In this forum, I take a learning sciences perspective to examine the paper by Bellocchi, Ritchie, Tobin, Sandhu and Sandhu ("Cultural Studies of Science Education," doi:10.1007/s11422-013-9526-3, 2013) titled "Examining emotional climate of preservice science teacher education." I characterize their approach as a social…

This article considers the social problem of violence and the alternative of resolution through cooperation and compassion from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience. Violence is a social problem, the manifestations of which have a biological basis reflected in the development of aggression and the neural mechanisms that regulate it.…

Explores the relationship between literacy and second language acquisition by reviewing a study of this relationship which was conducted in a Thai refugee camp and by discussing major findings in second language research. Suggests a functional rather than developmental approach to investigating literacy for community problem solving. (SED)

The modern sports spectacular contains all the necessary elements of symbolic rite, and the public's behavior patterns during large-scale athletic events dramatically illustrate a ritualistic enactment of social and cultural power struggles via vicarious participation. (LH)

Considers the relation between literacy research and practice as it applies to new digital technologies. Discusses how new technologies intersect with a broad range of issues and practices in literacy instruction. Concludes that researchers and practitioners need to seek understandings that take into account the unique interaction among cognitive…

Comments on Erick Smith's article that states the authors do not use a consistent meaning for the term "knowledge" when discussing learning theory. The authors use the Vygotskian account of the movement from the interpsychological to the intrapsychological plane through the process of internalization and reinvention to explain their…

Challenges the hypothesis that different linguistic codes are specifically related to different social groups, observing that children's language usage shows qualitative differences determined by the situations they face rather than by their sociocultural background. Supports this observation with an analysis of children's attempts to explain the…

Good translation requires writing skills in each of its three stages: decoding the original text; transferring its cultural and linguistic element into the context of the target language; and encoding the information in that context. During decoding, the translator must be conscious of speech level, word usage, cultural references, syntactic…

Literacy, reasoning, and civility in education are discussed from the perspective of social organization and cultural patterning. Schools are part of the larger social environment and perpetuate social class and rank as well as teach the curriculum. Reforms should change the social relations between teachers and students as well as instructional…

This paper explores the theoretical and applied groundwork for a new "sociohistorical practice" of cross-cultural communication. Influenced heavily by the work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, the theory assumes that the way teachers think about and teach culture should result from an understanding of how sociohistorical conditions produce…

This book explores how learning is the lifetime quest to understand personal identity, purpose, and meaning while conforming and adapting to the perceived and real confines of a paradoxical society. It examines the complex social experience of learning, revealing how culture, gender, race, and other societal factors shape and mold an individual's…

In this paper, we argue that new computational tools problematize the concept of thought within current sociocultural theories of technology and cognition, by challenging the traditional position of privilege that humans occupy in sociocultural analyses. We draw on work by Shaffer, Kaput, and Latour to extend the analytical reach of activity…

This article discusses reading and writing as (1) cognitive processes influenced by social and cultural contexts; (2) sociocognitive processes; (3) a social relationship between authors and readers; and (4) social and cultural activities. Pedagogy and politics in the whole language classroom are also discussed. (JDD)

This is the third of eight volumes consisting of series of publications of the Center for the Study of Liberal Education for Adults (CSLEA), such as Notes and Essays, Research Reports, Occasional Papers, and Conference Reports. These materials provide both theory and practice in the area of non-credit adult liberal education offered by colleges…

Maintains that political socialization research was popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Contends that most psychologists today argue for a theory of development and education that focuses on the individual's construction of knowledge. Reviews research on learning and concept development. (CFR)