Our work is aimed at analyzing the influence of different educational situations on the experience of purposefulness and well-being among young people in secondary schools and colleges by applying the Model of the Agonistic Self (MAS) (Džinović, 2020; Džinović et al., 2023; Grbić et al., 2023). Based on the dialogic paradigm (Hermans, 2018), MAS understands the self as a dialogical interplay of internal, external, and exterior voices characterized by power relations. The agonistic self is saturated by numerous socially constructed perspectives, which appear as the voices of the self. Therefore, the social context affects the dynamics of the self by (de)legitimizing certain voices and thereby changing the order of power. Central to this model are three key categories: functions of voices, relationship types, and constellations. According to their function, the voices can be classified into two main categories, Ideologues and Evaluators, which means that they personify either values, knowledge, and narrative structures or evaluation and monitoring processes. Among the Ideologues, there is a group of dominant voices, which according to their functions, we call the Main Voice (King), Advocates, and Dominant Ideologues. They represent core values, bear meaning, exert the greatest influence on other voices, and shape one's relatively stable behavior. There are also voices of resistance, named Protestors and Illegitimate Facilitators, which personify marginalized, delegitimized, and silenced perspectives. Among the Evaluators, Process Modifiers stand out as internal regulators according to certain standards, Meta-Positions as supervisors, Underminers, and Antagonists who personify self-doubt and self-depreciation, and Subsequent Evaluators as a function of self-reflection. The mentioned voices interact in various ways, ranging from conflict and productive tension to cooperation, depending on the degree of compatibility between their ideological positions. The MAS also introduces the concept of constellations, which capture broader patterns of relationships among voices. One primary constellation, referred to as King’s constellation, reflects a relatively stable power structure within the self. The King's constellation indicates that at the basis of one's recognizable behavior lies an order in which there are dominant ideological voices with their assistants, but at the same time suppressed voices, which strive to change the order of power within the self through resistance. In contrast, five transitory constellations illustrate deviations from this stability, highlighting alternative dynamics that underscore the fluid and evolving nature of the self. The Defense of Purpose, Temporary Inclusion of a Sidelined Perspective, and Value Conflict are particularly important for this presentation. Defense of purpose takes place when the context or external voice undermines the King, resulting in increased influences of evaluative voices that bring ruminative self-examinations and a sense of the futility of efforts to achieve important goals. When the King, due to the effect of the context or exhaustion of potential, temporarily falls under the influence of a protesting voice, which manifests itself as unusual behavior, we also speak of the Temporary Inclusion of Sidelined perspectives. Value Conflict implies that the relationship of tense cooperation between the King and an Advocate turns into a conflict when one or the other voice temporarily suppresses the other from the stage. The successful resolution of transitory constellations and the relative democracy of relationships within the King's constellation are characteristics of individuals with high well-being. Therefore, we expect that educational practices as a social context significantly influence the sense of purpose and well-being of our participants either by encouraging the resolution of transitory constellations in the direction of stability or by additionally legitimizing the openness of voices for mutual influences within the King's Constellation.

A total of 13 high school and university students (aged 15 to 25) participated in the qualitative study, which was part of a wider research on youth identity development. The Methodology of the Agonistic Self (MAS-M) was used in the qualitative study (Grbić et al., 2023). The Interview for the Agonistic Self was used, based on a semi-structured guide that maps the voices of one's self and describes broader patterns of oppositional and cooperative relationships between them. The obtained data were transcribed and analyzed deductively, using the functions of voices, types of relationships between them, and constellations as categories from MAS. Deductive analysis was applied within the methodological framework of the case study so that an individual report was made for each participant with personally specific names and descriptions of voices, as well as individualized descriptions of the dynamics of constellations. Along with the first version of the individual reports, additional questions were formulated, with the aim of supplementing the information and verifying the research hypotheses. This was followed by a second interview in which participant validation was requested and the findings were further elaborated, on the basis of which the final version of the individual reports was created. The final step was the application of cross-case analysis with the aim of examining similarities and differences between participants regarding the influence of context on the dynamics of their agonistic selves. The initial deductive analysis for the individual reports was done independently by the authors and then agreed upon through a process of establishing intersubjective agreement. A hermeneutic circle was also applied, which implies circular movement between the data and the interpretive categories along with the reinterpretation of their meanings (Schleiermacher, 1998).

The situation related to the educational context that most often appears as an agent of change in the dynamics of the agonistic self is failure manifested through a bad grade. Failure to reach the standard of achievement undermines the main voice as the bearer of the most important personal meanings, which can further lead to two scenarios: a constellation related to the struggle to restore meaning or a constellation concerned with the temporary inclusion of a marginalized perspective. In the first case, there are thoughts about giving up and the futility of efforts related to important goals (Antagonist), which are followed by ruminations about one's own inadequacy and incapacity (Underminer). This crisis of meaning is mostly resolved by a certain ideological voice with strong authority providing additional legitimacy to the main voice and thus enabling it to regain its dominant position. In the second case, the undermined main voice, which most often personifies the desire for success and ambition, is "forced" to appreciate the Protestor, who most often concerns the value of fun and enjoyment with peers. This leads to the fact that in addition to school activities, social activities are temporarily but intensively practiced. The result of this change in the balance of power is the reparation of the capacity of the main voice and the re-prioritization of schoolwork. The conclusion based on the results is that programs to encourage the psychological well-being of young people should rely on contextual incentives or obstacles in education in order to successfully contribute to the change within the pluralistic self in the direction of more adaptive dynamics.

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