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A conceptual framework for a prospective autobiography
Abstract
This paper presents the concept of prospective autobiography, in which the emphasis shifts from describing the past to shaping an individual’s future possibilities. The author argues that the traditional, retrospective approach to autobiography is linear and static, limiting identity to what has already happened. In the prospective approach, the past does not fully determine the present or the future; instead, it becomes dynamic material for constructing possible developmental pathways. Central to this perspective is the notion of re-construction – the creative process of making sense of one’s experiences and designing identity by interweaving past events with future possibilities. The prospective perspective integrates sensitivity to potential, autonomy, values, and ethical responsibility, making autobiography a tool for reflection, self-development, and developmental planning. This concept opens new research directions in pedagogy and social gerontology, showing that life narratives can serve not only to describe the past but also to actively shape an individual’s future.
Keywords:
pedagogy, geragogy, prospective autobiography, re-constructionDetails
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
