What Constitutes Quality in Minority Education? A Multiple Embedded Case Study of Stakeholder Perspectives on Minority Linguistic and Cultural Content in School-Based Curriculum in Sunan Yughur Autonomous County,Gansu

While quality in education has long been a significant issue, definitions of quality are often taken for granted rather than argued for, allowing the possibility that the criteria used by researchers and planners to judge quality may differ from local stakeholders’ perspectives, particularly regarding the place within quality education of the knowledge, culture and language of non-dominant groups. However, there is an accumulating convergence of research that calls for assessments of quality in education of non-dominant linguistic and cultural groups that engage local stakeholders’ understandings. This paper presents a recent study that attempts to do this, investigating the perspectives of students, parents, teachers, and administrators in Sunan Yughur Autonomous County, a multiethnic, multilingual district in rural Gansu, inhabited by several nationalities. Over one hundred participants in three schools were asked what was important for children to learn in school; including what aspects of local (minority) knowledge, culture and language should be taught as part of school-based curriculum. The study found three educational visions in local schools: regular urban education; Chinese-medium, multicultural education; and bilingual, multicultural education. The study also found that stakeholders support the latter vision, which reflects society’s actual cultural and linguistic pluralism, as well as much research on quality education for non-dominant groups. The paper concludes with a call for a comparative approach, both domestic and international, towards the investigation of quality education of non-dominant groups in China.     

A Review of “Constructing Identities in Online Communities of Practice: A Case Study of Online Learning”

ABSTRACT

This study addresses the issue of educational inadequacy and inequity for disadvantaged minority students. It estimates desired national standards and examines interrelated gaps in key school–teacher resources and mathematics achievement by linking national education data sets (National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], Common Core of Data, and Schools and Staffing Survey). Although poor minority students’ chances to meet the national mathematics proficiency standard are undermined by the lack of their access to qualified teachers and adequate school funding, it turns out that the adequacy-based (absolute) gaps are much larger than the equity-based (relative) gaps. Meeting the NAEP Grade 8 mathematics proficiency standard requires substantial increases in per-pupil education spending (from $6,493 to $7,197 in year 2000 dollars) and in-field mathematics teaching rate (from 49% to 91%) across the nation. Research and policy implications are discussed.     

A Case Study of Unfounded Concepts Underpinning Controversial Practices: Lost in “Space Dyslexia”

Although many are critical of the uptake of unproven practices by teachers and families in their search for treatment for children with reading difficulties, there has been little examination of the specific conditions that persuade teachers and families to adopt such practices. This article traces the emergence and evolution of a particular meme, space dyslexia, and related memes. The space dyslexia meme is shown to be an unfounded concept, but one that has proved attractive to the popular media and presumably to those seeking alternative treatments.     

Challenging the Politics of the “Model Minority” Stereotype: A Case for Educational Equality

This article examines the political rationale of the “model minority” stereotype about Asian Americans and its ramifications on education. Created by white elites in the 1960s as a device of political control, the model minority stereotype continues to serve the larger conservative restoration in American society today. By over-emphasizing Asian American success and misrepresenting it as proof of the perceived equal opportunity in American society, proponents of the stereotype downplay racism and other structural problems Asians and other minority groups continue to suffer. The theory that Asians succeed by merit (strong family, hard work, and high regard for education) is used by power elites to silence the protesting voices of racial minorities and even disadvantaged Whites and to maintain the status quo in race and power relations. In education, the model minority thesis has always supported conservative agendas in school reform. Now it goes hand in hand with the meritocracy myth and promotes educational policy that emphasizes accountability, standards, competition, and individual choice, while trivializing social conditions of schooling and unequal educational opportunities facing different student groups. It is the responsibility of educators to deconstruct the “model minority” stereotype and any other stereotypes or myths prevailing in education discourse, and seriously challenge racism, class division, and other structural problems. Social justice and equality must become a guiding principle for school reform and educational policy.     

