Forging an identity as a linguistic minority: Intra- and intergroup aspects of language,communication and identity in Western Canada

Language has often been understood as the carrier of culture [Chiu, C. H., & Chen, J. (2004). Symbols and interactions: Application of the CCC model to culture, language, and social identity. In S. H. Ng, C. N. Candlin, & C. H. Chui (Eds.), Language matters: Communication, culture, and identity (pp. 155–182). Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press; Fishman, J. A. (1977). Language and ethnicity. In H. Giles (Ed.), Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations (pp. 15–57). London: Academic Press]. Contact with other cultural groups, however, effects many changes to the social context and linguistic répertoire of minority group members (e.g. [Phinney, J. S. (2003). Ethnic identity and acculturation. In K. M. Chun, P. B. Organista, & G. Marín (Eds.), Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement, and applied research (pp. 63–81). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association]). While there is a link between language and culture, there is still a lack of firm understanding regarding the dynamics that surround the relationship between language, group interactions, and acculturative outcomes. The goal of this study is, therefore, to further delve into the components of social interactions and communication to map out these processes. A total of 218 Francophone students enrolled in French schools in Saskatchewan completed a questionnaire assessing their psychological adjustment, ethnic identity, social support, communication networks, intergroup contact, and linguistic confidence. The results indicated that social interactions with both the in- and outgroup were important for identity maintenance, adoption, and adjustment. The relevance of communication networks and social support in acculturative situations is discussed.     

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[abstract]提要28岁的LexiSmart醒来时,发现自己身处医院,修了完美的牙齿,恢复了健康的体魄。在一次车祸中幸存下来的Lexi忘掉了整整3年的记忆,而这本书就是讲述她如何找回记忆,以及迎接新生活的历程。下面选的这段是本书的第一段,以第一人称的身份描述了刚刚醒来的Lexi的心理活动。     

Deaf Students and Higher Education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

In the United Kingdom, 233 higher education institutions were surveyed in 1988 and 1989 providing 166 returns. The survey sought information on equal opportunities policies, provision of technical support, the availability of support personnel and interpreters, funding arrangements, and the numbers of deaf students within higher education (HE). With a few notable exceptions, the returns showed a generally poor level of services available to deaf students, an ignorance of the required support needs and a low representation of deaf people within HE. The need for positive action seemed to be least recognized within teacher training colleges. The study also highlighted the absence of any monitoring of deaf or disabled students within HE. Several suggestions are made on how policies and practices in institutions could be changed to widen access to this group of students.     

Teachers' situation-specific mastery experiences: teacher,student group and lesson effects

Following a model on the cyclical nature of teacher (“trait”) self-efficacy and context-, task- and situation-specific (“state”) mastery experiences (TSSME), we investigated the variability and effects of lesson characteristics (e.g. lesson sequence), student group characteristics (e.g. proportion of students receiving free school meals) and teacher characteristics (e.g. teacher experience) on teachers' situation-specific mastery experience. Forty-three teachers reported on 1,055 lessons in 385 student groups using electronic questionnaires in Personal Digital Assistants during a period of 2 weeks. Two domains of TSSME (support of learning and organisation of classrooms) and perception of students (engagement and behaviour) were found. Multilevel models found roughly a quarter of the variance in TSSME between teachers, a quarter between student groups and half between lessons. Student group characteristics differentially predicted TSSME. Perceived student engagement was more predictive of TSSME than perceived student behaviour. More experienced and high-efficacy teachers had higher TSSME. The findings have implications for our understanding of teachers' everyday practice with different student groups.     

Drawing out the value of the visual: children and young people theorizing time through art and narrative

This article examines the role that drawing can play in enabling children and young people to theorize concepts of time. In two, independent Australian research projects, children aged between 5 and 8 years were asked to respond to the question, ‘What might the future be like?’, while 12–14 year olds were asked, ‘What does history look like?’ There are points of connection and convergence in the analysis of the drawings and the ways in which the children articulate their visual representations of temporality to demonstrate deep and philosophical insights. This research illuminates possibilities for both the value of art practices in learning and the capacity for such approaches in schools. It disrupts narrow visions of neoliberal policy that privileges the teaching of literacy and numeracy in schools and seeks to transform children and youth into particular citizens for the future. We argue that expanding our view of the use and value of visual forms of learning and expression can contribute to a more layered and complex understanding of the capacities of children and young people. Further, this research contributes to better understanding of how students navigate challenging local curriculum and school terrain as they are increasingly posited as global citizens.     

