<p> Nations sharing similar historical, linguistic, and social backgrounds tend to cluster around the same cultural values systems. However, changing socioenvironmental conditions drive cultural values systems to change over time. This study compared changing cultural values in Poland in the postcommunist era with values in the Czech Republic and Slovenia, using factorial ANOVA of published data from the European Values Survey and World Values Survey. The hypotheses were: (a) cultural values in Poland have moved from traditionalist values toward secularism; (b) Poland's rate of cultural values movement was more moderate than either the Czech Republic or Slovenia; and (c) the higher degree of religiousness in Poland mirrored the slower rate of movement toward secularism. The study participants were 20,038 adults from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia. Findings showed 10 of 19 cultural values in Poland showed moderate movement toward secularism, confirming that traditional cultural values in Poland had decreased. However, the findings also showed cultural migration in Poland preserved strong traditional family and religious values despite the influence of far reaching social, economic, and political changes. This study revealed two important points: (a) as cultural values within groups of nations change, cultural values in similar clusters of nations tend to move in the same direction, and (b) deeply held traditional values tend to preserve the differentiation between nations, even as process of cultural values change continues.</p>

In a multicultural society, there should be a pressing need to acknowledge the cultural heritages and social variations of its members in order to validate their experiences and realities. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how Muslim parents interpreted the influence of the Islamic culture on their children's daily lives. The study addressed this influence by examining Muslim children's daily funds of knowledge. This study also aimed to examine how Muslim parents suggested their children's fund of knowledge to be addressed in a culturally responsive pedagogical model at public schools. Muslim parents in five ethnically diverse households were interviewed, and observational notes about physical surrounding during the interview sessions were recorded. A qualitative multiple case study was designed to answer research questions and understand the influence of the Islamic culture in these households. Data was analyzed through the integration of the analysis framework adapted from Stake (2006) while using Nvivo computer software for analyzing qualitative data. Eight themes emerged from the study and allowed for a discussion on the centrality of the religion in these households, the collective cultural paradigm, and the scope of identity negotiation taking place on a daily basis. For the purpose of this study, implications to educators were incorporated into Gay's (2000) characteristics of cultural responsive teaching in order to integrate Muslim students into classroom pedagogies.

As part of their academic activities, English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) graduate students in North American universities are expected to engage in a range of literacy practices of which writing is a major component. This study investigates the attitudes, perceptions and practices of five Iranian ESL students and the expectations of their professors in the context of disciplinary writing in higher education. In response to a recent call in the field of contrastive rhetoric for broadening the scope and revisiting the research methods in cultural studies of second language writing (Atkinson, 2004; Connor, 2004; Panetta, 2001), this qualitative inquiry is informed by a social theory of language (Bakhtin, 1986), a semiotic theory of culture (Lotman, 1990/2001), a situated literacies perspective of academic writing (Barton, Hamilton, & Ivanic, 2000), and a view of reasoning and argumentation as a socio-historic construct (Toulmin, 2001, 1964/2003). Data sources include text-based interviews with students, interviews with their professors, observation of tutoring sessions, and the analysis of textual artifacts as well as the written feedback provided on student writing. The findings point to a common perception of cultural differences between the textual practices of the students and those practices that are dominant in the context of their disciplines. The differences are discussed in terms of the educational background of the students, their past and present membership in various communities of practice, as well as a view of texts as historical constructs. The study further highlights some of the initial encounter experiences of the participating students in academic contact zones (Pratt, 1991), questioning the effectiveness of certain approaches that readers/evaluators adopt in responding to student writing. The research contributes to a re-conceptualization of the notion of culture in studies of second language writing, challenges the assumed homogeneity of argumentation as an academic literacy practice, and helps promote a dialogic view that is responsive to the textual practices of an increasingly diverse student population in North American academic settings.

As a fairly new and emergent construct, there remain many gaps in our knowledge about how to integrate notions of culture and cultural context into evaluation theory and practice, as well as gaps in our knowledge about how to conduct and implement evaluations in immigrant and indigenous communities. This research explores how culture influences the evaluation and the program setting, and how it mediates the relationship between evaluators and diverse community stakeholders. Through an interconnected three-phase study (a comprehensive literature review, interviews with scholars and practitioners and focus groups with community-based program managers), this research develops a six dimensional framework (relational, ecological, methodological, organizational, political, and personal) depicting the inter-related dimensions and components that surface in interactions between evaluators and community-based stakeholders in cross-cultural program and evaluation contexts. The findings suggest that culture and cultural context influence every dimension of the evaluation, including the relationships we develop with stakeholders, the evaluation and program context, the methodologies and methods that we select, the politics and power dimensions surrounding the program and evaluation setting, the organizational constraints, and the evaluator's personal values and biases. The findings also suggest that relationships have far-reaching consequences, particularly given the predominant use of participatory and collaborative approaches in cross-cultural settings. While the findings also suggest that a participatory approach to evaluation cannot alter the broader social, economic, political and cultural systems that continue to create and sustain inequities in our society, understanding the dynamic, unfolding and ongoing connections and relations between evaluators and stakeholders is essential.

