Russian in the University Curriculum: A Case‐study of the Impact of the First World War on Language Study in Higher Education in Britain

The outbreak of the First World War and the emergence of Russia as Britain’s ‘glorious ally’ swiftly changed public attitudes in Britain, which had been largely, but not entirely, hostile to Russia. The sense that Britain needed to cure its ‘abysmal ignorance’ of Russia, coupled with the strong desire to replace Germany, the enemy, as a trading partner with Russia led to the initiation of the teaching of the language at eight or more university‐standard establishments. The material and intellectual foundation of the nascent departments of Russian was a partnership between commercial‐financial and academic interests. Money from business sources was crucial in the introduction of Russian teaching at several of them. It was, however, only at Nottingham that the commercial sector actively tried (unsuccessfully) to control the behaviour of the college by restricting promised funding. Meanwhile, partnership with technical schools in recruiting teachers was a significant feature of the introduction of Russian to the higher and further education sector. Staff recruited consisted of both British scholars and expatriate Russians (or other Slavs). Russian departments or divisions were often actively supported within the university by specialists in other fields, who were strongly of the opinion that any serious university system should accommodate the study of a society and culture as significant as that of Russia. When it became clear after the October Revolution that Russia would not continue to support Britain, France and America in the war against Germany, the withdrawal of interest external to the universities did not cause the immediate demise of Russian studies in higher education; they were by this time established firmly enough to survive for intellectual reasons alone, and indeed they survive to this day in most of the institutions discussed here. University College, Nottingham, later to become the University of Nottingham, exemplifies in microcosm the principal trends and features of the national situation.     

The Role of Language‐level in Conservation‐acquisition

Remmo Hamel, B. & de Witt, S. (1971). The Role of Language‐level in Conservation‐acquisition. Scand. J. educ. Res. 13‐20. The experiment investigates the role of language‐level and different types of training procedures on the acquisition of conservation of liquids. The results corroborate earlier findings that different types of training have no differential effects on conservation‐acquisition, and indicate that language‐level plays a significant role in conservation‐acquisition. The Piagetian conception of the role of language has been questioned. However, the learned conservation concept does not generalize to other situations. The results arc interpreted in terms of conditioning.     

The progressive and non‐formal principles of Kibbutz education in Israel

This article explores the relationship between philanthropy and education in the context of eighteenth‐century Protestant Dissent. More particularly, it examines the intersection between philanthropy, fund‐raising and educational administration as they evolved within the institutional lifecycle of the collegiate Dissenting academies. It argues that individual academies experienced at least three of four life stages, each of which had its own unique challenges. All academies went through the first two of these stages, namely ‘foundation’ and ‘maintenance’. Whether or not an academy experienced the last two stages – ‘transition’ and ‘dissolution’ – depended on factors such as the financial strength of an academy and the reliability of its principal supporters. To illustrate these stages and their philanthropic subtexts, the article focuses on three institutional ‘traditions’, those of the Northampton Academy and its successors, the Warrington Academy, and Trevecca College and its successor Cheshunt College.     

Environmental projects of Jewish and Arab youth in Israel: the adult leaders’ views

Socio‐environmental projects involving Arab and Jewish youth in Israel are uncommon. In this study, we interviewed 16 adult leaders of two projects that were carried out in the Galilee in northern Israel, to better understand the views of the leaders and their motives. The two projects focused on mutual environmental issues and dealt with social, cultural, and political aspects with respect to the environmental context. The participants were teachers and principals of the students who participated in the projects and facilitators of two environmental organizations. We found diverse views with respect to environmental education, local environmental issues, and possible solutions. The Arab adults expressed stronger attachment to the local environment than the Jewish ones. The major projects’ goals according to the leaders included: (improving) knowledge, awareness, and environmental behavior of the students and their communities; an opportunity for taking part in community collaboration and action; an opportunity for multicultural interaction; and meaningful long‐term learning in the outdoors. Our findings highlight the importance of identifying the views of educators of diverse cultures in order to carry out future successful multicultural environmental projects. Our findings also suggest adopting critical pedagogy of place while designing and implementing such projects in sensitive regions such as Israel.     

Aspects of Intercultural Education and Curriculum Decision‐making

This article presents an analysis of intercultural education from the viewpoint of the dynamics of agenda building as a political process. In this analysis, particular attention is given to the theoretical and ideological assumptions on which the concept of intercultural education is based. The author contends that the employment of this concept serves the purpose of issue containment within the arena of conflict where educational policy alternatives are determined.

