Identifying the Purpose Fostering Factors in the Academic Lived Experience of Iranian Male Elites: A Qualitative Study

Taghizadeh, Mohamadreza; Haj Hosseini, Mansoureh; Hejazi Moughari, Elaheh; Salehi, Keyvan

doi:10.22059/japr.2024.257587.644813

Identifying the Purpose Fostering Factors in the Academic Lived Experience of Iranian Male Elites: A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mohamadreza Taghizadeh ¹

Mansoureh Haj Hosseini ²

Elaheh Hejazi Moughari ¹

Keyvan Salehi ³

¹ Department of Educational Psychology and counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Teaching Methods and Educational and Curriculum Planning, Faculty of Psychology and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/japr.2024.257587.644813

Abstract

The current research endeavored to discern factors leading to the sense of purpose among male elites in school and university. The study implemented a grounded theory research design with the objective of conceptualizing the ordering process, utilizing a constructivist worldview and a qualitative approach. The investigation concentrated on males aged 25 to 45 who were members of the Iranian elite community and resided primarily in Tehran. Data were gathered through 2022 to 2023 through online or in-person semi-structured interviews with sixteen participants who were purposively selected. The Charmaz method was employed to execute analysis and coding in two stages:initial and focused coding, which was facilitated by the MAXQDA 2018 software. In general, three primary themes were identified, along with their respective categories and subcategories: Diversity, effective relationships, and the experience of agency. Effective relationships are defined as the dynamics and individuals that exist within the context of the purposeful individual, including teachers and professors. Taking responsibility in school and university is an example of the experience of agency, which is characterized by self-efficacy and a sense of influence. Experiencing diversity, the final term, denotes an understanding of various scientific and practical disciplines. The results obtained indicate that in order to establish an environment that is conducive to purposefulness, schools and universities must offer contexts that incorporate a variety of scientific, practical, and relational experiences. This will encourage their audience to engage in problem-solving and activation within each domain, thereby enabling students to develop a more autonomous level of self-awareness and contextual understanding, as well as to establish meaningful objectives and actively pursue them.

Keywords

Purpose in Life

Life Meaning

School

University

ابطحی، س.، و تقی‌زاده شیرازی، م. (1۴0۱). وقتی دانش‌آموزان خود را با یکدیگر مقایسه می‌کنند. تهران: خسرو خوبان.

اصلانی، ا. (1390). مدرسۀ بدون رقابت. تهران: دوران.

سند راهبردی کشور در امور نخبگان (1391). https://sccr.ir/Files/5682.pdf

سیف، ع. (۱۴۰۲). روان‌شناسی پرورشی نوین. تهران: دوران.

References

Abtahi, A., & Taghizadeh-Shirazi, M. R. (2022). When students compare themselves with each other. Tehran: Khosro-e-khooban. (In Persian)

Aslani, E. (2011). School without competition. Tehran: Doran. (In Persian)

Benard, B. (1993). Fostering resiliency in kids. Educational Leadership, 51(3), 44-48. https://kaching.socialwork.hku.hk/Workshop%20Notes/Resiliency/Foster%20Resiliency.pdf

Benson, P. L. (2010). Parent, teacher, mentor, friend: How every adult can change kids' lives. Search Institute Press.

Bronk, K. C. (2012). A grounded theory of the development of noble youth purpose. Journal of Adolescent Research, 27(1), 78-109. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558411412958

Bronk, K. C. (2013). Purpose in life: A critical component of optimal youth development. New York: Springer

Bronk, K. C., & Mitchell, C. (2020). Youth Purpose: A Translational Research Agenda. In: Burrow A.L., Hill P.L., editors. The Ecology of Purposeful Living across the Lifespan (pp 233-248). Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52078-6_13

Broughton, R. S., Plaisime, M. V., & Green Parker, M. C. (2019). Mentorship: The necessity of intentionality. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 89(3), 317–320. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000412

Bryant, A., & Charmaz, K. (Eds.). (2019). The SAGE handbook of current developments in grounded theory. SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526485656

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis (2^nd Ed.). Sage Publications.

Chen, H. Y., & Cheng, C. L. (2020). Developmental trajectory of purpose identification during adolescence: Links to life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Journal of Adolescence, 80(1), 5456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.01.013

Coelho, A., Lopes, M., Barata, M., Sousa, S., Goes, M., Bia, F., ... & Gaspar, T. (2023). Biopsychosocial factors that influence the purpose in life among working adults and retirees. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(8), 5456. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085456

Cohen, R., Bavishi, C., & Rozanski, A. (2016). Purpose in life and its relationship to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events: A meta-analysis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(2), 122-133. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000274

Cook-Deegan, P. (2016). Seven ways to help high schoolers find purpose. Retrieved from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/seven_ways_to_help_high_schoolers_find_purpose

Corbin, J., & Strauss, A. (2008). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (3^rd Ed.). Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452230153

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4^th Ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.

Damon, W. (2008). The path to purpose: How young people finds their calling in life. New York, NY: Free Press

Damon, W., & Malin, H. (2020). The development of purpose: An international perspective. In L. A. Jensen (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of moral development: An interdisciplinary perspective (pp. 110–127). Oxford University Press.

