Homework: a cross-cultural examination

Cultural differences in the amount of time spent on homework and in beliefs and attitudes about homework were investigated through interviews with more than 3,500 elementary school children, their mothers, and their teachers. The children lived in 5 cities: Beijing, Chicago, Minneapolis, Sendai (Japan), and Taipei. Chinese children were assigned more homework and spent more time on homework than Japanese children, who in turn were assigned more and spent more time on homework than American children. Chinese children also received more help from family members with their homework than American and Japanese children. Chinese children were found to have more positive attitudes about homework than American children; Japanese children's attitudes were between those of the Chinese and American children. Relations between amount of time spent on homework by children, amount of time parents spent assisting their children with homework, and children's achievement were also explored. The views of both parents and teachers about the value of homework are discussed.     

On the meaning of cross-cultural differences in simple cognitive measures

A set of 5 reaction time tests of increasing cognitive complexity were administered to 35 secondary school pupils in Zimbabwe and The Netherlands at 4 consecutive school days in order to explore the existence and nature of cross-cultural differences on reaction time tests measuring basic cognitive operations. No cross-cultural differences were observed on the simple tests, while the Dutch pupils were faster than Zimbabwean pupils on the more complex tests. Zimbabwean pupils showed larger performance increments at retesting. Two Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) subtests (Vocabulary and Digit Span Forward and Backward), a tapping test, and parental socioeconomic status were used to predict the cross-cultural performance differences. Socioeconomic status and digit span could explain all these differences. It is argued that the cross-cultural performance differences on elementary cognitive tests cannot be interpreted at face value because of their susceptibility to non-target factors, such as test understanding and previous test exposure.     

Value dimensions in american counseling: A Taiwanese-American comparison

This paper is a discussion of prevailing American value dimensions in counseling theory and practice in general and a comparison of Taiwanese-Chinese and American counseling value dimensions in particular. Whereas most studies on cross-cultural issues to date have focused on American majority-minority value conflicts, this paper discusses a new level of value conflict, that between cultures, between nations.Part I discusses differences in cognition and affect between American and Taiwanese-Chinese. We have found that despite decades of American influence on Taiwanese culture, strong value differences persist between both countries, which leads us to believe that culture values are non-negotiable, structural elements of human existence. These basic differences in values influence perception, cognition, and behavior of American and Taiwanese culture bearers and result in predictable cross-culture conflicts.Part II presents a conceptualization of culture values and further discusses the American values embedded in counseling practices. To understand this influence we have identified (using Geert Hofstede's four culture value dimensions) cultural characteristics unique to Americans and Taiwanese-Chinese.Part III specifically discusses the impact of American individualism on counseling theory, and how the strong American belief of the universality of individualism can lead to an inability to validate collectivist cultures.We conclude by suggesting that more longitudinal and historic analysis could generate more in-depth information about culture values. This in turn could make a truly international and inter-cultural theory and practice of counseling a more likely possibility.     

跨文化商务活动中非正式英语使用的特点及存在意义

跨文化商务活动中,规范的英语说辞和谈话技巧对于成功的跨文化商务活动是至关重要的。但是,在很多私人或者私密性的对话与特定语境下,非正式英语的使用能够起到推波助澜甚至事半功倍的作用。因此,加强对非正式英语的认知与了解,掌握其特点、摸索出其使用规律非常必要。     

School counseling in Israel. Issues and developments

This study investigated how Israeli teacher-counselors view their actual performance and what it is that teacher-counselors themselves feel should be their ideal roles. Counseling services were introduced into the educational system in Israel in 1960. Due to the fact that there was an urgent need to help students in their vocational plans and with their learning difficulties (Klingman and Ajzen, 1978), supervisors in The Ministry of Education suggested that teachers who have at least three years of teaching experience start a two year in-service training program in order to prepare them as specialists in helping pupils in the elementary schools plan for their future. A second objective was to help exceptional children with their learning problems. These goals caused the teacher with two years of special training to add a new role to his/her educational and teaching role. This dual role has been called ‘Teacher-counselor.’ In 1960, thirty four teacher-counselors started their work in different schools in Israel. Their major work was concentrated on disadvantaged children and with 7th and 8th graders helping them with their learning difficulties. To prevent overlapping with other helping professions and confusion concerning this new profession, a follow up study was conducted by Malinovski and Malinovski (1964) in order to define the role of the teacher-counselor. They have defined it to include eight activities which teacher-counselors were found to be involved with:

