School-Community Collaboration and Young Adults’ Identity Formation

Abstract

This qualitative case study builds on the existing research on community collaboration and educational impact on young adults’ identity formation by examining the roles young adults play in community collaboration that can positively influence their identity formation. Three research questions were raised and answered in this study. Mixed method exploratory sequential design was employed. Simple random sampling technique was used for the study. The sample size for the study was 520 participants comprising of 40 principals/vice principals, 50 teachers, 200 students, 200 parents and 30 Community Development Association (CDA) members across Lagos Mainland, Apapa and Surulere. Questionnaire, interview guide and Focus Group Discussion were used for data collection. The data were analysed using simple percentages, mean and standard deviation. The study revealed among others that young adult identified collaborative activities that directly impacted on the exploration process of their identity. The findings thus suggest the need to engage in communities organising activities to build social capital by confronting social isolation and exclusion among groups, examining power and privilege among community members and developing critical place-based leadership for intergenerational capacity building.