Hynek and next to our double seat were Roman and Sven. They had noughts and crosses and ladders, so we borrowed them for a while.” (School 1, fifth grade, boy 21)

Students were creative together, and they described this creativity as a favorite memory (snowballs fighting ad hoc with another class, throwing them at each other, competition for stones).

Narratives with a conflict situation were also presented in our data as a strong memory. They were written with good ends, giving us hope that they could positively impact students’ identity:

“During the break in between lessons after having a snack we were hiding from each other. It was fun, but later it went wrong, and it was not so great anymore. I regretted that I destroyed the fun for the others and that a classmate was rough to me and shouted at me because of it. Then, when we were leaving, I saw my classmate Anja cry. I came up to her and asked her why she was crying. She told me that the other girls did not want to talk to her much and did not want to be with her. I told her it would resolve itself somehow. In the end we are good friends and maybe even best friends from the school.” (School 1, fifth grade, girl 17)

The teachers expected the students to apologize and treat each other nicely: “A threat at school. It was a normal day like all the other days. Nothing was going on, but suddenly something terrible happened in the school. In the corridor a girl was aggressive more than a bull. In the corridor there was a wooden castle that did not look like a castle at all. Me, Martin, and Petr entered it and blocked its exit. But the girl found a more aggressive way. She came up to me and hit me with her slipper. That would not have bothered me but then she bit me in the arm. But then she was in trouble because the teacher went by and sent us into the classroom and waited for an apology from the girl. The apology was not nice at all, but then everybody avoided her for 2 weeks. She deserved it. Yes, and about the biting, I was bothered that my T-shirt was dirty.” (School 1, seventh grade, boy 8)

Students tried to react in a mature way to situations that were quite difficult for them: “We could also try virtual reality. First, I did not want to much, but then I started thinking that it could be fun. The game concept was that I was standing on a board (very high), and a pigeon was flying around me, and I jumped down. At the beginning, when I was on the board, some people started pushing me. Until today I don’t know who it was. Then somebody pushed me too much and I fell. I felt the string stretch that was connected to the virtual reality and the computer. I nearly broke it. I felt embarrassed, but at the same time it felt ridiculous. Luckily, I managed not to think about the scene and enjoyed the rest of the day.” (School 1, seventh grade, girl 9)

Students manifested a class identity in their narrative. They mentioned the fifth-grade class name “Ants.” They liked to play sport games against another class. They distinguished their classroom identity compared to younger/older classes and to other classes in connection what they know, manage, and who is winning in sport. They differentiated which group works the best, especially according to teachers.

Students’ identity in relation to teachers: Partners in learning

Students reported a positive relation to teachers; they respected them. Students were thankful for their teachers and liked them. Teachers were students’ partners, providing support, acknowledgment, appreciation, and interesting education. Teachers shared their private world with students (they took them to visit teachers’ friends in a foreign country), they stayed overnight with them at school, etc. Students reported a warm relationship to school and teachers. They liked school, their teachers and they will be missing them when they continue their studies at another school of a higher educational level. One student mentioned because the school is close to his place, he will sometimes meet his teachers and “unusual” classmates (School 2, fifth grade, girl 4).

Compared to public schools, teachers were very often called by their first names, which probably influences the formation of students’ identity toward authority in education: “After we checked in, we went to Viktor. Viktor is our teacher. We asked him if we could play football, and he said no, but tomorrow we can.” (School 1, fifth grade, boy 11) Students saw teachers and other staff as humans; they liked them and had human respect toward them. Teacher and students had a friendship-based relationship with mutual respect. Students liked their teachers and appreciated that the teachers teach in an interesting, playful way, and organize activities for them and school trips (sleeping at school, a trip to Finland, Ireland, skiing, baking of Christmas cakes, a craft fair, television broadcasting, centers of activities, projects like 17th November when the teacher took in costumes, sport competitions of classes, etc.): “I was in Group 3, and we had a great teacher. Her name was Maria, and everything we did was fun.” (School 1, fifth grade, girl 25)

“School 2 is a great school. I like it because the teachers here are more lenient with us. They teach us in a playful way, which I really enjoy. Instead of writing essays, we have television broadcasts, which means that our teacher always gives us a topic, and we have to come up with something for it. Then, on a specific day, we present it on an old television that we have at school. We also have activity centers. These are organized by our teacher, and at the end of the lessons, we split into groups and go to a specific center. I wish all schools were like School 2!” (School 2, fifth grade, girl 13)

Students explicitly mentioned in their narratives that teachers sometimes let them choose who they will be in a team with, or in a room on most of the school trips. The respect toward students was also manifested in the situation that students could have a substitute meal like cereal if they did not like the lunch. The teachers were presented as welcoming toward students’ hobbies and activities, and they prepared competitions and gave prizes.

