We tackled two major elements in this session:
- We explored a theoretical framework to help us make sense of what we might hear in our interviews, and
- We collaborated on a shared google doc of our interview questions and did another major revision of our interview protocol.
The theoretical framework that we explored is from the University of Chicago and is called Foundations for Young Adult Success. The framework explains that young adults are influenced by three main institutional settings – their home, school, and out of school activities. These settings have the potential to support young adults in developing a set of “foundation components” (self-regulation, knowledge and skills, mindsets, and values) as well as three “key factors” (agency, competencies, and integrated identity). Ideally, young people are supported in developing all of these attributes during their childhood and adolescence. Once they have developed those attributes, they should be well-prepared to make the transition into young adulthood.
The framework seems both simple and complex, providing in one sense a roadmap for young adults. Each attribute, however, requires clear explanation and reflection to fully understand how each develops and interacts with the others. Our research team broke into small groups to talk through the different elements of the framework, for instance, one group discussed Self-Regulation by
reflecting back on the sample interviews they had participated in. The group considered these reflection questions:
- How did the person you interviewed identify their goals and set priorities?
- Did they identify any person or activity that helped them do this?
In a perfect world, we would have had even more time as a team to dig into the details of this framework. Still, we collectively carried this added perspective on our research topic into another discussion of our interview questions.
- How can we make sure our interview questions are getting at the foundational components identified in this framework?
- Is there anything missing from the framework that we want to ask about?
We decided to add in questions about social capital to find out if the individuals we interview had support in networking or connecting with others to help them make the transition. The framework helped us focus our interview questions and will also help us understand what we hear on the other side of our interviews.