DeMink-Carthew, J., Netcoh, S., & Farber, K. (2020). Exploring the potential for students to develop self-awareness through personalized learning. The Journal of Educational Research, 113(3), 165-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2020.1764467

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Strategies for Qualitative Research. Chicago: Aldine

Govilla, M., Jumpp, C., Tuma, K., & Wang, H. (2022). How Youth Find Purpose Through Volunteering and College Life. Retrieved from: http://www.arsgrin.gov/cor/rubus/rubus.uses.htmlhttps://digital.wpi.edu/downloads/fx719q52t

Hatchimonji, D. R., Linsky, A. C., & Elias, M. J. (2019). Special issue guest editors’ introduction, frontiers in youth purpose research. Journal of Character Education, 15(2), VII-XVIII. Google Scholar

Hedberg, P., Brulin, C., Aléx, L., & Gustafson, Y. (2011). Purpose in life over a five-year period: A longitudinal study in a very old population. International Psychogeriatrics, 23(5), 806-813. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1041610210002279

Hedberg, P., Gustafson, Y., Alèx, L., & Brulin, C. (2010). Depression in relation to purpose in life among a very old population: A five-year follow-up study. Aging & Mental Health, 14(6), 757-763. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607861003713216

Hill, P. L., Burrow, A. L., & Bronk, K. C. (2016). Persevering with positivity and purpose: An examination of purpose commitment and positive affect as predictors of grit. Journal of Happiness Studies, 17, 257-269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9593-5

Hill, P. L., Burrow, A. L., & Strecher, V. J. (2021). Sense of purpose in life predicts greater willingness for COVID-19 vaccination. Social Science & Medicine, 284, 114193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114193

Jonsén, E., Fagerström, L., Lundman, B., Nygren, B., Vähäkangas, M., & Strandberg, G. (2010). Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Purpose in Life scale. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 24(1), 41-48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6712.2008.00682.x

Khosravi, S. (2017). Precarious lives: waiting and hope in Iran. University of Pennsylvania Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2t4cjb

Kiang, L., & Witkow, M. R. (2015). Normative changes in meaning in life and links to adjustment in adolescents from Asian American backgrounds. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 6(2), 164–173. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000018

Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Nakamura, J. S., Ryff, C. D., & Vander Weele, T. J. (2022). Sense of purpose in life and subsequent physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health: An outcome-wide approach. American Journal of Health Promotion, 36(1), 137-147. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171211038545

Lewis, N. A., Turiano, N. A., Payne, B. R., & Hill, P. L. (2017). Purpose in life and cognitive functioning in adulthood. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 24(6), 662-671. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825585.2016.1251549

Malin, H., Reilly, T. S., Quinn, B., & Moran, S. (2014). Adolescent purpose development: Exploring empathy, discovering roles, shifting priorities, and creating pathways. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24(1), 186-199. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12051

Mariano, J. M., & Damon, W. (2008). The role of spirituality and religious faith and in the development of purpose in adolescence. In Lerner R. M., Roeser R. W., Phelps E. (Eds.), Positive youth development and spirituality: From theory to research (pp. 210-230). West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press.

Martela, F., & Steger, M. F. (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 11(5), 531-545. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623

McAdams, D. P., & Guo, J. (2015). Narrating the generative life. Psychological Science, 26(4), 475–483. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614568318

Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Moran, S. (2017). Youth purpose worldwide: A tapestry of possibilities. Journal of Moral Education, 46(3), 231-244. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2017.1355297

Navarro, J. L., & Tudge, J. R. (2023). Technologizing Bronfenbrenner: neo-ecological theory. Current Psychology, 42(22), 19338-19354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-02738-3

Overton, W. F., Lerner, R. M., & Molenaar, P. (2015). Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science; Volume 1: Theory and Method (7^th Ed.). John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy102

Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Limited.

Seif, A. A. (2023). Modern Educational Psychology. Tehran: Doran. (In Persian)

Sharma, S., & Bluck, S. (2022). Older adults recall memories of life challenges: the role of sense of purpose in the life story. Current Psychology, 42, 23461-23479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03439-7

Sommer, K. L., Baumeister, R. F., & Stillman, T. F. (2012). The construction of meaning from life events: Empirical studies of personal narratives. In P. T. P. Wong (Ed.), The human quest for meaning: Theories, research, and applications (2^nd Ed., pp. 297–313). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

Stough, L. M., & Lee, S. (2021). Grounded theory approaches used in educational research journals. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, 16094069211052203. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211052203

Strategic document of Iran on elite affairs. (2011). Retrieved from https://sccr.ir/Files/5682.pdf (In Persian)

Van Tongeren, D. R., DeWall, C. N., Green, J. D., Cairo, A. H., Davis, D. E., & Hook, J. N. (2018). Self-regulation facilitates meaning in life. Review of General Psychology, 22(1), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000121

Vazeou-Nieuwenhuis, A., Orehek, E., & Scheier, M. F. (2017). The meaning of action: Do self-regulatory processes contribute to a purposeful life? Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 115-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.04.040