Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to provide a concise overview of the role of knowledge generation in the formation and enactment of identity across various life activities, culminating in the development of an identity model grounded in knowledge-generation approaches. Such a model seeks to address gaps identified in previous studies and to offer practical applicability within social domains and other related fields of knowledge. Methods: The study employed the descriptive-analytical approach to analyze the data. It relied on field data collected through a questionnaire administered to approximately 600 participants across 14 Egyptian governorates. The questionnaire comprised sixteen dimensions covering patterns of knowledge, social cohesion, modes of identity expression, and the role of institutions in safeguarding identity. Results: The findings indicate that the bottom-up mode of knowledge generation predominates across all variables examined, and that identity tends to follow two main models: a modern model characterizing older age groups, employed individuals, and those specializing in applied sciences, and a traditional model prevailing among younger age groups, the unemployed, those specializing in the humanities, and rural populations. The results also highlight the influence of the rural–urban divide on the formation of individual identity patterns. Conclusions: First, the existence of statistically significant differences between the two modes of knowledge generation, and second, statistically significant differences in modes of knowledge generation according to academic specialization and governorate.