International comparative studies in teaching and teacher education

This review of eight papers published in Teaching and Teacher Education over the past twenty years shows how the profession has been impacted by the forces of globalisation. The impact varies in different contexts, according to local factors. The review looks at papers that use explicit international comparisons as a means to bring local contextual characteristics into sharp relief, and discusses the values and pitfalls of this approach. The review concludes by suggesting a possible future agenda for international comparisons, one that seeks answers to the domestic challenges of the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All by looking for solutions overseas. However, international appropriation needs to remain highly sensitive to the cultural context of implementation.     

Relational Communication in Computer-Mediated Interaction Revisited: A Comparison of Participant–Observer Perspectives

Studies of online environments estimate that the majority of members in online forums do not contribute to ongoing discussions and only observe or “lurk” (e.g., Nonnecke & Preece, 2000). Despite the prevalence of this form of information acquisition, direct comparisons between the experiences of these “observers” (or “lurkers”) and active participants are lacking. The present research draws on previous research examining perceptual differences between participants and observers as well as social information processing theory (Walther, 1992) and reports on three studies examining such differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC). Study 1 examined the effects in the context of interpersonal interaction in synchronous CMC. Study 2 examined the effects in the context of group interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous CMC. Study 3 replicated and extended the results of the previous studies across two time periods. The overall results (a) support the presence of participant–observer differences in CMC, (b) show that the presence of anticipated future interaction moderates said differences, and (c) provide mixed evidence that participant and observer interpretations of relational messages converge over time.     

Contradictions and Praxis Contextualized by Wartime Deployment: Wives' Perspectives Revealed through Relational Dialectics

With the continued US military presence throughout the world, it is important to understand the struggles of family members left behind during war, because they are important to the “success” of military marriages and potentially deployments. We asked 50 Army wives to discuss their experiences before, during, and after their husbands’ most recent deployment. Using relational dialectics as the theoretical framework for understanding marriage and deployment, we identified three contradictions (uncertainty–certainty during predeployment, autonomy–connection during the deployment, and openness–closedness during reunion) and several praxis patterns within them, some of which reflect potentially problematic dynamics for these military partners.     

Family communication patterns,sex of subject,and communication competence

Two hundred ninety‐nine subjects completed the Revised Family Communication Patterns instrument (Ritchie & Fitzpatrick, ) and the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ; Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, ). Results indicate that both family communication patterns and sex of subject influence the ability to enact certain communication skills in both same‐sex friendships and romantic partnerships. Those growing up in a strong conversation‐oriented family are more likely to report the ability to enact a greater number of interpersonal skills in both types of relationships. Women were more likely to report the ability to self‐disclose in a same‐sex friendship; however, a family communication environment that stresses a lower conversation orientation (consensual) diminishes the likelihood of acquiring that skill for women. Women were also more likely to report being able to offer emotional support in both same‐sex friendships and romantic partnerships. Men were more likely to report being able to assert themselves negatively in a same‐sex friendship, and to self‐disclose and manage conflict in a romantic partnership. Additionally, this study found that men and women employ different communication skills depending on the sex of their relational partner. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

从语义角色的变化谈词义的发展——以“暗补”“明补”为例

“暗补”和“明补”是近年来出现的的新词语。它们的深层语义角色施事、目的、范围、动作等在表层语义结构中没有体现出来,因此这些语义角色的具体值会随语境的不同而有所不同。在对“暗补”或“明补”进行定义时,对施事、目的、范围、一动作等语义角色不能定义得十分具体,否则就只能是它的语境义而不是词典中的概念义了。     

思维视角的跨文化交流论析

人类之间的交流离不开思维,包括抽象思维、形象思维和直觉思维。思维作为大脑处理信息的方式总是在表达和接收信息时直接或间接起作用。由于文化、风俗以及生活环境的差异在不同文化主体之间形成不同的认知偏好和思维习惯,从而造成思维方式的巨大不同,直接影响到跨文化交流的顺利实现。因此,从思维的角度来考察交流如何可能及跨文化交流如何实现具有重要的意义。     

免费师范生问题意识与创新思维的培养

学习动机产生的关键就是问题,问题激发学生的求知欲。问题意识是关系到教学成败、创新人才培养的决定性因素。问题意识是培养学生创新精神的切入点,问题意识在思维过程和科学创新活动中占有非常重要的地位。通过目前问题意识研究现状分析、心理学分析,结合免费师范生思维发展特点,积极探索了培养提高化学教育专业免费师范生问题意识与创新能力的有效方法。     

Relational Maintenance and the Influence of Commitment in Online and Offline Relationships

The study of relational-maintenance behaviors has sometimes included the impact of medium as a peripheral variable, but rarely has the impact of medium been tested directly. Participants (N = 1336) delineated themselves into four separate groups depending on the initial and continued use of mediated communication. They reported their use of relational-maintenance behaviors, as well as feelings of commitment towards the relationship. The medium had an impact on the use of relational-maintenance behaviors, primarily between people who had only met their partners in a mediated environment and those who had met them face-to-face. However, commitment level appears to strongly moderate the relationship between group and use of maintenance behaviors.     

Internet Connectedness and its Social Origins: An Ecological Approach to Postaccess Digital Divides

This study examines the influence of sociocultural factors on the level of “Internet connectedness.” The Internet Connectedness Index (ICI), composed of five items, is modified and applied to measure disparities in the ways in which people use the Internet. With a dataset of 384 randomly selected telephone survey respondents, the ICI is regressed on various social indicators. The result indicates that technological environments, social environments, and the scope and intensity of Internet-related goals significantly influence individuals' Internet connectedness. This finding highlights that even after people gain access to the Internet, the ways they incorporate the Internet into their everyday lives differ, and that the differences reflect disparities in the multiple dimensions of the social context in which individuals are situated.     

Playing With Dialectics: Black Female Friendship Groups as a Homeplace

Female friendships are significant to many Black females because they represent a homeplace, or a safe space. This study uses Baxter and Montgomery's (1996 Baxter , L. A. , & Montgomery , B. M. ( 1996 ). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics . New York , NY : The Guilford Press . [Google Scholar], 1998 Baxter , L. A. , & Montgomery , B. M. ( 1998 ). A guide to dialectical approaches to studying interpersonal relationships . In B. M. Montgomery & L. A. Baxter (Eds.), Dialectical approaches to studying interpersonal relationships (pp. 1 – 16 ). Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum . [Google Scholar]) relational dialectics theory and Collins’ (2000 Collins , P. H. ( 2000 ). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment ( ed.) , 2nd . New York , NY : Routledge . [Google Scholar]) Black feminist thought to understand the interplay of contradictions in the stories that Black females tell in their friendship groups. The contradictions embedded in the stories were finances (spending/saving), language (“good”/“bad” English), appearance (satisfaction/dissatisfaction), and race (acceptance/rejection of otherness). The interaction of these tensions showed that the friends engaged in group segregation and integration, which ultimately enabled them to freely express their culturally based truths without fear of marginalization.