1. Help students adjust to school and community.
2. Help students reach self-understanding.
3. Provide information needed for vocational plans.
4. Help students understand their interests, values, and aptitudes.
5. Help students in human relationships.
6. To be a consultant for teachers and other professional workers.
7. Help parents in decision making concerning vocational plans for their children, and assist them in coping with behavioral problems.
8. Referral to special institutions when needed.

Since its origins in 1960, school counseling in Israel has been developed rapidly. This is reflected especially in the increasing number of teacher-counselors (43 teacher-counselors in 1964 to 800 teacher-counselors in 1976 and to 1366 teacher-counselors in 1981). Teacher-counselors now work not only in the Ministry of Education but also in the Ministry of Labor providing vocational services to teenagers who dropped out of school and who are encouraged to work and learn at the same time. As mentioned earlier, originally teacher-counselors were certified teachers who were selected after three years of experience in teaching and then they participated in a two-year program of in service training to become teacher-counselors. This state of affairs did remain for long. Soon after the introduction of the counseling services, universities responded to the newly created need and developed academic programs (for B.A. and then M.A. degrees) in counseling education. This evolution in training programs took place in the mid 1960's and brought a new sense of professionalism to the field of counseling. Until the mid seventies, universities limited admissions to counselor training to only those candidates who were already certified teachers with at least three years of experience. Currently, admission is not limited to teachers only but includes ‘fresh’ in-experienced students who can be admitted when they qualify on two criteria: Academic achievement and personality variables. The latter development has two significant meanings. First, the quality of students has become higher as they are selected from a larger population. Second, it is well known in Israel that for the teaching profession there exists what is called in Israel ‘negative selection: the less able go to teacher training seminaries to become teachers. Thus, by limiting admission to programs of training counselors only to graduates of these seminaries, the educational system's weaknesses were perpetuated. By widening the range of potential candidates not only has the quality of students and departments greatly improved, but also the educational system has gained much from these highly able counselors even though they are less experienced.     

Examining teachers' beliefs through action research: guidance and counseling/pastoral care reflected in the cross-cultural mirror

The TRIO Project (Teacher Training & Research for Individuals & Organisations) began with the notion that cross-cultural reflection could be an effective tool by which teachers could examine their personal belief systems about learning, teaching and pupil guidance. University-based teacher educators from four countries, the Netherlands, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, worked collaboratively to create this 3-year project. They first had teachers systematically examine their own teaching practices at the local level using action research strategies and then brought them together in an annual international workshop, where the teachers from all four countries were able to reflect upon their work and their pedagogical belief systems using a cross-cultural lens. This article describes the process used to facilitate that exchange, and what was learned by both teachers and teacher-educators about the value of cross-cultural reflective practice leading to personal and professional growth.     

Crisis counseling: An overview

Psychologists working in schools are often the first contacts for children experiencing a potentially traumatizing event or change in status. This article reviews basic concepts in crisis counseling and describes the components of psychological first aid. This form of counseling must be developmentally and culturally appropriate as well as individualized. Effective intervention can prevent post‐traumatic stress syndrome and facilitate normal mourning processes associated with any losses experienced. These prevention activities are also discussed. Some children may need resources beyond those that the school can provide, and appropriate referrals can link children and adults to a variety of treatments such as psychotherapy and medication, also briefly outlined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Career counseling centers in higher education: A study of cross-cultural applications from the United States to Korea

Interest in career development and career counseling is growing in Korea. Nevertheless, neither the research nor the literature adequately address the question as to what applications can be cross-culturally transferred from career counseling centers in the United States to Korea. This study qualitatively examines the practice of career counseling in seven university career counseling centers in the United States in a search for concepts and methods that may be cross-culturally applied to Korean universities. Nine categories of data emerged in our qualitative analysis of information gathered: (a) types of systems; (b) staff; (c) services provided; (d) career assessments; (e) alumni networks; (f) workshops and outreach; (g) publicity; (h) information technology; and (i) facilities. Applications and ideas for the Korean context, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

