Abstract
This master thesis is based on empirical research focussing on the perception of MBO students on existential meaning-making in the context of educational spaces. The research is situated around the existential life experience of quitting your study and reorientating towards a new study and what challenges this experience brings with it. By conducting in-depth interviews with MBO students it is identified what the relevant existential meaning-making needs are, how these needs are met or not within their education and what role they allocate to education to address existential meaning-making. The method of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is used to focus on the ‘lived experiences’ of the students.Literature review has revealed that existential meaning-making appears when we place meaning-making within a bigger picture of our own existence, this happens after a critical moment. It has been highlighted how integrating existential meaning-making into education could possibly help students navigate critical moments and transitions, develop a better understanding of their identity and purpose which could possible foster a better overall well-being (Bertram-Troost, 2021).
The research shows that students who are facing existential life experiences, such as quitting and reorientating towards a new study, encounter ontological uncertainty and struggle with future direction and self-identity. The key existential meaning-making needs include: (i) relationships/connectedness, (ii) personal development, (iii) coherence, (iii) community, (iv) self-efficacy and (v) recognition/competence. Students express a desire for talking about existential meaning-making and are missing opportunities to talk about it at school. The forms they suggest for integrating existential meaning-making, differs. Within these forms, they emphasize the importance of keeping the material practical and reckon emphasis on the individual needs of students. Students desire freedom and autonomy within education to discover themselves and their life goals in the world.
| Date of Award | 11 Jul 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Neha Miglani (Supervisor) & Abdelilah Ljamai (Supervisor) |