Social Cultural Theory Research Articles

GENDER AND INVOLVEMENT IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT. A STUDY OF IHIOMA IN ORLU L.G.A, IMO STATE, NIGERIA

— This research focused on “men and women in community development in Ihioma community, in Orlu local government area State. The broad objective of this study is to investigate men and women effects in community development in Ihioma. Two hypothesis were formulated in the course of this study relevant literature were reviewed, two theories, were also reviewed, the theories are modernization theory of social change and the cultural feminist theory. The researcher adopted the cultural feminist theory in the explication in Ihioma, the researcher adopted the survey research design, the researcher also adopted a sample size of 229 respondents the purposive sampling method was also adopted by the researcher. The research gathered data for this research through the techniques. Data were analyzed using the chisquare statistical tool. The hypothesis which states that there is no significant relationship between gender disparity and men and women involvement in community development was also rejected as the table value of 7.815 was greater than the x2 value of 6.8. The study found out that gender disparity in Ihioma has not led to a decline in community development. The study also found out that the level of education among men and women in Ihioma has not affected the process of development in the area.

Мовна маска користувача соцмереж як інструмент конструювання множинної ідентичності

The main objective of the article is to analyse significance of the language mask for communications practices in social networks, its role in transformation of personal identity under the influence of network communication. In the study, we applied sociocultural and psycholinguistic analysis in the context of an interdisciplinary approach, as a synthesis of knowledge of social communication, psycholinguistics and cultural theory. In addition, critical analysis of media narratives and typology method have become an important toolkit. Summing up the study results, it should be noted that fulfilment of the universal human need for self-expression in anonymous conditions of network communication leads to a variety of different narrative masks in virtual discourse, which makes it difficult to create their unambiguous unified typology. However, it can be stated that creation of a linguistic mask is one of the important tools for constructing the identity of the author, who simultaneously appears as a marker of this identity. Today the existing typology of language strategies (event, analytical and artistic), in our opinion, should be supplemented by a visually oriented strategy, which is associated with the tendency of minimization of text formats and an increase of emphasis on the visual component. It is difficult to identify a separate strategy among ones that dominate in the modern network space, rather it is hybridity and a mixture of different strategies that generally corresponds to postmodern paradigm. In that regard, the interest in the phenomenon of multiple identity, when the network user creates not one but many language masks, becomes topical and relevant to the contemporary postmodern areas of research (actor-network theory). In this sense, identification of discursive levels (psychological, communication, philological) as meaningful discursive embodiments of narrative masks is relevant for future analysis, which different options of interaction can be used by the author to build a particular mask.

Teacher education for inclusive education in Bhutan: perspectives of pre-service and beginning teachers*

ABSTRACT Bhutan is in the preliminary stages of training teachers to support inclusive education. This study investigated teachers’ views on preparation for inclusive teaching using a case study that was conducted with twelve pre-service and twenty beginning teachers in six schools. Data were drawn from focus-group interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The application of Vygotsky’s social cultural theory and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory was appropriate and acknowledged the social systems surrounding learning. Socio-cultural theorisation was used to consider where people lived, and social and cultural factors; while self-efficacy theory enabled an exploration of teachers’ willingness to implement inclusiveness. Findings are presented in four key areas: education for all, barriers, policy and attitudes towards inclusion. This study contributes to inclusive education research in South-West Asia and policy goals and practice in Bhutan.

A Review of Socio-Cultural Theory

The purpose of this study is to explore Vygotsky’s contribution to the socio-cultural theory in the field of education in general. Socio-Cultural Theory, based on Vygotskian thought, is a theory about the development of human cognitive and higher mental function. The theory specially emphasizes the integration of social, cultural and biological elements in learning processes and stresses the socio-cultural circumstances’ central role in human’s cognitive development. The study aims to elaborate the impact of social-cultural theory in the leaning. The study also reviews implications and applications of socio-cultural theory in second language acquisition. Moreover, this study also critiques the strong points and weakness points of this theory. There are a number of language learning theories which are introduced by researchers in second language research. These theories are based on research and observation in the field of language learning. B. F Skinner’s theory of behaviorism, Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar, Krashen’s five Hypotheses, connectionism and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory have changed people’ mind of language learning.