     

Turkish‐speaking First Graders in Norway Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary,Listening Comprehension and Literacy Skills

This study explored relationships between characteristics of classroom talk exposure and immigrant first graders' acquisition of second language oral skills (vocabulary and listening comprehension) and literacy skills. Twenty‐six children (mean age = 6.10 years) with Turkish as their first language and Norwegian as their second, attending various multilingual and ethnically diverse classrooms in Norway, were videotaped during classroom conversations. Classroom talk was coded for vocabulary richness, discursive complexity and emergent phonics talk and the children's oral language and literacy skills were assessed. Classroom vocabulary richness and discursive complexity predicted the children's second language vocabulary skills and listening comprehension after controlling for maternal education, but did not predict their literacy skills. The density of emergent phonics talk did not predict target children's code‐related skills in this sample. Applied perspectives related to second language learning in multiparty settings are discussed.     

The Role of the First Language in Mongolian Learner''''s Learning of English

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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.     

Cultural differences and students’ spontaneous models of the water cycle: a case study of Jewish and Bedouin children in Israel

The present research aims at pinpointing differences in spontaneous and non-spontaneous mental models of water cycle conceptions of two 4th grade student groups: the Jewish residents of a small provincial town and a group of students from an indigenous Bedouin community. Students’ conceptions were elicited using the Repertory Grid technique as well by being asked to draw “what happens to water in nature?” In later interviews, in addition to answering specially designed open-ended interview questions, the students were also requested to elaborate on their drawings and responses to the Repertory Grid technique. The Bedouin students were found to have richer mental models of water cycle phenomena; their models included more components of the water cycle and were more authentic and connected to other natural phenomena. On the other hand, Bedouin students also employed theological explanations to make sense of water cycle phenomena. These findings, as well as methodological issues relating to spontaneous and non-spontaneous models elicitation are discussed and implications for instruction are offered.     

Learning Segregation in Junior High‐Schools in Israel: Causes and Consequences

ABSTRACT

Implementation of educational integration policy in Israel creates heterogeneous student compositions in the schools. Principals and teachers who, as a result, confront instructional difficulties, and who are ambiguous about this policy and its expected efficacy, press to counter‐balance this heterogeneity by resegregating students within the school in ability‐based classes. In this paper we deal with three inter‐related topics:

1. the degree of learning segregation within integrated junior high schools in Israel;

2. several factors which may explain the degree of learning segregation; (3) the effect of learning segregation on academic outcomes: achievement (in reading and science) and subsequent school career (student placement in high school track).

In doing so, we clarify an aspect of the school principal's role and his or her indirect effect on students learning. Principals have a decisive power in the organization of learning frameworks (class structure, ability grouping etc.) within the school. Their ideas and convictions about the efficacy of integration affect the actual practices of class organization in the school. This, in turn, has an effect on learning processes within the class and evetually on students’ academic outcomes, especially on those from the weaker group.     

An Investigation into Sex Differences in Certain Aspects of Science Practical Work with First‐year Secondary School Pupils in Single Sex and Mixed Teaching Groups

In this study we attempt to evaluate two models of instruction, one based on the assumptions of the constructivist or conceptual change model, and one based on an expositive‐deductive model. We applied the two approaches to the teaching of geometric optics at different levels of instruction: elementary school and university. In each case the same teacher taught the same scientific topic to both the control and experimental groups, and all students carried out the same classroom activities. The study was carried out in such a way as to replicate as closely as possible the actual conditions of each classroom environment. The results of instruction failed to show significant differences in learning attributable to the method of instruction used, although different trends were evident in the two samples. Our commentary on the findings concludes with suggestions for further research in this field.     

The Structure of Attitudes Towards Israel‐Diaspora Relations Among Diaspora Youth Leaders: An Empirical Analysis

The goals of this study are to describe the motivations and aims of young Israelis for choosing Reform rabbinical studies and to explore how the Israeli and Reform contexts are manifested in students’ motivations and aims. This question was examined by a study of the personal background, the decision-making process, and the motivations of 10 students in the Reform rabbinical program at the Jerusalem campus of Hebrew Union College (HUC). Though most of the students’ exposure to Reform Judaism occurred following an encounter with North American Reform Jewry, the choice of rabbinical studies was described by most of the participants as the result of a sense of incongruity between the personal, cultural, and professional dimensions of their lives.     