Finding common ground: enhancing interaction between domestic and international students in higher education

A feature of Australian Higher Education over the last 10 years has been the increased numbers of international students. This feature has been perceived to have great potential for enhanced learning for all students – both international and domestic. Yet, student surveys and research clearly indicate that there is very little interaction occurring between domestic and international students. This article reports on a study that investigated the extent to which university teaching can promote interaction between students from diverse cultural and linguistic background. Using an innovative video-analysis methodology, the research found that academics engage in a variety of activities to encourage interaction between student groups. In order to assist academics in planning interaction, one of the main findings of the study was the development of ‘The Interaction for Learning Framework (ILF)’, that identifies key dimensions for curriculum design that can be used by academics to inform ways that they can enhance interaction between diverse student groups within teaching and learning contexts.     

Decision-making modes regarding the inclusive dilemmas of students with educational challenges in mainstream classrooms

In the last 20 years, increasing numbers of students with educational challenges (SECs) have been included in mainstream schools. Inclusion creates complex classroom situations for mainstream teachers who need to have excellent decision-making skills and the ability to face and resolve ethical dilemmas. College students and pre and in-service teachers were asked about their attitudes towards SEC inclusion, as well as three open-ended dilemmas during vignettes depicting challenging situations in inclusive class forcing decision-making. An online closed and open-ended questionnaire was administered (n = 489). The analysis revealed significant differences in the type of solution to these dilemmas in the three groups. There was a significant interaction between high sensitivity to the feelings of the inclusive students and the participants' overall tendency to support the inclusion of the SECs, positive attitudes towards inclusion, low expression of stigma and a higher sense of self-efficacy. Implications and practical offers are discussed.     

Children seek help based on how others learn

Do children consider how others learned when seeking help? Across three experiments, German children (N = 536 3-to-8 year olds, 49% female, majority White, tested 2017–2019) preferred to learn from successful active learners selectively by context: They sought help solving a problem from a learner who had independently discovered the solution to a previous problem over those who had learned through instruction or observation, but only when the current problem was novel, yet related, to the learners' problem (Experiment 1). Older, but not younger, children preferred the active learner even when she was offered help (Experiment 2), though only when her discovery was deliberate (Experiment 3). Although a preference to learn from successful active learners emerges early, a genuine appreciation for process beyond outcome increases across childhood.     

Daily fluctuations in young children’s persistence

Children's behavior changes from day to day, but the factors that contribute to its variability are understudied. We developed a novel repeated measures paradigm to study children's persistence by capitalizing on a task that children complete every day: toothbrushing (N = 81; 48% female; 36–47 months; 80% white, 14% Multiracial, 10% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 1% Black; 1195 observations collected between January 2019 and March 2020). Children brushed longer on days when their parents used more praise (d = .23) and less instruction (d = −.22). Sensitivity to mood, sleep, and parent stress varied across children, suggesting that identifying the factors that shape an individual child's persistence could lead to personalized interventions.     

Links between justice sensitivity and moral reasoning,moral emotions,and moral identity in middle childhood

Associations between moral-related traits, such as justice sensitivity (JS), the tendency to negatively respond to injustice, and moral development are largely unknown. From May to December 2018, 1329 5- to 12-year-olds (M = 8.05, SD = 1.02; 51.2% girls, 1.3% transgender and gender-nonconforming) from Germany rated their JS, moral reasoning, emotions, and identity; parents and teachers rated children's theory of mind (ToM) and empathy. Victim JS (caring for own justice) predicted more attributions of positive emotions to norm transgressors in structural equation models (β = .295). Altruistic JS (caring for other's justice) predicted less attributions of positive emotions (β = −.343) and a stronger moral identity (β = .392) unless ToM was considered. Particularly altruistic JS showed associations with advanced moral development. Hence, moral-related traits deserve more attention by moral-development research.