A Review of Socio-Cultural Theory

The purpose of this study is to explore Vygotsky’s contribution to the socio-cultural theory in the field of education in general. Socio-Cultural Theory, based on Vygotskian thought, is a theory about the development of human cognitive and higher mental function. The theory specially emphasizes the integration of social, cultural and biological elements in learning processes and stresses the socio-cultural circumstances’ central role in human’s cognitive development. The study aims to elaborate the impact of social-cultural theory in the leaning. The study also reviews implications and applications of socio-cultural theory in second language acquisition. Moreover, this study also critiques the strong points and weakness points of this theory. There are a number of language learning theories which are introduced by researchers in second language research. These theories are based on research and observation in the field of language learning. B. F Skinner’s theory of behaviorism, Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar, Krashen’s five Hypotheses, connectionism and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory have changed people’ mind of language learning.

Job satisfaction of returnees to Japan

We investigate how Japanese returnees’ job satisfaction is influenced by their organizational identification, their cultural openness and the degree of the ‘Japaneseness’ of the business system in their firms. On the tenets of social identity and cultural fit theory, we find that stronger identified Japanese returnees are more job satisfied. Furthermore, the degree of “Japaneseness” of the business system is negatively related to the job satisfaction of returnees, indicating that firms with a rather Western business system have more job satisfied returnees in their workforce. Also, even though we do not find any direct relationship between cultural openness and job satisfaction, we receive weak support, that cultural openness moderates the influence of the Japanese business system on a returnee’s job satisfaction. That is, the group of culturally more open returnees has a higher job satisfaction when working in a rather Japanese business system.

A Critical Review of Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory in Second Language Acquisition

The purpose of this study is to explore Vygotsky’s contribution to the socio-cultural theory in the field of education in general, and applied linguistics in particular. The study aims to elaborate the impact of social-cultural theory in the existing body of literature. The study also reviews implications and applications of socio-cultural theory in second language acquisition (SLA). Moreover, this study also critiques the basic concepts of the theory and how far these concepts have been implicated in the domain of research. The central focus is to explore and to critically understand central ideas such as Zone of Proximal Development, mediation, scaffolding, internalization, and private speech. The socio-cultural theory focuses on what learners learn and the solution to their learning problems. Socio- cultural theory has made a great effect on learning and teaching languages. It also regards learning second language as a semiotic process where participation in socially mediated activities is very important (Ellis, 2000). Vygotsky (1987) singled out and studied the dynamic social surroundings which indicate the connection between teacher and the child. Moreover, he focused on the social, cultural and historical artifacts which play a pivotal role in the children’s cognitive development as well as their potential performance. The study concludes with the idea of Williams & Burden (1997) that socio-cultural theory suggests that education should be associated with learning to learn and making learning experiences meaningful and relevant to the learner. The study also suggests some pedagogical implications and offers teaching and learning practices in relation to socio-cultural theory.

Prior Learning Assessment: Does Dewey's Theory Offer Insight?

AbstractThis chapter evaluates Dewey's thinking in relation to the theorization of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). It compares Dewey's concepts with ideas from social realism, Vygotsky, and cultural historical activity theory, illustrated by PLA research in South Africa.

Reducing Risk Through Academic Community Engagement in Homeland Security and Emergency Management

This inquiry engaged graduate students in the Homeland Security and Emergency Management program course designated as Academic Community Engagement (ACE) at an Institution of Higher Education (IHE) in rural Texas. The purpose was to evaluate an American Red Cross (ARC) risk-reduction Home Fire Campaign initiative and to implement new strategies designed by students and grounded in after action reports (AARs) and principles of emergency management (EM). Vygotsky's model of social learning and Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framed the study. Students partnered with the ARC, emergency responders, and civil society organizations to (a) assess the effectiveness of the ARC-led campaign; (b) apply EM principles in designing the student-led campaign; (c) implement EM principles to new capability-building strategies; and (d) offer recommendations. Comparative analyses of separate campaign events in the community revealed reciprocal benefits; solutions devised by students enhanced program effectiveness and expanded social capital; students reported deep contextualized learning.

Pudłocki, Thomasz Ambasadorzy idei: Wkład intelektualistów w promowanie pozytywnego wizerunku Polski w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1918–1939 (review)