Language and Marginalization-a Research on Language Problems of Migrant Workers in Beijing

With migrant workers pouring out into cities together with their family,their problems become more and more prominent.By means of field study,the paper investigated the language problems and social problems of migrant workers,and confirmed the hypothesis that language problems cause migrant workers marginalized in the mainstream of the society.     

Gender Differences in Self‐efficacy and Academic Performance among Students of Business Administration

Gender differences in perceived self‐efficacy and academic performance in marketing, organizational behaviour, accounting, computing, mathematics and statistics were investigated in 154 college students studying business administration. At the beginning of their second year in college, the students completed a questionnaire designed to measure self‐efficacy in subjects they had studied during their first year. The female students had significantly lower self‐efficacy in computing and marketing and higher self‐efficacy in statistics than the male students. Except for statistics, where female students outperform their male counterparts, there were no significant gender differences in academic performance.     

Self‐perception of gifts and talents among adults in a longitudinal study of academically talented high‐school graduates

Definitions of giftedness and self‐perceptions of abilities were examined among adults who have been participating in a longitudinal study of academically talented students since their high‐school graduation in 1988. For the present study, participants answered open‐ended questions and completed scales measuring adult giftedness and adult self‐perceptions of abilities in 12 different domains. Gender differences in perceptions were examined. When participants were asked if they believed they were gifted in high school and now, more men than women responded affirmatively to both questions. Further, significant gender differences were identified for perceived competencies in four areas: job competence, nurturance, athletic competence, and morality. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Developmental Achievements of 7‐year‐old Children in Poland in the Light of International Tests and the Requirements of the Polish Language School Program

The language competence and reading comprehension of 406 7‐year‐old children are examined in the research discussed in this article. The children were tested using comparative tests as part of an international project conducted in 14 countries and sponsored by the IEA and the High Scope Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, USA. The discussion here relates only to a part of this wider research and focuses upon the aims and contents of Polish language teaching in grades I—III of the Polish primary school.     

Validation and development of norms for the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language‐Revised (TACL‐R) in Lebanon

Assessment of auditory comprehension is necessary for therapeutic clinical intervention as well as remedial and special education services. In this study, the Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language‐Revised (TACL‐R), developed by Elizabeth Carrow‐Woolfolk in 1985 Carrow‐Woolfolk, E. 1985. Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language‐Revised, Allen, TX: DLM Teaching Resources.  [Google Scholar], was translated and adapted for use in the Lebanese culture. The adapted test was administered to 350 Lebanese children aged 3:0–9:11 selected on the basis of grade and school type. Norms were reported for each age and grade level. Reliability analysis showed that the adapted test provides consistent, stable and precise estimates of auditory comprehension ability. The test's construct validity was examined using several indices. In addition, evidence for concurrent validity was provided by examining the relationship between scores on the adapted test and teachers' ratings of students' language abilities. Obtained results were compared with those on the TACL‐R and were discussed in terms of their practical implications. Recommendations for further research were proposed.     

Orientations to happiness and subjective well‐being among Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong

This study investigated three orientations to happiness and their relationships with subjective well‐being in a sample of 228 Chinese prospective and in‐service teachers in Hong Kong. Confirmatory item factor analyses supported a three‐dimensional model that included constructs represented by a life of meaning, a life of pleasure, and a life of engagement. These three orientations, especially the meaningful life and the engaged life were found to predict life satisfaction and positive emotions as two components of subjective well‐being. Implications of the findings on the relationships between orientations and subjective well‐being for helping teachers to promote a more satisfying life to combat against teacher burnout are discussed.     

Korean-Immigrant Parents’ Support of Their American-Born Children’s Development and Maintenance of the Home Language

This study explores Korean-immigrant parents’ language ideologies and practices with respect to their American-born children’s language development. Participants were seven ethnic Korean families composed of immigrant parents and their American-born children, aged between five and seven, in Midwestern America. Interviews in the medium of Korean with the parents, and naturally-occurring family conversations during a meal time, reading time, and play time were audio-recorded and analyzed. The findings suggest that Korean-immigrant parents have a strong desire to pass on their mother tongue to their American-born children, largely derived from their language barrier, and perception of language as an identity marker and socio-economic capital in case they return to Korea for familial obligations and economic opportunities, which represent the context-specific nature of family language policy. Language strategies, such as parental feedback and language-mixing, serve as a catalyst for the implementation of family language policy on the levels of functions, forms, and teaching of the Korean language for Korean-American children’s bilingual development.