Eco-Transactional Influences on Sociopolitical Youth Development Work

An emerging and growing body of research has clearly established the importance of youth building sociopolitical consciousness in order to be more democratically engaged citizens. An overwhelming amount of sociopolitical youth development work occurs outside of school. Much of the research on this work has focused on youth outcomes, and we know little about sociopolitical youth workers, the types of experiences and influences from which they draw, and how those experiences and influences emerge in their work. To attempt to fill this void, the author uses life history methodology to showcase two sociopolitical youth workers (“activist mentors”). Using Watts, Williams, and Jager's eco-transactional model of sociopolitical development as an analytic tool, the author explains and uncovers ways in which an amalgamation of past events, relationships, and environmental influences inform and emerge in activist mentors' work with youth activists. Findings indicate that activist mentors' ecological and transactional influences shape the ways in which they discuss their development of collective identities with their mentees, developmental spaces, and healing approaches to their work. This study points to a need for further research to understand what informs the work of sociopolitical youth workers, how their work is influenced, and the role of critical self-reflection in sociopolitical youth development work.     

Academic Freedom in Higher Education Within a Conservative Sociopolitical Culture

This paper examines the potential threat that a conservative sociopolitical culture poses to academic freedom in state colleges and universities. Already a number of states are considering legislation that would restrict professors’ rights to discuss political issues within their classes, especially political issues having religious or moral implications. The proposed legislation would permit professors to discuss political issues substantively linked to the official subject matter of courses, but would limit professors’ role in such discussion to one of political neutrality. The paper addresses the possibility of discussing controversial sociopolitical issues in college and university classes without alienating an institution’s external support base.Robert L. Williams holds the M.A. in Counseling and Guidance and the Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the George Peabody College for Teachers. He is Professor of Educational Psychology and Counseling with primary affiliation in the School Psychology Program at the University of Tennessee. His current research relates to the improvement of instruction in higher education and includes the areas of critical thinking, notetaking, multiple-choice testing, vocabulary development, students’ information sources, and student motivation.     

Religious Differences: Psychological and Sociopolitical Aspects of Counseling

The author, reflecting on her Hindu socialization in India and her work in graduate training in diversity issues in the United States (U.S.), discusses reasons why therapists should develop an understanding of Islam. U.S. therapists' potential biases against Muslims may parallel the sociopolitical relations between the U.S. and the Middle East, as well as their religious and cultural differences; critical factors in these biases are discussed. Relevant recommendations are accompanied by training vignettes to provide suggestions for working with Muslim immigrants in the U.S. The author also discusses political events related to Muslim populations, such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S.; the U.S. War Against Terrorism; and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This discussion is placed within the framework of intractable conflict. Suggestions are given for therapists' resolutions to disaster events, these being framed within existential psychotherapy and an analysis of societal contexts. This information is useful to therapists in any nation that is struggling with increasingly diverse populations and the effects of international relations.     

社会主义核心价值体系析——以政治社会化为视角

社会主义核心价值体系是当代中国意识形态的本质体现,宏观上,达到对公民思想的指导,把培养公民爱国主义的民族精神和改革创新的时代精神作为政治社会化的关键,运用社会主义荣辱观对"政治人"行为进行道德规范;微观上,实现对公民品格的培养,通过宏微观两方面的紧密结合,实现社会主义核心价值体系的意识形态功能.     

新诗大众化,民族化与社会政治学模式(上)

本文提出了一个新的文艺学概念：社会政治学模式,用以概括本世纪从二十年代初到七十年代末这一历史时期中国文艺的主要走向及其占主导地位的形态。作者以新诗大众化、民族佛的具体历程对社会政治学模式自兴起、发展到占统治地位以至衰亡的全过程作了勾画;并以上述历史过程背景,对郭沫若、艾青、田间、七月诗派、九叶诗派等代表性诗人及诗派各自的命运,从个体与社会互动的角度,作出了更为深入的分析。     

新诗大众化、民族化与社会政治学模式(下)