REVIEWS 577 and milk. Besides, ethnological ideas were changing: promoting distinctive Kazakh lifestyles fitted with the new view of nations as ancient and longlasting . In practice the new ranch-type kolkhozy became clan strongholds. To return to the question I posed in the first paragraph: it seems likely that traditional Kazakh culture was comprehensively destroyed in the 1930s. Then the massive immigrations of the Second World War and the virgin lands campaign turned the republic into an inter-ethnic microcosm of the Soviet Union itself; the titular nation was actually in a minority. There was moreover, no alternative to placing one’s trust in the authorities: this was ‘forced trust’, as depicted by Alexey Tikhomirov. Even after the Soviet collapse, Kindler notes, the plan to erect a monument to the victims of the great famine has never been fulfilled, leaving only a bare plinth (photographed on page 342) with the words ‘In this place will be erected a monument to the victims of the famine of 1931–33’. No better symbol could be imagined of the loss of national memory. Kindler’s book complements the research of Isabelle Ohayon (La sédentarisation des Kazakhs dans L’URSS de Staline, Paris, 2006) by providing a greater variety of local examples and by tracing through all-Union and Kazakh archives the interweaving of central and local policies. He also draws on social science and cultural theory to illuminate the results of his research. He goes far towards explaining what I think of as ‘the great Kazakh mystery’. UCL SSEES Geoffrey Hosking Pudłocki, Tomasz. Ambasadorzy idei: Wkład intelektualistów w promowanie pozytywnego wizerunku Polski w Wielkiej Brytanii w latach 1918–1939. Studia z Historii XX Wieku, 18, Historia Iagellonica, Kraków, 2015. 382 pp. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Summary in English. Indexes. Zł50.00. Poland’s position in the interwar period was unenviable: it was surrounded by unfriendly nations, particularly the Soviet Union to the East against whom it achieved a slim victory, Germany to the West, and also to a greater or lesser degree Czechoslovakia and Lithuania, whose relations with Poland were rather strained due to Polish expansionism. Poland needed to establish effective treaties with other European powers, but as a new country it had little political, economic or popular clout, if the peoples of those powers knew anything about Poland at all. Additionally, it was jostling for a diplomatic position against a strong German anti-Polish propaganda machine as well as the broad popularity of Czechoslovakia. TomaszPudłocki’smonographexaminestheroleintellectualsplayedinPolish foreign policy in Great Britain, as Poland tried to establish a positive attitude SEER, 95, 3, JULY 2017 578 in the British population. He expertly weaves intellectual, cultural, diplomatic and social history to create a narrative about the successes and failures of this propaganda mission. Pudłocki draws on a wealth of sources, from archives across Poland, Britain and the United States, to biographies and contemporary publicity documents, and successfully combines these into a coherent story of the development of Polish public relations in Great Britain. The book is divided into five chapters that each examine a different aspect of the diplomatic process. The first chapter provides an overview of the British impression of Poland in the interwar era, paying careful attention to the various plusses and minuses in British public opinion, such as Britain’s wariness of Polish treatment of minorities and its aristocracy on the one hand, and fascination with Polish villages and folklore on the other. Chapter two outlines the official efforts of the ambassadors in Britain, giving the reader background on the official relations between the two countries as well as an introduction to the intellectuals and institutions discussed later in the book. In the third chapter, Pudłocki highlights British intellectuals who were friendly towards Poland, such as G. K. Chesterton and the critics Monica Mary Gardner and William John Rose, who would eventually become director of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) in London. The role SSEES played in Polish public relations constitutes the fourth chapter. The final, and best, chapter is dedicated to Roman Dyboski, the Polish scholar of English literature, who forms the backbone of the entire study. The...

Understanding water pollution management: Evidence and insights from incorporating cultural theory in social network analysis

Social network analysis gives a rigid assessment of network structure while cultural theory helps explain management outcomes in more detail. The combination of these methods provides significant and alternative insights about the complexity of water pollution management. Applied in the case study of the Calumpang Watershed in the Philippines, two types of relations were evaluated, namely, resource sharing and cooperative activities. Factors affecting cooperation and the creation of bridges were assessed in social network analysis, while cultural theory was used to reveal the underlying views of key actors on the nature of the river and its management. Evidence showed that cooperation was significantly influenced by resource sharing regardless of institutional affiliation, while bridges were created by becoming the pools of information and resources in the network. Using cultural theory, this study found out that local government officials dominantly have a mixture of hierarchist and egalitarian views characterizing belief in both rule-bound and group-motivated actions to solve the water pollution problem. However, their egalitarian views on management did not manifest in the current network. The study concludes that collaborative partnerships for water pollution management can be facilitated by promoting resource flow, utilizing influential bridges in the network, and understanding the unconventional values of government actors. Combining social network analysis and cultural theory is recommended to generate a more critical assessment of the institutional complexity of pollution and other water issues in watersheds.

