This study examined the relationship between international and domestic students' demographic factors on acculturation and sociocultural adaptation. It also examined the extent to which cultural values, uncertainty avoidance (UA) and power distance (PD), might explain two types of sociocultural adaptation: social interaction and localizing. A…

There is a positive relationship between student participation in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments and improved complex problem-solving strategies, increased learning gains, higher engagement in the thinking of their peers, and an enthusiastic disposition toward groupwork. However, student participation varies from…

In this article I first discuss how in Singapore the concept of meritocracy captures both elitist and egalitarian aspirations, and the ways in which its education policies have for a long time vacillated between these conflicting dimensions. I then argue that critical studies of meritocracy need to go beyond an understanding of the term as an…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Iranian women's gendered identities and language learning through the theoretical frameworks of feminist poststructuralism of gender and language, imagined communities, and communities of practice. Additionally, these theoretical constructs were linked to the concepts of agency…

This paper analyses tendencies that distinguish the internationalisation of education for two class fractions--owners of medium to large businesses and highly qualified university professors and researchers. We identify the importance of cosmopolitan cultural capital, particularly fluency in English, in strengthening the position of both groups…

This study examines the apology strategies used by 30 Saudi EFL teachers in Najran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), paying special attention to variables such as social distance and power and offence severity. The study also delineates gender differences in the respondents' speech as opposed to studies that only examined speech act output by…

Elite boarding schools endeavor to instill in their students elite-class solidarity, strong beliefs in both meritocracy and the essential rightness of the status quo, and practical political know-how. Each of these objectives is wholly compatible with the self-interest of their students and their families. In the vast majority of working-class…

This paper is motivated by the premise that little is known about the use of requestive strategies in request emails in Chinese English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) context. Specifically, the paper examines and compares requestive strategies in request emails between two groups of university students, namely English majors (EM) and non-English…

This article describes the disparity in political instruction found in six government classes from three demographically diverse high schools during the 2008 Presidential Election. In general, students from working-class households or those in lower-level classes were rarely given opportunities to discuss politics at a national level or engage in…

As the title of this book suggests, how one understands, perceives and experiences democracy may have a significant effect on how he/she actually engages in, and with, democracy. Within the educational context, this is a key concern, and forms the basis of the research presented in this volume within a critical, comparative analysis. The Global…

This paper argues that ethnic status is a source of inequality conceptually independent from social class status. Many parallels exist between the development of measures and concepts for social class inequality and for ethnic inequality. Three measures of ethnic rank described in this paper correspond to dimensions of power, prestige, and wealth…

To estimate perceived prestige and status attributed to rehabilitation counselors in medical settings 104 physical therapists and occupational therapists compared the social standing of rehabilitation counselors with that of other allied health professionals. Rehabilitation counselors ranked below several other occupational groups, including…

This paper characterizes sex as a status characteristic, presents data supportive of the characterization, and offers suggestions for remedying the noted imbalance. (Author/AM)

This study investigated 4- to 9-year-olds' understanding of social rules and authority by asking them about stories in which the status (adult or child) of rule inventors, transgressors, and changers varied. Findings indicated that children considered children's transgressions and alteration less permissible than adults', and adult-invented…

Studies done at five Canadian universities designed to test an analytic technique that enables the researcher to develop a utility function for each faculty in an institution are reported. A tool for the identification of two power indices--influence in budgetary allocation and academic policymaking--is provided. (MLW)