Student evaluations of university teaching: A cross-cultural perspective

The applicability paradigm developed by Marsh (1981) was used to investigate the validity of a U.S.-developed model of teaching effectiveness and two related questionnaires at campuses in six different countries representing very different cultural, economic, and philosophical traditions. The data supported the reliability, appropriateness, and to some extent the convergent and discriminant validity of the instruments. Similar patterns of item salience and differentiation between “good” and “poor” lecturers were also identified. Thus, the results generally supported the cross-cultural validity of these two instruments and their underlying model of teaching. This research was supported by funding from the Committee on Research and Conference Grants, University of Hong Kong.     

Educational development units in Spain: current status and emerging trends

Abstract

Recent studies show that the character, function and goals of educational development units (EDUs) in many countries are undergoing a shift, and they now tend to support universities and learning in a more comprehensive way. The status of Spanish EDUs, however, has not been studied in detail. The aim of this article is to describe the current status of 45 such units to explore the degree to which a similar shift can be observed. The data revealed clusters, from which four models were defined. The models illustrate the increasing diversity of functions and widening scope of practice within Spanish EDUs.     

IS CHC student surface learner A cross-cultural perspective

In the past decades, the "CH"(Confucian Heritage Culture)learner phenomenon had aroused the interest of sociologists, educators and psychologists. Examination orientation, achievement orientation, use of repetitive learning, synthesis of memorization and understanding, and the use of recitation to bring about sharp focus for better understanding were some of the themes of these researches. This paper will explain what the general paradox of CHC learners is and how cultural difference can affect students' motivation for learning according to Chen and Stevenson's model of cultural influence, and discuss the major misconception of CHC learners' study approach.     

Doing Feminist Educational Theory: A post-modernist perspective

This paper arises from my work as a teacher of courses in feminist educational theory in a New Zealand university. Students usually encounter educational theories as disembodied abstractions scattered in fragments in various, often seemingly unrelated, courses. In a crowded curriculum there is little space for them to create their own educational theories or to reflect on the processes of educational theorising. In this paper I speak with two voices as a means of modelling - for students and teachers of feminist courses - a process of doing educational theory. It is written in two columns. In the left-hand column I speak with an academic voice. I begin by reviewing some theoretical writings of post-modernist theorists who have drawn attention to the ways our educational and social theories are generated by our circumstances - biographical, historical, cultural, generational, and geographical. I then argue that post-modernists have seldom practised what they preach - their abstract, and often inaccessible, writings remain severed from the lived realities at their base. In the right-hand column I speak with a more personal voice. I introduce some everyday experiences which are usually rendered invisible in academic writing in order to demonstrate how a few moments of 'lived reality' can be generative of feminist educational theory. The paper also contains ideas about how its unorthodox form can be used to trigger multiple and idiosyncratic readings and as a trigger for students' writing.     

Special education placement decisions made by teams and individuals: A cross-cultural perspective

The present study looked at whether special education placement decisions made by teams are superior to those made by individuals. The investigation was conducted in Puerto Rico to determine whether the benefits of the cooperative group process exist in another culture. Results indicated that teams in Puerto Rico generated significantly less variability (i.e., errors) in their placement decisions than did the same specialists acting independently.     

An Analysis of Preservice Teachers' Dispositions Toward Critical Thinking: A cross-cultural perspective

This study examined and compared the critical thinking dispositions (CT) of 218 American and 234 Chinese preservice physical education teachers. All were juniors or seniors and enrolled in physical education secondary teaching methods classes at the time of the study. Results provided evidence of a positive endorsement toward CT by the American sample, and a slight resistance by the Chinese participants on two of the four subscales from the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI). The American sample scored significantly higher on two of the four subscales. Some of the differences between the two populations may stem from the duality of individualism-collectivism represented in Western and Asian cultures, respectively. Similarities noted between the two populations in CT dispositions, however, appear to transcend cultural differences and may serve as the basis for future research.     