A study on the Translation of Cultural Elements in TV Subtitles——A Case Study of The Big Bang Theory

With the growing popularity of one country’s TV series in foreign countries,subtitle translation has attracted considerable attention in recent years.The Big Bang Theory(TBBT)is a widespread American TV series whose subtitles have been translated into many foreign languages,and it also boasts its richness in cultural elements,the most typical ones including science elements and religious cultural elements.     

“Communicate Through the Roof”: A Case Study Analysis of the Communicative Rules and Resources of an Effective Global Virtual Team

Challenges to effective collaboration are magnified when work teams are composed of geographically distributed members. Team members separated by time, distance, and culture often struggle with issues of trust, conflict, and potentially divisive subgroups. With global virtual teams becoming increasingly common in organizations, it is important to understand how to minimize such interactional difficulties. This study examines rules and resources that members of a corporate global team draw on to structure their interactions. In this case study, team members draw on highly ritualized actions prescribed by their software development process and their enacted values to mitigate their communication challenges.     

Locus of Control and Moral Judgement: A Cross‐Cultural Study in Israel

Abstract

The present study compares Israeli adolescents from Eastern, i.e., African‐Asiatic descent and Western, i.e., European‐American descent, with respect to locus of control (LOC) and moral judgement. It was assumed that the differential patterns of socialization that characterize the two ethnic groups, would be reflected by the subjects’ LOC and moral judgement. It was hypothesized that more internal LOC orientation and more relativistic moral judgement would be associated with Western than with Eastern patterns of socialization. The results confirmed the general hypothesis. Israeli adolescents of Eastern descent were found to be more externally oriented and their moral judgement to be more realistic than adolescents of Western descent. No relationship between LOC and moral judgement within each of the origin groups was found. The results are discussed in terms of socialization patterns and child‐rearing practices.     

Critical Discourse Analysis of City Cultural Identity Construction—A Case Study of Video Xi tang

With the rapid development of science and technology,video has become a very important way to demonstrate the city itself.This paper,based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional conception of discourse to the video of Xitang,analyzes the on-screen titles of this video to reveal the ideology behind it.Through the analysis,it points out that this video,while protecting Xitang’s own unique traditional characteristics,it tries to cater for the needs not only Chinese people but also foreigners.To some extent,it tries to promote Xitang itself.     

A Pragmatic Study of Gender Differences in Verbal Communication——A Case Study of Desperate Housewives

Male and Female languages refer to those which are usually used by men and women or those which characterize gender differences. Based on the theories of sociolinguistics and pragmatics, this thesis mainly provides a contrastive analysis of gender differences in conversation of Desperate Housewives from the perspectives of politeness principles. It aims at investigating how the pragmatic principles are violated or observed in the conversations of the characters in the series, finding out some to minimize the misunderstandings in inter-gender communication and achieve effective inter-gender communication.     

Exploring Young Children’s Understanding About the Concept of Volume Through Engineering Design in a STEM Activity: A Case Study

This case study explores young children’s understanding and application of the concept of volume through the practices of engineering design in a STEM activity. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. However, engineering stands out as a challenging area to implement. In addition, most early engineering education research centers on curriculum and instruction rather than students’ understanding and application of models and content knowledge to a design project (Johri and Olds, Journal of Engineering Education, 100(1):151–185, 2011). For this study, we created a play-based STEM activity which helps students understand and apply the concept of volume in creating clay boats through the practices of engineering design. Three students voluntarily participated in this study. Data sources included interviews, photocopies of boats, and observation field notes which were analyzed using a comprehensive cross-case analysis. Findings indicate that the common pattern is rather intuitive when students define engineering problems using different criteria. Also, students’ solutions to engineering problems are associated with their experiential ideas of reality. How students express their understanding of volume is correlated to the way of their structuring volume. Lastly, students understand the concept of volume gradually while going through the practices of engineering design. Implications are discussed in terms of how engineering education contributes to students’ understanding of volume.     

