Education, the formation of self and the world of web 2.0

Abstract

Education has long been considered as playing a part in the construction or formation of self and identity. The processes of education and formation, being historically and culturally shaped, display the concerns and features of time and place. One of the distinguishing and influential features of contemporary western societies is communication technologies. Some features of the role of these technologies in self-formation and the construction of identity is discussed in this paper together with a reflection on the role that traditional forms of schooling might continue to play in rooting self and identity in a real, embodied world. © 2010 Institute of Education.