The topic of how reflexivity ought to be utilized in the global aspect of research is yet to be fully theorized in educational research. Through the use of rigorous reflexivity, this paper examines a "halfie" researcher's negotiation of insider and outsider identities within his transnational home/field site of Nepal. By examining how…

This research aims to build upon current research in the area of teaching and learning at tertiary level and explore the nature of learning communities in tertiary science and engineering. This study uses a sociocultural approach to address the following question: "What are teachers' and learners' perceptions of the nature of the learning…

In the Norwegian DoCTA and DoCTA NSS projects, we aimed to bring a theoretical perspective to the design of ICT-mediated learning environments that support the sociocultural aspects of human interaction and to evaluate their use. By taking a sociocultural perspective on learning activity focussing on the interpersonal social interaction in…

Although most women are now working outside the home, gender equity in the labor force has not been achieved. Women are still concentrated in low-paying, traditionally female-dominated occupations (such as clerical and retail sales), while most jobs in the higher paying, more prestigious professions are held by men. Despite attempts to reduce…

Although it is evident that the Industrial Age has given way to the Information Age, educational institutions are still using Industrial Age models of instruction that encourage passive learning and stress knowledge mastery. In the media-rich Information Age, educators must shift to instructional models that put learners at the core of both the…

This study examined discourse strategies used by males and females to convey embarrassing information to interlocutors of unequal status and unspecified gender. Subjects were 80 native speakers of Turkish (28 males, 52 females), from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and geographic areas. Data were derived from a written discourse completion…

There are often many problems, as well as many benefits, in the incorporation of non-local (alien) cultures into an existing cultural framework. This paper explores this process; it consists of five parts, beginning with a detailed definition and discussion of the meaning of culture as seen by psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and…

A study investigated linguistic and non-linguistic conventions of communication between Russians and North Americans and explored how aspects of culture and its institutions are encoded in symbolic meanings in 16 cultural themes (food, money, space, possessions, work, courtesy, marriage, friendship, dating, studying, time, humor, small talk,…

A study investigated the adjustments made in classroom behavior and teaching techniques by western-trained English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers in Japanese universities. Subjects were 16 instructors at three institutions, all with native or native-like English fluency and all trained in Canadian or United States graduate programs for ESL…

Schools embody a "symbolic order" communicated through school rituals and social and symbolic relationships. Schools possess a moral vision, a system of values and norms that they wish to develop in students. This paper compares the symbolic order of two independent schools, one a traditional college preparatory school (preschool-grade 12), the…

This training manual for early childhood special education service providers aims to develop an understanding of the roles culture plays in interpersonal dynamics, how adults blend to form unique family life ways, and how families arrive at appropriate early intervention techniques and activities for their special needs children. Participants…

Using a new time series of cross-sections from October Current Population Surveys, a fresh look is taken at trends in college entry over the 1972-1988 period for White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women, asking to what degree group differences and social and economic background have affected these trends. From 1972 to 1988, Blacks and…

This paper explores the range of arguments and sentiments regarding the promotion and/or abolition of types of Chinese scripts. The written representations of Cantonese in Hong Kong, Mandarin in Taiwan as well as Mandarin in China are examined via issues of identity and of discourse both at national and international levels. Chinese scripts are…

This paper explores and highlights the importance of social, cultural, and behavioral contexts in the effectiveness of mentoring relationships. A first section looks at growing up in American and the varieties of personal and social development that are found. This section argues against viewing adolescents as similar across the boundaries of…

This paper attempts to answer questions about the role that non-related adults may play in the lives of adolescents, particularly who the non-related adults are that adolescents turn to; how helpful do adolescents find these adults; and how these patterns change by race, socioeconomic status, and gender. The paper draws from the research…