This work is based on the experience of the authors' involvement in the development of a Masters of Vocational Pedagogy program in Uganda and Southern Sudan between 2007 and 2011. This is also grounded in work with Vocational Education and Culture (VET) over many years. The terms VET and Culture are interdependent; both terms are highly contested…

Since the middle of the twentieth century waves of immigration have increased heterogeneity in American classrooms and contributed to new challenges and problems for both teachers and learners. These trends in the United States are, in fact, part of a global phenomenon of large-scale movement of people (Garcia Coll & Marks, 2009;…

In the context of decades of successful economic reforms in Ghana, this study investigates whether ethnicity influences economic well-being (perceived and actual) among Ghanaians at the micro-level. Drawing on Afro-barometer 2008 data, the authors employs logistic and multiple regression techniques to explore the relative effect of ethnicity on…

This paper investigates the influence of the economic, social, and cultural variables on life satisfaction in Asia and Europe. The second section sets a unifying theoretical framework for all three domains by defining life satisfaction as a function of aspirations and expectations which in turn are affected by micro- and macro-level variables. On…

The student response system (SRS) is marketed as a reliable tool for improving students' academic attainment. However, findings to the question of whether or not the SRS does improve the learning outcomes of ESL [English as a Second Language] learners in primary education are not well documented in the research literature. Despite the wide use of…

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the socio-cultural contextualization of the digital divide in Japanese society. I undertake this task by developing a theoretical and methodological framework based on the notion of "culture as models," while explicating the cultural dimensions of the digital divide and the dynamics of…

Mobile technology is ubiquitous and diverse and permeates many aspects of daily life at home, during leisure activities, and in public spaces. The study presented here is of two sixth grade classes in Michigan, USA and two seventh grade classes in Norway. The students and the teachers in these four classrooms were equipped with mobile technologies…

This qualitative case study examines post-immigration reformed identity struggles among high school students from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Specifically, Belarusian, Kazakh, and Russian students in one U.S. public school district recognized and internalized "Russian" and inferior identities given to them by their U.S. teachers and…

This article addresses the paradox and complexity of the interactions of the social-cultural context of my students and my identity, as a female Chinese junior professor in social foundations/diversity in my predominantly European American urban classroom. This article will describe the hidden dimensions of teaching diversity courses, the…

Purpose: Marginalizing dynamics can emerge in school communities that are experiencing rapid demographic change, even when led by equity-oriented principals. The purpose of this article is to consider how educators can serve as transformative leaders through their performing cultural work that addresses inequity, crosses sociocultural boundaries,…

The 5th International Conference on Language, Literature and Culture has been hosted by Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (Burdur, Turkey), in cooperation with Çankaya University (Ankara, Turkey) and Süleyman Demirel University (Isparta, Turkey). Our main aim has been to provide a forum for discussion, to facilitate integration in these fields, and to…

In this article, I aim to demonstrate the relationships between the educational policies of the Brazilian and French Guyana governments and the sociopolitical structure of the Wayapi in respect to these educational practices. My main objective is to go beyond the normal concept that the school is an external interference that catalyzes processes…

This article explores the usefulness of communities of practice theory for understanding how districts can create organizational environments that foster teachers' opportunities to learn the new ideas and practices required to carry out ambitious reforms. It draws on data from a longitudinal study of the implementation of ambitious mathematics…

Drawing on and conversing with the large body of research and literature on young people's historical understanding, Asian American education, transnational migration, and Korean American studies, this dissertation research explored contemporary U.S. Korean youth's ideas and experiences of U.S. education, U.S. society and U.S. history.…

Practical and theoretical issues are discussed for testing the comparability, or measurement equivalence, of psychological constructs and detecting possible sociocultural differences on the constructs in cross-cultural research designs. Issues are explicated in the framework of multiple-group mean and covariance structure analyses. (SLD)