Guided by the biopsychosocial model, we examined (a) the prevalence of weight control behaviors (WCBs; i.e., trying to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight, or do nothing about weight) among early adolescent boys by race/ethnicity and grade level, and (b) how the boys' perceptions of sociocultural pressures (from parents, peers, and…

Practitioner research is an approach increasingly used by and with teachers, including in early childhood (EC) education. Studies outlining the benefits of educator engagement in research show learning, empowerment and self-determination in professional direction. There is also a sense of achievement for university researchers when they research…

Much of the special education research on writing has focused on skill acquisition and remediation. However, a significant problem with this approach is that it does not account for the sociocultural nature of writing or the importance of culturally sustaining pedagogies in writing instruction. In this article, the author uses practitioner…

This qualitative interpretive study showcases views and perceptions of K-12 teachers of English as a second language (ESL) in a North Carolina school district regarding the importance of academic language to ensure equal education opportunities for English learners. Framed by sociocultural theory, the study's findings report current, practicing…

From a sociocultural perspective, identity is understood as constructed through active negotiations with others (Gee, 2006; Lantolf, 2009). Language constitutes a mediation tool used to create meanings in new social and cultural contexts as individuals become members of new communities of practice (CoP). In doing so, an ongoing process of sharing…

The purpose of this research is to understand the information seeking and information utilization behaviors of Armenian-English adult bilinguals, while paying particular attention to the contextual and experiential as well as to the affective and motivational aspects involved. At a meta-theoretical level, the study is rooted primarily in the…

Every teacher's classroom practice is embedded in a system of overlapping contexts that interact with their day-to-day decisions. In this paper, I focus on sociocultural context and how it interacts with teachers' subjective responses to accountability instruments. Drawing on interviews with secondary school teachers in Finland and Singapore --…

Via a multi-domain, multi-response classroom observation instrument, we observed and analyzed treatment and control teachers' pedagogical differences when applying cooperative, collaborative, and peer-tutoring (CCP) strategies in Grade 1 bilingual classrooms with English learners (ELs). We found that with the support of ongoing, structured, and…

Recent scholarship in professional development (PD) has advocated for solid conceptual frameworks and understanding of the complex process involved in how language educators may continue to develop and fulfil the current challenging teaching demands. However, specific relationships underlying departmental cultures and how language educators relate…

This qualitative interpretive study carried out with four EFL teachers in an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course at a private university in Bogotá, Colombia addresses the disconnect that exists between curricular content and the life of students in education. From our understanding of literacy as a sociocultural practice, we proposed a…

This is a qualitative case study that explores conversational interactions during book-reading practices in a Mandarin-speaking Chinese American family between the mother and her two young children. The study employs a sociocultural lens and the concept of translanguaging to describe the characteristics of interactional practices during book…

Conceptualization of foreign language teaching as a cross-cultural interaction means engaging learners in various cultural mediations. Language use becomes a form of interpretative architecture of a target language. Understanding language use from a discursive perspective develops meta-pragmatic awareness and interpretative capacities of learners.…

This quasi-experimental study examined an eighteen-month professional development project focused on improving instructional practices for emerging bilingual and multilingual English learners (ELs). The study is grounded in sociocultural and interactive learning theories related to teaching ELs. Professional development activities included seven…

This article reports on the results of action research conducted in a university ESP classroom in Oman. The impetus for this research was the practitioner's dissatisfaction with the current practice of introducing the grammatical concept of the English passive and its subsequent results. Framed within the sociocultural theory of cognitive…

A considerable body of research within the interaction framework (Long, 1996) has centred on the language-related episodes (LREs) which occur when learners topicalize a specific linguistic item while they are engaged in meaning-focused tasks. Several studies have shown that the production of LREs may be influenced by the proficiency level of the…