The assertive-aggressive distinction and the cross-cultural perspective

Are assertive and aggressive behaviors distinguishable from each other across different cultures? A limited amount of research, reviewed here, indicates that they are. It seems that, across cultures, assertive and aggresive behaviors are identifiable as different constructs and that they vary independently from each other. Other variables that mediate differences on assertiveness between cultures such as individualism versus collectivism and masculinity versus femininity are considered. Finally, recommendations regarding research methodology for the study of assertive behaviors across cultures are presented.     

Educational leadership: an Islamic perspective

Ethnocentric concepts, theories and practices in education, predominantly embedded in western philosophy and values, tend to ignore the growing multicultural nature of educational institutions. This article draws attention to the knowledge gap in mainstream literature regarding diverse perspectives of educational leadership—an issue which is foreseen as gaining higher significance with the fast‐changing societal structures in Britain. Having worked as a Muslim woman educational leader/manager in higher education in an Islamic state for more than two decades, and now working at a British university, positioned as a non‐White woman Muslim, the author endorses the need to move beyond ethnocentrisms and to work towards developing complex theoretical constructs to reconceptualise educational leadership, drawing from perspectives held by diverse ethnic groups—students and communities. How learners from diverse philosophical and ethnic backgrounds conceive and perceive educational leadership, and how they receive it, is bound to interact with their learning experience and performance. This article briefly introduces leadership as a concept formulated in context. It presents philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of these conceptualisations from an Islamic perspective, and highlights the interplay between knowledge and leadership. The article deliberates how these discourses interact to formulate ‘educational leadership’ in Muslim societies, and explores the implications of these constructions with a focus on the British context, where Muslims are in a minority, pointing to the significance of understanding philosophical diversity for embracing population diversity.     

跨文化视角下旅游英语翻译策略探析

近十几年来,随着我国对外开放的进一步加深、越来越多的国外游客来到中国,了解中国风土人情,各地文化。因此,旅游英语翻译在文化交流中起到极为重要的作用。本文从跨文化视角出发,分析了由于文化差异导致伊春旅游地区英译文本中存在的问题,进而对旅游英语翻译策略做了探究。     

A cross-cultural study of learning behaviours in the classroom: from a thinking style perspective

Chinese students were often portrayed as passive learners in the classroom, whereas their American peers have been viewed as active learners. This study was designed to examine and explain the distinct learning behaviours in the classroom between these two student groups in relation to thinking style. Surveys of learning behaviours and thinking styles were administered to three samples, American students (n?=?129), Chinese students in China (n?=?134) and Chinese students in the USA (n?=?121). The results of the study revealed that American students reported higher activity level in the classroom and tended to be analytic in thinking style, while Chinese students, both in China and in the USA, reported lower activity level in the classroom, and were inclined to be holistic in thinking style. Furthermore, the thinking style variable was found to mediate the relationship between cultural group and learning behaviour, suggesting that thinking style might partially explain the distinct learning behaviours presented by American and Chinese students.     

Poverty Power and Partnerships in Educational Development: A post-victimology perspective

An end-of-century critique of the political and economic assumptions underlying five decades of international development assistance conceives it as a system of structural violence that prevented the people of Africa from realising post-colonial self-reliance. New impoverishment through neo-liberal democratisation and the conditionalities attached to structural adjustment, is reducing the quality of life through cuts in hard won economic, social and educational opportunity and their liberatory potential. Moving beyond schooling for sub-ordinate roles in the new society is the current conceptualisation of humans as depoliticised resources interfacing the machines of capitalist enterprise. This links to aid inspired capacity-building initiatives, which undermine the abilities of organisations and states to sustain essential routines and initiate indigenous innovation. At the same time, the victims of colonial and neo-colonial oppression, particularly women and peasants, as victims of other people's progess and mal-development, have unparalled holistic and ecological knowledge of what the production and protection of life is all about. From a post-victimology perspective, theirs are the new voices for liberation and transformation.     

从认知语言学角度看跨文化交际失误

大学英语教学中跨文化交际课程的开设对于培养学生的跨文化交际能力非常重要。本文试图通过对认知语言学相关理论的研究,以及对目前跨文化交际教学状况的分析,探索有效途径,解决跨文化交际教学中存在的问题,进而切实促进培养学生的英语应用能力。