Although existing literature addresses adults' motivation to learn, and some specifically focuses on older adults, it is now recognized that older adults are more heterogeneous and complex than other age groups. Therefore, this study seeks to provide an alternative theoretical framework to investigate motivation to learn for older adult learners…

Recruiting high-caliber individuals into education programs in higher education institutions to train them to be tomorrow's educators/teachers has been a perennial challenge. Students in education programs are found to be in general lower in academic standing than their counterparts in other fields, reflecting a seemingly distressing phenomenon of…

This paper highlights the results of a project, in which a group of students, who were enrolled in an African American film criticism course at a large university in Southern California, participated in a community engagement project that incorporated visual and media literacy skills acquired in the classroom setting. The parameters of the project…

This paper contributes to sport, sociology and the body literature by exploring the "exposure and effect" of culture, in particular bodily practices placed on three adolescent swimmers immersed in the Australian swimming culture using an ethnographic framework. The research reported is particularly notable as it addresses two distinct…

In moments of "dispersion, diaspora, and reterritorialization" (Amy Shuman 2006), the personal, the interactional, and the improvised (the "micro") cannot be separated analytically from circulating ideologies, institutional norms, or cultural flows (the "macro"). With a focus on the emergence of identities within social interaction, specifically…

The question of using synonyms in translating the Quran is a thorny issue that led to both different interpretations and different translations of the holy text. No matter how accurate or professional a translator attempts to be, Quranic translation has always been fraught with inaccuracies and the skewing of sensitive theological, cultural and…

This article provides a comparative analysis of recent governance reforms in both Finnish and Portuguese higher education institutions (HEIs), following the OECD's recent reviews of both countries' tertiary education systems. While in the case of Finland the major problem was identified as being a lack of entrepreneurialism, Portugal was…

The present study explores the life history of a South Korean adolescent girl who attempted suicide. The study focuses on how sociocultural values affected her suicide attempt and how she made meaning out of the experience. The results revealed that her life history was a process of seeking independence and autonomy, and freeing herself from…

In the globalized and technological world in which we now live, school leaders must be prepared to engage in complex and interdependent systems. Hierarchical power and authority will not provide the leader with the capacity to challenge people and systems to adapt and change to the emerging needs of students from differing social, political, and…

Integrating sociological theory on sport with Judith Butler's concept of insurrectionary speech, the author explores why and how womanliness is produced and problematized. In particular, this article investigates how participating in combat sport violates conventional womanliness by foregrounding physical capability and aggression. Using her…

The issue of immigration is especially controversial in the United States as immigrants today have not only increased in number but constitute a more heterogeneous population. Unlike the earlier waves of immigrants, which were predominantly of European origin, the post-1965 migration trend from Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean has…

The goals of this study were to examine intra-group and inter-group assertiveness among adolescents, and to compare these two domains of assertiveness between cultural groups in Israel. Measures of intra-group and inter-group assertiveness were developed, and questionnaires were administrated to 441 immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU),…

This article examines how young immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union during their adolescence perceive and cope with the resulting changes in their family roles. Data collected via interviews and focus groups from adolescents and young adults ("N" = 34) revealed six distinct roles: language broker, family navigator,…

This paper addresses some fundamental methodological and ethical issues confronting non-Chinese researchers undertaking research in Hong Kong Chinese society. Among other things, it considers problems pertaining to data collection, the challenges of data interpretation, and the implication that this has for research. Whilst the issues are by no…

Attempts to improve poor academic performance in South African public schools resulted in the Schooling 2025 mandate, which stipulated the academic standards that learners needed to achieve by 2014. As school leaders must do this through their teachers the emotional tensions associated with such changes are likely to increase. This paper…