Travelling Far—Drawing Closer: Journeys That Shape Identity

Abstract

This article presents findings from a qualitative narrative research study conducted during a journey to Ethiopia undertaken by graduates of an academic program in Israel in 2005. The study focuses on the significance of the journey as a process that helped reconstruct their identity. During the journey, twelve Ethiopian education graduates were interviewed about the experience of returning to their country of origin. Content analysis was applied to the interviews, which were conducted in the research field and in which the participants spoke spontaneously about their identity exploration process. Three content categories of identity—personal, cultural, and professional—were obtained. The findings of the research also indicate that the personal stories gave rise to an additional stratum in the construction of field experience, namely, the comparison, confrontation, and questioning of their belonging as mechanisms whereby the participants shape their identities.

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