Keynote Speakers

Keynote Speakers

درجة ممارسة أعضاء الهيئة التّدريسيّة في الجامعات الأردنيّة استراتيجيّات تدريس اللغة العربيّة

هدفت الدّراسة إلى معرفة درجة ممارسة أعضاء الهيئة التّدريسيّة في الجامعات الأردنيّة استراتيجيّات تدريس اللغة العربيّة؛ ولتحقيق ذلك صمّم الباحث استبانة وزّعها على مئة عضو هيئة تدريس، وقد تمثّلت في ثلاثة مجالات: النّظريّات والمداخل والاستراتيجيّات. أظهرت نتائج الدّراسة في مجال النّظريات الّذي اشتمل على (4) نظريّات أنّ نظريّة " من أعلى إلى أسفل " قد حصلت على المرتبة الأولى، بينما حصلت " النّظريّة الثّقافيّة الاجتماعيّة " على المرتبة الأخيرة. وأظهرت نتائج الدّراسة في مجال المداخل اللغويّة الّذي اشتمل على (7) مداخل أنّ المدخل " التّقليديّ " قد حصل على المرتبة الأولى، بينما حصل المدخل " التّركيبيّ والمهاريّ " على المرتبة الأخيرة. وأمّا مجال الاستراتيجيّات الّذي اشتمل على (20) استراتيجيّة فقد ظهرت النّتائج في ثلاث مستويات: مرتفعة ومتوسّطة ومنخفضة. وقد حصلت استراتيجيّة " المحاضرة " في المستوى المرتفع على المرتبة الأولى بنسبة (9.338%)، بينما حصلت استراتيجيّة التّعلّم الذّاتيّ في المستوى نفسه على المرتبة الأخيرة بنسبة (6.614%)، وأمّا في المستوى المتوسّط فقد حصلت " استراتيجيّة التّبادل " على المرتبة الأولى بنسبة (6.42%)، بينما حصلت " استراتيجيّة التّدريس المصغّر " في المستوى نفسه على المرتبة الأخيرة بنسبة (3.696%)، وأمّا في المستوى المنخفض فقد حصلت " استراتيجيّة المساءلة الذاّتيّة " على المرتبة الأولى بنسبة (2.918%)، بينما حصلت " استراتيجيّة التّفكير بصوت مرتفع " في المستوى نفسه على المرتبة الأخيرة بنسبة (0.194%).

Myths of the future and scenario archetypes

We employ tools from the social cognition and cultural theory literatures to explore images, concerns, expectations, and attitudes towards the future among the general public. An online survey of 950 Australian citizens was conducted to identify five distinct views of the future. These myths of the future are ‘social crisis’, ‘eco-crisis’, ‘techno-optimism’, ‘power and economic inequality’, and ‘social transformation’. We discuss how these myths relate to the scenario archetypes as commonly employed in foresight literature. This analysis reveals how psychological and cognitive considerations may contribute to the literature and could be incorporated in the running of foresight exercises. Among the 5 myths, techno-optimism describes beliefs that science and technology are likely to create innovations that can improve our quality of life. It provides a firm anchor between scenario archetypes, myths of the future, and the STEEP (social, technological, economic, environmental, and political) framework, by holding a similar meaning in all three settings. Our analysis also elucidates how attitudes towards technological development are not value-free and are influenced by beliefs regarding how society and the environment should be managed, and to what extent technology itself can be a positive or negative force in this management.

Talking (or Not Talking) about the Past: The Influence of Parent–Child Conversation about Negative Experiences on Children's Memories

SummaryWe review research investigating the influence of conversations between parents and their children about past negative experiences on children's memory and management of their emotional experiences. To do so, we are guided by social cultural developmental theory and a developmental psychopathology framework. In the first section, we first discuss the ‘best case’ scenario, in which parents and child have a close relationship within which the child's negative emotions can be discussed and understood, and the child's ability to remember her experiences in a detailed and coherent narrative form is optimised. In the second section, we turn to the most problematic scenario of child maltreatment, including child sexual abuse, and consider the implications for children's memory when these optimizing factors are not present or are limited. Finally, we discuss exemplar intermediary scenarios. We propose that early problems acquiring critical skills for remembering emotional experiences in the context of parent–child relationships can have negative consequences for children's memory but also for their psychological functioning more broadly, which can extend across development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evidencias de aprendizaje autónomo de un idioma extranjero mediado por tutorías dialógicas

