Doing Adulthood While Returning to School: When Emerging Adults Struggle With Institutional Frameworks

Abstract

This article focuses on young people between 18 and around 30 in Germany returning to school after dropping out or finishing their education at a lower level than they are now striving for. The facilities they attend provide what is called a “second-chance education”; the possibility of upgrading their school-leaving certificate at a later stage. However, the curricula and school regulations of the secondary schools apply in these institutions. Therefore, despite their age, students must meet the expectations placed on secondary school students. Six focus group discussions show how students cope with what they consider a contradiction: institutional requirements and their own perception of age. The students' interpretations and strategies are analyzed in light of Erving Goffman’s concepts of role conflict and role distance. The findings indicate that such education programs need to be better adapted to emerging adults and offer clues as to how they might do so.