This qualitative study focuses on the intrinsic value of musical understanding and how it is influenced by socio-cultural and educational factors shaping the development of a gifted adolescent. Using Gross's (1993) model of case studies of exceptionally gifted children, the student was identified for her innate abilities, and studied using the…

One of the concerns foreign language teachers may have about using small group (and pair) work is that students will use their shared first language (L1) instead of the target language. This study investigated the effect of learner proficiency pairing and task type on the amount of L1 used by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in pair…

The professional identity of language teachers has gained prominence in research on language instruction in the last decade. This article adds to work by critically exploring how teacher education programs allow non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) to construct positive professional identities and become pro-active educators. It reports…

Education has long been considered as playing a part in the construction or formation of self and identity. The processes of education and formation, being historically and culturally shaped, display the concerns and features of time and place. One of the distinguishing and influential features of contemporary western societies is communication…

This paper presents the findings of a qualitative research project set to investigate the piloting process of an innovative language program for university students. It challenges traditional English language teaching courses celebrating a view centered on learning; classes become spaces for students to understand the language they are learning…

The purpose of the study was to examine cultural dissonance between teachers and students with its implications for student achievement in a rural Title 1 elementary school. Most U.S. teachers share a White, monolingual, middle-class, female teaching culture that is a mismatch with their increasingly multicultural student population. That problem…

The idea that a new generation of students is entering the education system has excited recent attention among educators and education commentators. Termed "digital natives" or the "Net generation", these young people are said to have been immersed in technology all their lives, imbuing them with sophisticated technical skills and learning…

Teaching and learning English in the US are complex processes that are not explained by language theories or methods alone. Concepts such as the relationship between language majority groups and language minority groups, language status, immigration, economics, language planning, and policies add to the complexity of language-learning situations.…

This paper reports a case study in which 53 adult refugees initiated their own forms of learning with the aim of strengthening their opportunities for integration into Swedish society. The overall research interest was to find out what theoretical implications can be drawn from a case study where two different forms of learning were implemented.…

This dissertation discusses the findings of an ethnographic exploratory study of Turkana nomadic pastoralist children's sociocultural practices of their everyday lifestyles and science curriculum and instruction in Kenyan early childhood curriculum. The study uses the findings from Turkana elders to challenge the dominant society in Kenya that…

The purpose of this sociocultural study was to investigate gesture as a mediational tool for meaning-making in learning and teaching a second language. Gesture was observed between a teacher and her immigrant students in a second grade elementary classroom designed specifically for second language learners of English. This study provides an…

As schools and districts across the nation and state face the added pressures brought on by increased accountability through the NCLB Act, school leaders must reconcile the changing demographics of their districts, the various educational needs of their students and the political and socio-cultural aspects of such shifts while meeting expected…

This study draws from sociocultural theory to examine how biographical factors interplay with contextual factors to shape the professional identity of a Spanish language teacher candidate. Specifically, it explores the student teaching experience of Marcos, a 30-year-old language teacher candidate from South America. Analysis of the data reveals…

This article explores emerging patterns of communication within a multicultural school environment. South Africa consists various and different identities all sharing overlapping living spaces. Diverse cultural identities exist in public spaces, and family units are in many cases so hybrid that very few adolescents can define themselves as…

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…