This article describes sociocultural theory as a way to ground social identity for clinical and research practices in speech-language pathology. The purpose is to (1) outline the fundamentals of the theory and (2) link the focal unit of analysis from the theory, mediated action, to social identity to (3) support the clinical utility of mediated…

Much recent theorizing about learning has focused on its socio-cultural nature, including the significance of history and the ontogeny of learners. This paper explores the relevance of such an approach to our understanding of the reasons why academics associate themselves with particular theoretical approaches to learning. The authors each present…

We propose a concept of intellectual values as (a) shared within a group and defined by the extent to which intellectual engagement is regarded as worthwhile to the group's interests, (b) supported by an epistemological belief system, and (c) an important dimension of sociocultural practice and learning. A series of studies is described in which…

Given the preponderance of research on students' resistance to multicultural courses, the authors begin to ponder this resistance by exploring students' preconceptions of social justice concepts. They present two mixed-methods studies to examine students' preconceived notions regarding two terms associated with social justice education: privilege…

This article discusses the state of Canadian democracy. Although calling Canadian democracy as something to be in a crisis is still debatable, the author expresses worry over the declining turnout levels in recent elections. Canada--along with a number of other liberal democracies--has experienced a significant and consistent decline in election…

The paper explores the dynamics of competition in higher education. National competition and global competition are distinct, but feed into each other. Higher education produces "positional goods" (Hirsch 1976) that provide access to social prestige and income-earning. Research universities aim to maximise their status as producers of…

This paper uses a sociocultural theoretical lens, incorporating mediated agency [Wertsch et al. (1993). A sociocultural approach to agency. In A. Forman, N. Minick, & A. Stone (Eds.), "Contexts for learning sociocultural dynamics in children's development" (pp. 336-357). New York: Oxford University Press] to examine the dynamic…

Spiritual formation is a critical concern for any Christian religious educator. While Scripture provides a depiction of spiritual growth, we have often turned to the developmental theorists to better understand the ecology of spiritual formation. One neglected voice in this instance is the late Russian developmentalist Lev S. Vygotsky. His unique…

In this study, the problem of non-proficiency in language learning and use among Nigerian students is investigated. Using empirical data and information from available literature on the subject as evidence, it was observed that the language deficiencies of the students could be attributed to the lack of fit between the formulation of the national…

Over the past 2 decades, research has demonstrated that learner collaboration facilitates second language (L2) acquisition (Lapkin, Swain, & Smith, 2002; McDonough, 2004; Storch, 1998, 2004; Swain & Lapkin, 1998). Adopting a sociocultural perspective (e.g., Swain & Lapkin, 1998), the current study compared the effectiveness of collaborative and…

Drawing on Language Awareness (LA) approaches developed for francophone classrooms and a sociocultural theoretical perspective on language and learning that posits the genesis of new knowledge construction is situated in social interactions and shaped by socio-historical context, we conducted a small-scale case study of the implementation of LA…

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a sociocultural approach to studying disability in educational contexts grounded in the cultural-historical and activity theory approaches. From the sociocultural viewpoint, disability is regarded as being located in particular types of activity systems and learning cultures rather than within an…

Studies have found that motherhood is significantly associated with attrition for female graduate students in the United States. Few, however, have examined this phenomenon from the point of view of current students. Utilizing data from 30 in-depth interviews with student mothers from a number of academic fields, this study details both the…

This study examined the effects of marital status and family income on the self-esteem of 292 African American mothers. Counter to previous studies with European American mothers, family income moderated the effects of marital status. Those mothers with higher family income had higher self-esteem, regardless of their marital status. For those with…

This paper describes the rationale for, and the design, implementation and preliminary evaluation of a taxonomy to guide the grading and feedback of ePortfolio assessment of personal development planning (PDP) in a module where PDP is integrated into the curriculum. Conventional higher education assessment methods do not adequately address the…