Este artículo obedece a un estudio llevado a cabo en una universidad privada en Bogotá, en su programa de Licenciatura de Humanidades e Idiomas. El proyecto tuvo cuatro etapas: (a) se identificó el problema, este evidenció un alto nivel de dependencia de 18 estudiantes hacia sus maestros y el bajo grado de autorregulación frente a su aprendizaje en lengua inglesa, de los 8 profesores que participaron se demuestra temor a liberar a sus estudiantes o desconocimiento para orientar su independencia. Se realizó una evaluación que tuvo en cuenta tres teorías, la de autonomía para el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera (Nunan, 1997), la de autorregulación en ese aprendizaje (Zimmerman, 2000; Lantolf, 2000; Vygotzky, 1978) y la teoría de dialogicidad (Bajtin & Voloshinov, 1976); (b) se impulsaron tutorías dialógicas con los 8 profesores y los 18 estudiantes; (c) se realizó una sensibilización con los docentes, por medio de un grupo focal, para determinar las primeras reacciones ante el ejercicio propuesto; y (d) se hizo una interpretación de transcripciones de grabaciones de video de la práctica tutorial, buscando códigos emergentes (con el software Atlas-ti) y triangulando los resultados con la literatura existente. Los hallazgos del estudio muestran que los maestros consideran que es necesario un cambio en nuestras formas de enseñar y de brindar apoyo y acompañamiento a los estudiantes. Igualmente, mediante la teoría fundamentada, emergieron 36 códigos libres, que llevaron a la construcción de diez principios que se constituyen en una nueva propuesta que integra la autonomía y la autorregulación a través de la dialogicidad y que, considerando la teoría sociocultural, aporta una nueva visión que complementa los enfoques teóricos arriba mencionados. Es decir, se propone una ruta dialógica, que es una innovación en el aprendizaje de una lengua extranjera.

Deconstructing Religious Identity, Difference, and Belonging: Implications for Anti-Racist Pedagogy

Increasing numbers of Australians identify with a multiplicity of religion groups or have no religious affiliation. Despite this, the representation of religious groups other than Christian—and the implications of this for anti-racist pedagogy in Australian schools—is seldom explored.This article interrogates the ways in which the most prominent of these minority religious groups (Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish) were spoken about in two Melbourne newspapers and considers the implications of this interrogation for multicultural pedagogy in globally integrated local school contexts, such as those in Australia. Methodologies of social cultural theory and critical discourse analysis (CDA) are used to investigate newspaper discussions from the different viewpoints of their experiential, systemic, and normative focus. I find that notions of religious identity described in the media are stylized in form and an almost-silent normative self-identity is defined against clichéd typologies made within a crucible of race, identity, and belonging.

Rethinking generic skills

The paper provides a critical analysis of the notion of generic or transversal skills contained with European Union policy discourses. The author presents a conceptual framework that challenges the idea that generic skills are universal, transferable and autonomous. An alternative analysis is put forward that argues the case for contextualising skills and knowledge within particular understandings and cultures that are more collective than individualistic in nature. The arguments are framed within wider cross-disciplinary debates in linguistics, geosemiotics and social-cultural theory and build upon an earlier paper exploring core skills in the UK (Canning, 2007).

ПРЕДСТАВЛЕНИЯ О ЗАВИСТИ В ПСИХОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ТЕОРИЯХ ЛИЧНОСТИ

The article analyzes the foreign and Russian theorists of personality, representing different psychological directions in which there is a reference to the problem of envy. The problem of envy is discussed in the framework of classical psychoanalysis (S. Freud, M. Klein), individual psychology (A. Adler), analytical psychology (C.G. Jung), concept ofhumanistic psychoanalysis (E. Fromm), social-cultural theory (K. Horney), ego-theory (E. Erikson, A. Peeters), dispositional direction (G. Allport, R. Cattell), humanistic psychology (A. Maslow), existential psychology (V. Frankl). It is shown that in Russian theories of personality the problem of envy is reflected in the works of A.A. Bodalev, V.N. Myasishchev, V.N. Panferov, A.V. Petrovsky. Purpose. To carry out the analysis of psychological theories of the personality to identify the specific of ideas of psychological essence and envy sources. Methodology. Theoretical analysis and systematization of scientific data. Results. Separation and heterogeneity of scientific ideas of envy is revealed, that, on the one hand, allows looking at it from different points of view, and with another – counteracts the integration of knowledge of envy into uniform theoretical system. Practical implications. Research results can be used in the practice of psychological consultation, the psycho-correction of the envious relation, the outreach activity of psychologists. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-9-68

New Conceptual Frameworks for Student Engagement Research, Policy, and Practice

Student engagement research, policy, and practice are even more important in today’s race-to-the top policy environment. With a priority goal of postsecondary completion with advanced competence, today’s students must be engaged longer and more deeply. This need is especially salient for students attending schools located in segregated, high-poverty neighborhoods and isolated rural communities. Here, engagement research, policy, and practice must become more nuanced and less formulaic, and the ensuing review is structured accordingly. Guided in part by social-ecological analysis and social-cultural theory, engagement is conceptualized as a dynamic system of social and psychological constructs as well as a synergistic process. This conceptualization invites researchers, policymakers, and school-community leaders to develop improvement models that provide a more expansive, engagement-focused reach into students’ family, peer, and neighborhood ecologies.