We can conclude that in relation to teachers, students formulated their identity as students that are liked by the teachers, as students that are treated by their teachers with respect and love. The teachers prepared interesting learning experiences for them and were close to them. A strong aspect at the private alternative schools was doing things together.

Students’ identity in relation to the school principal: Respect and equality as human beings

Students were treated as adults and equals by the school principal. He was very approachable and maintained direct contact with them: “The principal told me something about the school and asked me what I like. He wanted to know me, which was nice. When we finished talking, he gradually showed me the school. He asked if I want to attend this school. I answered that I do not know.” (School 1, fifth grade, girl 15) The principal of school 2 was not explicitly referenced by students as a significant part of their stories from school.

Students’ identity in relation to parents and siblings: The gatekeepers opening the school

Regarding students’ identity as sons/daughters, students do not mention a complicated relationship with parents, rather a peaceful one, typically age specific: Parents are mentioned in the narratives as somebody who brings them to meeting points for the trips and picks them up after the trips. They mention them as those who provide control over the time and place of students’ activities: “Today we should go on a trip at school. I packed my things and went by car with my father and brother to the train station. When we went to the train station, I met Ellen, Sofia and Nela there, we were looking forward to it so much.” (School 1, fifth grade, girl 5)

The students’ learning results were presented to the parents, and the parents participated in school activities: “In the third grade, we had to perform a play about Saint Martin. I played a beggar to whom Martin gave a piece of his cloak. I enjoyed this role. I had to learn the lines with my friends and prepare a mask to wear during the performance. We performed in front of our parents on Family Day. We even had roast duck with cabbage that our moms cooked. There was plenty of sweets and pastries on the table.” (School 2, fifth grade, boy 11).

The students’ narratives showed family group identity, they talked about themselves and parents as together: “we bought a tent,” they said goodbye to their parents, they were picked up by their parents and the dog, etc. In the narratives of students, siblings appeared as those who already knew the school, attended the school and they introduced the school to their siblings telling them that the school is amazing.

Discussion: Students’ Narrative Identity in Alternative Education

The investigated students at private alternative schools learned in free, respectful conditions. They learned interesting things in an interesting way. They had a positive relationship toward education, teachers, and their school and to being together with the others. Students appreciated these surroundings, conditions, education, teachers, and friends. They had a close, warm relationship to school, teachers, and classmates. On the other hand, our data showed that students were educated in an elite situation. Trips abroad such as skiing in Austria or flying to Finland are not common in public schools. Students and teachers had more opportunities to develop mutual relationships during these extracurricular activities and thus they cultivated good relationships and encouraged students to take responsibility for their actions. Our findings support findings by Te Riele et al. (2017) that teachers in mainstream schools have less scope for such affective work than private school teachers.

Compared to Varelas et al. (2020) researching African origin students in USA classrooms, in our data we did not identify a wide variety of identities, like the ethnical, racial, or religious identity of the students. This confirms that private schools are more homogenous in terms of student population than public schools and thus represent a specific environment for identity construction. An interesting point of view is that these school celebrate diversity, but this diversity is limited in terms of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background of students. The diversity celebrated here is more rooted in the individual learning needs of students.

The narratives of students were mostly positively oriented, which points to a school life quality of a private alternative school. In line with the research by Sime et al. (2021), our research has shown that children valued enjoyment, variety, and flexibility in their experiences of school and placed a high value on social relationships at school. Of course, based on selective memory, students might remember more positive things. Negative stories with a good end were in the dataset too. Nevertheless, we can conclude that this positive side of institutional education was characteristic for the students’ experiences of the two schools.