Embedded Mathematics in Chemistry: A Case Study of Students’ Attitudes and Mastery

There are many factors that shape students’ attitudes toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This exploratory study of high school students examined the effect of enriching chemistry with math on chemistry students’ attitudes toward math and careers involving math. To measure student attitudes, a survey was administered before and after the 18-week chemistry class; results from the chemistry class were compared to survey results from students in an elective science class that did not emphasize mathematics. At the end of the 18-week period, only the chemistry students exhibited more positive views toward their abilities in mathematics and careers that involve mathematics, as compared to their views at the outset of the course. To ensure that chemistry mastery was not hindered by the additional emphasis on math, and that mastery on state end-of-course examinations reflected knowledge acquired during the math-intensive chemistry class, a chemistry progress test was administered at the start and end of the term. This exploratory study suggests that emphasizing mathematical approaches in chemistry may positively influence attitudes toward math in general, as well as foster mastery of chemistry content.     

Secondary School Teachers’ Perception of Corporal Punishment: A Case Study in India

This article examines secondary school teachers’ perceptions of corporal punishment in India. Although it has been banned in Indian schools, various types of corporal punishment are still used by teachers. It has been mainly used as a mechanism for controlling disciplinary problems in schools. Based on a pilot study of 160 secondary teachers, the result of the research reveals that teachers still perceive corporal punishment as an effective method of controlling indiscipline in class. However, some teachers state that corporal punishment is ineffective in deterring students from misbehaving. Corporal punishment is not a good method to maintain discipline. Adopting harsh methods indicates a lack of proper training in managing students in a classroom situation and a poor understanding by the teachers of students’ mental states. An awareness program for secondary school teachers about the effects of corporal punishment on children is needed. The solution is proper training for teachers and student-teachers in the use of counseling to manage behavioral problem. Also full-time counselors can be appointed in schools.     

A Case Study of Students’ Motivation in College Algebra Courses

This paper examines data from a larger study that focused upon students’ experiences and motivations in a college algebra course. The study revealed that students failed this course because of various factors and continued to view this course as a “gatekeeper” class. Through a stepwise multiple regression, the analysis of the ARCS instrument showed that Attention, Relevance, and Confidence were strong predictors of Satisfaction in the course.     

The Role of Social Capital/Guanxi in Students’ Decision-Making about Postgraduate Education in China: An Explorative Case Study

This paper explores how the concept of social capital developed by Bourdieu and Coleman as well as the Chinese concept of guanxi (关系) or relationships facilitates students’ access to postgraduate education in a case study of a university in southeast China. The study comprises an initial survey of 381 first-year postgraduate students and a series of interviews with 30 participants. Social capital and guanxi inform analysis of the data. The results reveal that students from different social backgrounds employ different forms of social capital and guanxi networks in their decision-making about postgraduate education. They contribute to conceptualizations of how social capital is generated through guanxi in the Chinese educational context.     

From Getting “Fired” to Becoming a Collaborator: A Case of the Coconstruction of Identity and Engagement in a Project-Based Mathematics Classroom

This article investigates the coconstruction of student identity and engagement in the case of a 9th grader in a project-based algebra classroom that afforded students a great deal of autonomy. The focal student, Terrance, utilized classroom resources to serve both project-related and social functions as he interacted with his peers during multiweek projects. As a result, his positioning within his group and patterns of engagement in the mathematics projects shifted dramatically across the academic year. The article ends with a discussion of student autonomy as a potentially powerful feature of hybrid classrooms.     

Untranslatability in Onomatopoeia Translation—A Case Study of the Book of Songs

Classical poetry is a kind of special classical literature with highly concise language,rich emotion,profound implication and certain rhythm.The development of poetry translation is related to the spread of Chinese classical culture.There are many opinions about translatability and Untranslatability of poetry translation.The translation of meaning is relatively easy,while the rhetoric technique closely related to the form of expression is more difficult,which is the key to express the poet's feelings.There?fore,this paper aims to explore the untranslatability of onomatopoeia in poetry by combining with the Book of Songs.     

Reference in Translation——A Case Study of Translation of Kong Yiji

Reference is one of the cohesive devices of discourse,the comparison of which between English and Chinese will benefit translation practice,and a understanding of the differences in this aspect between the two languages is helpful in the reproduction of the original coherence of discourse.Based on the data of the Chinese novel "Kong yij" and its English translation,this paper will make a detailed analysis of the differences in reference and propose some translation strategies.