本文提出了一个新的文艺学概念 :社会政治学模式 ,用以概括本世纪从二十年代初到七十年代末这一历史时期中国文艺的主要走向及其占主导地位的形态。作者以新诗大众化、民族化的具体历程对社会政治学模式自兴起、发展到占统治地位以至衰亡的全过程作了勾画 ;并以上述历史过程为背景 ,对郭沫若、艾青、田间、七月诗派、九叶诗派等代表性诗人及诗派各自的命运 ,从个体与社会互动的角度 ,作出了更为深入的分析。     

Toward a Definition of Heritage Language: Sociopolitical and Pedagogical Considerations

Foreign language enrollments in the United States are experiencing a shift from the traditional European foreign languages toward the less commonly taught languages. Moreover, increasing numbers of students now have some degree of bilingual proficiency in the language that they are studying. As a result, much recent attention has been given to the issue of heritage language instruction by both researchers in applied linguistics and practitioners in language pedagogy. This article argues that the concepts of "heritage language" and "heritage learner" need clarification and should be placed within a larger national policy perspective. Pedagogical and sociopolitical issues surrounding the current heritage language debate are examined from a crosscultural and historical perspective. The article ends with some specific policy recommendations for the role of heritage languages and foreign languages within the current strategic context.     

Sociopolitical ideology as a determinant of students' perceptions of the university

The effect of ideological self-identification on students' perceptions and evaluations of three academic stimulus objects is investigated. Sociopolitical ideologies do structure perceptions of the academic milieu; conservative and liberal students view academic objects differently and do not use the same dimensions when describing academic objects. In predicting students' political identifications stimulus objects as well as perceptual dimensions must be taken into account.The research reported here was partially supported by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group. The assistance of IPIRG members and of SIU-C students on this project is gratefully acknowledged. Additional support was provided by the Yale University Political Science Department and the Yale University Computer Center.     

Fusing experience and theory — Sociopolitical and cognitive issues

This commentary will deal with the social and political context of professional knowledge and behavior, taking into account problems of the certification system. In addition, questions that concern the development of cognitive psychology will be discussed: which contributions to cognitive psychology are possible by strengthening research in the field of professional knowledge?     

A Sociopolitical Eclipse: The Surrendering of Two Super Systems to Promote Equity in U.S. Education

In this analysis, I argue that inequitable social and educational policies and practices hinder equity in the U.S. educational system. I challenge and critique the status quo, and the nation's current efforts toward educational equity. I then propose a radical shift in educational policy – a surrendering of social and political systems for the purpose of promoting equitable schooling conditions.     

西方教育公平实践的历史演进—基于社会政治哲学的视角

教育公平是一个历史的相对的概念。在西方资本主义国家,直到以税收资助教育的公共教育制度形成以后,人们才真正产生了对教育公平的自觉追求。其后的两百年里,教育公平随着教育制度的演变而不断发展。从社会政治哲学的角度,教育公平的演变可分为五个阶段：保守主义阶段、自由主义阶段、激进自由主义阶段、新保守主义阶段、第三条道路阶段。     

Teaching the Standards is Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Strategies for Incorporating the Sociopolitical Dimension of DAP in Early Childhood Teaching

Many early childhood practitioners in the U.S. are experiencing tension between their desire to offer students developmentally appropriate learning experiences and their obligation to teach the academic knowledge and skills mandated by their states. However, careful examination of the DAP guidelines’ definition of culturally appropriate practice reveals a significant sociopolitical dimension that has been obscured by the field’s tight focus on the sociocultural dimension. Because standards-based education is an explicit feature of the sociopolitical landscape of U. S. public education, teaching the standards is developmentally appropriate practice. Implementation of this broadened understanding of DAP adds new complexity to early childhood teachers’ work. This article offers ideas drawn from Bronfenbrenner, Vygotsky, and Dewey as sources of theoretical support and provides examples of strategic decision making—illustrated with examples drawn from Texas kindergartens—that can assist teachers in managing the curricular and instructional complexities that accompany the broadened understanding of DAP.