中学生考试焦虑及其辅导策略

文章对考试焦虑进行综述的基础上,提出了辅导策略。在学校教育方面学校对学生进行必要的应试技巧辅导和考试焦虑辅导,在社会家庭方面转变观念,建立素质教育的质量标准和寻求"社会支持",在学生个体方面调整期望值,培养学生良好的个性,让学生学会自我调节和减轻考试焦虑的方法。     

Re-imaging and re-constructing cross-cultural research through critical personal narratives: an examination into fault lines

In this paper, the authors illustrate the impacts of their cross-cultural research in Africa, on their current work in science and STEM education. Through the examination of two research projects in cross-cultural settings in Africa, the authors explore the lasting impacts of this type of work. Specifically, through the use of Critical Personal Narratives and feminist theory, the authors discover fault lines existing in this cross-cultural work and ultimately the shifts in their conceptions of science and STEM education.     

跨文化视角下英汉颜色词的国俗语义对比研究

国俗语义是语义民族性的一种表现,能够客观地反映出使用该语言国家的历史文化和民族风情。通过对英汉语言中颜色词的国俗语义进行对比研究,试图揭示出其中的异同点和产生这种现象的原因,以期对英语教学和英汉跨文化交际起到一定的帮助作用。     

A cross-cultural examination of use of corporal punishment on children: a focus on Sweden and the United States

It appears that Sweden and the United States may be a study in contrasts regarding the sanction and use of corporal punishment on children. A 1979 study of American parents noted that 81% of them employed corporal punishment with children. A different study done in Sweden in 1978 noted that only 26% of parents used corporal punishment with children. What points to the differences in these parenting patterns within the two countries? In addition, a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court case entitled Ingraham vs. Wright ruled that “schools are empowered to carry out corporal punishment.” This court case involved two high school boys in Florida who had been repeatedly struck with wooden paddles. In contrast, Sweden had statutes which prohibited corporal punishment of children in their secondary schools as early as the 1920s. In 1957, the country passed a law which defined corporal punishment as unacceptable for small children in the schools. Then, in 1979, the Swedish government passed a statute prohibiting corporal punishment by parents. Are there differences in the way the two countries view law and its uses? Or, do the cultures sanction violence in general or just violence against children in different ways? This article examines some of the similarities and differences found in American and Swedish treatment of children and proposes what appear to be extreme differences in the way the countries and their people approach corporal punishment.     

跨文化交际学习中的语用失误

外语的学习，不仅仅是语言形式上的把握和掌握，要达到真正的语言交流的目的，还有必要了解在不同文化背景下语用的正确使用与否。因为不同的文化背景差异会产生一定的文化冲突而导致交际的失误，所以让学习者清楚在什么情况下、怎样使用所学语言知识来准确地表达其用意，最终实现交际。     

少数民族大学生文化适应能力实证研究——六阶段文化适应学习发展模型构建

少数民族大学就业与培育是当前高等教育的困境,亦是当前研究的焦点与难点。通过问卷调查、深度访谈构建了一个以差异和谐为行为目标,以开放性(包容性、信心、心态)与积极性(责任心、身心健康)为前件因素,包括关系构建、融入、调适、处理、发展、差异和谐的六个阶段的少数民族大学生文化适应学习发展模型。同时,人口统计学变量与文化适应能力的相关性分析,阐释了影响少数民族大学生文化适应能力的因素,以上研究结论将为民族教育的发展与实践提供理论支撑。     

An international study of the gendered nature of academic work: Some cross-cultural explorations

This study explores the gendered nature of academic work based onthe Carnegie Foundations International Survey of the Academic Profession.Characterisation of related yet discrete aspects of academic work describescommonalities between men and women, and in particular, highlights theaspects that discriminate between them. Responses by men and women fromAustralia, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Sweden, UK and USA wereanalysed within following themes: working conditions; professionalactivities of teaching, research, and service; issues of governance andmanagement, and the international dimensions of academic work.