Educational success and failure of learners from similar socio-cultural backgrounds: two life story interviews

Ambreen Shahrian

Abstract

This paper is based on life story interviews conducted for my PhD. The participants are two young men, Aqeel and Sarmad, with similar socio-cultural and educational background. Both men belong to rural and economically poor
families of Sindh, the southern province of Pakistan. Both of them have very different academic achievements.
Albeit both are in their late twenties, they have achieved a very different life status. Presently, Aqeel is at his village, and is unclear about his career whereas Sarmad is a senior officer in a private bank in the city of Karachi, Sindh. The paper discusses the journey through life of these two individuals, based on their life story interviews conducted by the present researcher. The data gathered through these interviews highlights
circumstances and situations during the life of Sarmad and Aqeel when they had to take decisions, sometimes following their own choice and personal judgement, and sometimes driven by other circumstances when they had less control over their individual situations. Both of them talk fondly of their personal struggles through life, which seems to bring forth the reasons behind their present status. Apart from that the study shows the influence of family life, school life, village life, etc. on making my participants what they are, which, in turn, make them react in the way they do.

 

Shahrian, A. (2012) Educational success and failure of learners from similar socio-cultural backgrounds: two life story interviews. Educationalfutures, [online] Vol. 4(3). Available at: https://educationstudies.org.uk/?p=598 [Accessed 29 Mar, 2024].