Purpose: We explored self-rated health by using a meaning-centered theoretical foundation. Self-appraisals, such as self-rated health, reflect a cultural process of identity formation, whereby identities are multiple, simultaneously individual and collective, and produced by specific historical formations. Anthropological research in Philadelphia…

This paper focuses on an innovative curriculum for teaching culturally valued texts and the issues around the curriculum's implementation by teachers. The writers of this curriculum considered the subject-matter of this curriculum as a cultural "language" containing specific concepts, attitudes, and modes of thought. The curriculum…

In response to an increasingly globalized world, universities are engaged in an ambiguous and unclear journey of internationalization for economic and political reasons, and guided by different ideologies. Universities' distinctive nature and unique characteristics give culture a prominent role in mediating the university environment. This study…

A violent conflict between Maoist insurgents and the national government has engulfed Nepal for most of the last decade, a situation that has been complicated by deep-seated instability at the highest levels of the government itself. Even with the declaration of a ceasefire in 2006, violence endures in pockets of lawless banditry and unrest at the…

Research suggests that low-income high school students may opt out of preparing for college, because they believe a postsecondary education is more than they or their parents can afford. At the same time, federal agencies and some state agencies have indicated that every year available student aid goes unused. In response to these misconceptions…

A questionnaire was administered to 313 teacher education students of the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to examine their conceptions about teaching and learning. Two dimensions were identified, viz. traditional and constructivist conceptions about teaching and learning. While both conceptions were…

Despite the recognition of cultural influences on emotional development, very little is known regarding emotion regulation in children from different cultures. This study examined beliefs regarding social acceptability and regulatory behaviors in 80 children (aged five to six years and eight to nine years) from two urban communities (suburban and…

During the Vietnam War, and the years following the conflict, history teachers were often hesitant to examine the war in the classroom for a variety of reasons. This article explores some of the factors that prohibited the effective teaching of the Vietnam War. Implications regarding how these inhibiting factors might affect teaching about the…

This paper focuses specifically on the needs and concerns of "very young adolescents" who as defined by the Population Council are young people aged between 10 and 14 years. The title of this paper, "Where Do We Start?", acknowledges that attitudes towards and knowledge of HIV and AIDS are best looked at in a situated way. We…

We examined whether strategies of memorization, transfer through elaboration, and metacognition accounted for reading, science, and mathematics achievement across 34 countries. 158,848 fifteen-year-olds completed a reading literacy test and a questionnaire. Of these students, 88,401 completed a science test, and 88,590 completed a mathematics…

In this article, we study a local adaptation of the Fifth Dimension [Cole, M. (1996). "Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] known as Las Redes (i.e., Networks of Collaboration in the Fifth Dimension) to examine how the multiple activity systems of Las Redes, e.g. the undergraduate course and…

This paper examines the shifting nature of Further Education (FE) professionalism through the lenses of the Transforming Learning Cultures in FE (TLC) project. Despite over a decade of market and managerial reform professionalism in FE remains an elusive and paradoxical concept. With some notable exceptions there exists little official data or…

Background/Context: This study draws upon and contributes to sociocultural studies of literacy (a.k.a. New Literacy Studies), sociohistorical theories of identity formation, and practice theories of language interaction to argue that "becoming literate" requires critical inter- and intra-personal identity work accomplished through…

This paper outlines the possible impact of Bakhtinian theory concept in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Bakhtin views on the culturally and politically embedded nature of language and addressivity and answerability are ideal for discussion of cross-cultural communication. His cultural and political context are inseparable from an…

In children's realistic stories about animals a number of wholly and unambiguously anthropocentric assumptions are at work. For instance, in a study most of the books (81%) in one sampling of 50 stories involve a pet or the process of domesticating a wild animal. In most cases the primary animal character is a dog or horse. The predominance of…