Argues that discourses on children and participation in Norway are linked to international children's rights discourses as well as to Norwegian cultural context. Focuses on how different constructions of children as participants are related to discourses on sustainable local communities. Describes supporting empirical studies and summarizes…

Describes the role of an instructional sequence and two accompanying computer-based tools in supporting students' developing understandings of statistical data analysis. Documents the emergence of the sociomathematical norm of what counts as a mathematical argument in the context of data analysis. (Author/MM)

This article provides an empirically based perspective on the contribution of conversation analysis (CA) and sociocultural theory to our understanding of learners' second language (L2) practices within what we call a strong socio-interactionist perspective. It explores the interactive (re)configuration of tasks in French second language…

This paper draws on a research study into why more boys than girls choose to study mathematics. My starting point is that only four of the 43 young participants, and all of them male, self-identified as "good at maths". By reading these interviews as narratives of self, I explore the "identity work" accomplished within their talk and within the…

In this concluding article we discuss how the different contributors of this special issue deal with the methodological challenges in special needs education research. The shift from an individual perspective towards an interactional and systemic point of view in special educational needs research has introduced research methods that are able to…

The purpose of this naturalistic study was to extend our understanding of the ways in which consideration of audience may be salient in diverse students' and teachers' approaches to literacy. Data related to literacy interactions in one school were collected from the preschool class and three multiage elementary classrooms. Findings indicated that…

This article examines the phenomenon of young Iranian women who are encouraged to pursue higher education but who are deterred from entering the labor market. It identifies the factors that college women themselves recognize as motivating or inhibiting their participation in these two public realms. The research reported suggests that the…

There is a substantial amount of literature documenting the attitudinal resistance of Muslims towards English and the supposed conflict between English and Islam. This article provides a critical review of the writings and research on the issue and discusses some of the reasons behind this resistance, focusing on Muslims in Malaysia. It argues…

A review of the American professional counseling literature brings to light 5 patterns concerning research related to counseling international students in this article. Emergent themes include universal vs. subgroup characteristics, environmental vs. personal factors, developmental vs. pathological perspectives, counseling goals, and…

This study investigated written language in the form of personal and formal letters written by 10 people who sustained a stroke and 10 people who sustained traumatic brain injury, and compared their performance with 15 non brain-damaged people. In order to explore the writing skills of these individuals from a sociocultural perspective, a…

Complexity science may be described as a feminine science because it demands holistic thinking, something that women are generally better at than men. A total of 50 women leaders in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK were interviewed, women who displayed what is called "third possibility leadership", that is they were able to hold…

The multidisciplinary study of complex systems in the physical and social sciences over the past quarter of a century has led to the articulation of important new conceptual perspectives and methodologies that are of value both to researchers in these fields as well as to professionals, policymakers, and citizens who must deal with challenging…

The National Literacy Strategy with its accompanying daily Literacy Hour was introduced into all primary schools in England in 1999 and aims to enhance literacy standards. This paper is about the nature of interaction in the Literacy Hour. It is based on a collaborative micro-analysis of observational data from two poetry lessons conducted within…

This article considers the implications of two central constructs of sociocultural theory (SCT) for second language (L2) development: mediation and internalization. It first discusses Vygotsky's general theoretical claim that human mental activity arises as a consequence of the functional system formed by our biologically specified mental…

Children's accounts of their participation in sociocultural activity related to number are essential for their teachers in order that they can assist children in building their formal learning in number on informally acquired numerical understandings. Children's participation in sociocultural activity related to number will differ from child to…