In the investigated private alternative schools, students’ identities were generally respected and celebrated, with an emphasis on individuality and diversity. As the schools were not ethnically, racially or gender diverse, the diversity observed was in students’ learning identities. The schools prioritized a holistic approach to education, which included not only academic learning but also personal growth. They offered a more flexible and personalized approach to education, allowing students to explore their interests and strengths in ways that traditional schools may not offer. These conditions might help students develop a stronger sense of self and identity.

Our findings may point to some theoretical implications in relation to the influence of school in adolescent identity (comp. Verhoeven et al., 2019). Firstly, from a more psychological point of view, the findings revealed typical age and gender differences. The girls mostly sought the company of girls (talking), while boys sought the company of other boys (sports competitions, etc.). Like Jackson and Seiler (2017), we found formation of solidarity with other students, but also with teachers. Secondly, in line with the socio-cultural perspective, our research findings appear to support the view that students’ identity is a multifaceted phenomenon rather than an unchanging characteristic of a student (Beijaard et al., 2004). We may have contributed to the challenge formulated by Varelas et al. (2015) that we need to explore the ways in which students’ multiple identities are intertwined with the role relationships they associate with these identities and consider both how these relationships relate to social and other structures and how they motivate behavior and emotions and relate to an individual’s agency.

The narrative identity of students at private alternative schools was strongly related to interesting education, close relationships to teachers and friends and school, shared experiences from traveling and project activities in school. This motivated pro-school behavior and emotions and related to an individual’s agency as a student.

In terms of teachers, it is important to consider how students perceive themselves in relation to their teachers. We can discuss this in the context of “Us” and “Them” dynamics and whether students’ identities involve “we-descriptions” (Knez, 2016), encompassing other students and teachers as well. In our data, we found instances of “we-descriptions,” which include schoolmates and teachers, along with passive forms (such as “I like that the material is presented to us in a different way”) instead of direct references to teachers. Most frequently, the terms “them” and “us/me” were used. The use of “we-descriptions” felt very natural when describing activities, while “they” or passive forms were employed when a teacher made requests or imposed restrictions.

As for teachers, the construction of teacher identity takes place in relation to curricular conversations with students as well as in other school spaces (e.g., lunchroom conversations) (Lojdová et al., 2021). The private school offers a space for more with extra-curricular activities, in which teachers can shape their identity, but also the common “WE” with the students. Jo (2014) found out the importance of relationships and professional commitment between the teaching staff and the school principal. Our students’ narrative data indirectly reflected positive relationships at both schools.

Parents often perceive private schools as better than public schools, especially in terms of meeting their expectations and their children’s needs (Green et al., 2017). From the students’ perspective, their academic and social needs are met at school, which may, in turn, meet the needs of parents.

Finally, we would like to highlight potential limitations of the study, as they are crucial for interpreting and generalizing the study’s findings. It’s important to recognize that narratives are inherently co-constructed, influenced by specific instructions, students’ interpretations of events, and researchers’ interpretations of the narratives. Additionally, the data used may have its constraints, as students might not have included all pertinent information in their narratives. Furthermore, it’s worth noting that the findings may be context-specific, particularly given that the narratives were written during the pandemic. We selected two private alternative schools from this school type in the Czech Republic, and our findings are primarily limited to these two schools. Hence, it is advisable to consider these limitations when continuing to work with the study’s findings.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has profoundly impacted students throughout the education system. Considering the community-oriented nature of the schools under investigation, it’s worth noting the significant impact of students being abruptly separated from their social groups almost overnight (Daniel, 2020). On the other hand, research by Zhang and Hwang (2023) suggests that online communication can effectively enhance student engagement, as students may feel less intimidated when typing comments in a chat window compared to face-to-face interactions. Both teachers and students had to adapt to new forms of communication in the absence of daily in-person interactions. Regarding student identity, Hatoss (2023) illustrates how young people negotiate their identities during Australia’s SARS-CoV-2 outbreak through everyday interactions. The pandemic created a challenging backdrop for students’ identity development, regardless of their ethnicity. However, online learning inadvertently deepened social inequalities. Notably, our research did not uncover experiences of exclusion and everyday racism, as documented in Hatoss (2023), likely due to the ethnically homogeneous nature of the investigated schools.

For future research directions, there is important work to be done in better understanding how private schooling can help students become critical and creative citizens, rather than merely reproducing social and economic inequalities and consider how these relationships are related to social and other structures, how they influence behavior and emotions, and how they are connected to an individual’s agency.