The continuity of experience: examining personhood in practice of British Yemeni young people
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The lived lives of British Yemeni young people in the UK is underrepresented in current youth research even though the Yemeni community is one of oldest ethnic communities in the country. The focus of this paper is to contribute an understanding for some of the ways in which British Yemeni young people learn and develop. In doing so, the paper focuses on exploring lived experience through ideas of personhood in practice as articulated through the conduct of everyday life. Using Dreier’s theory of a person and Roth’s ideas of learning and development, the continuity of experiences in six case studies of British Yemeni young people are examined. In particular, the paper examines ideas of habit and critical incidents for exploring more experiential notions of agency that moves beyond certain static notions of cultural identity as a way of understanding lived experiences. The study utilises photo-novella and semi-structured interviews as methods. The findings suggest that, although experience as adaptive habits are embedded in the actions of the participant, the reflexive perception of such experiences, as well as the circumstances and the occurrence of marker events or critical incidents, point to the possibilities of change and development.
Author: Huda Kamel Ahmed
Institution: University of Manchester
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,030
OpenAlex ID: W7148632782