<p> Global consciousness is an important trait for high-school students to exhibit. One way that global consciousness can be incorporated into the curriculum is via an elective International Studies class. The purpose of this study was to determine what effect, if any, taking an International Studies class would have on students&rsquo; global awareness. The questions that guided this study were: 1. What aspects of an international studies course resonated most with students? 2. What impact did participation in this course have on student global competence?</p><p> In order to research this topic, I conducted a case study in which an International Studies class was studied. The teacher who developed and taught the course was interviewed, in addition to three of her former students. Twenty-three students whom were students currently taking the class also participated in a survey.</p><p> The methodology for this study was consistent with the case-study approach. A school was selected that offered International Studies, former students and their teacher was interviewed, and current students volunteered to participate in a survey. The data were recorded and analyzed for possible themes. Three key themes emerged that spoke to the effect the course had upon students. First, the course served as a foundation of information the students were able to draw on and apply later in life. Second, the course served as an opportunity for students to increase their international literacy. Third, the course provided an opportunity for the students to become more globally aware citizens. These results were analyzed and interpreted through two theoretical lenses: John Dewey&rsquo;s <i>Theory of Experience</i> and James Banks&rsquo; <i> Theory of the Cosmopolitan Citizen.</i></p>

Abstract not available.

Ce projet présente une analyse des représentations de groupes ethniques dans les manuels scolaires d'études sociales destinés aux élèves des écoles de langue française de l'Ontario de cinquième et sixième année. L'analyse critique du discours, qui vise à relever les relations entre le texte, le langage, les groupes et les pratiques sociales, nous révèle comment sont représentés les groupes ethniques. Inspiré d'English Learning Area, nous avons retenu quatre catégories pour tenter de mettre en lumière les attitudes, les valeurs et les croyances cachées dans un discours : la structure, la construction des personnages, les omissions et les pouvoirs. Notre recherche démontre qu'il y a présence de relations de pouvoir dans le contenu latent des manuels analysés. Cette conclusion nous amène à formuler des suggestions. Ainsi, cette recherche propose des pistes de solution qui permettraient une représentation plus juste des groupes ethniques dans le matériel scolaire.

<p> There is little research available on Asian-Indians' attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Further, little research is available that addresses theoretical approaches that may be effective in reducing the stigma associated with psychological help in working with this underserved population. Therefore, this study provides a preliminary means to provide marriage and family therapy to Asian Indians. A repeated-measures research method was used to examine participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help and compare those attitudes before and after a skills-based workshop on marital communication and conflict resolution. Workshops were held in Malaysia, India, and the United States. A total of 135 Asian Indian participants, who were all married, completed surveys before participation in the workshop and again immediately afterward. The influence of attitudes on marital satisfaction was examined as well as the relationship between conflict style and attitudes and marital satisfaction. Lastly, the study looked at the type of marriage--arranged and choice--and the relationships with attitudes and marital adjustment. Analyses of the data indicated that a skills-based workshop approach was linked to improved attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. This study further examined the relationships between individual conflict styles and marital adjustment. Two conflict styles were found to have some association with marital adjustment. The results of this study have compelling implications for working with Asian Indians and other unique cultures that include an added dimension to multicultural counseling and education.</p>

<p>This exploratory qualitative study investigated the experiences of California community college undocumented students and their career development processes and issues. Twelve undocumented students from multiple backgrounds participated in semi-structured interviews. It was evident from the students' backgrounds that being undocumented was not just a Latino issue. Students identified career development barriers such as financial hardship, lack of support, and limitations in career related opportunities. Though these barriers were initially disruptive to the participants' career development, the same barriers eventually became an important part of the participants' identity as undocumented students. Making progress despite the barriers created learning experiences that enabled the students to garner support and ultimately forge forward. The idea of hope was a critical component of this process. While a faint sense of hope allowed participants to enter the community college, as they faced these barriers their sense of hope and resiliency was strengthened. An emerging theory of undocumented students' career development was presented as a result of the findings. </p>

<p> There is continued pressure for girls to formulate a positive identity in a society that privileges specific identity constructions along the lines of race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and religion. This difficulty, however, may be even greater for a teen girl who also juggles the additional challenges of being Arabic and Muslim. Living in a country where their values, practices and beliefs are not the norm amongst the dominant culture in which they are surrounded contributes to this difficulty. Much research has been done about the Muslim population in general. However, narratives of young Muslim females telling their specific life stories, in relationship to the challenges they may have faced or currently face negotiating their identities in and out of public schools in the post-9/11 era, have not been addressed. In addition, although there have been studies done about Muslims' negotiation of identities, no study has related their negotiations of these identities to life's opportunities. In other words, to what extent do/did Muslim girls need to negotiate multiple identities, which is defined here as to give up and/or alter some cultural and/or religious practices and/or adopt others, in the American public school system and in places of employment in relationship to their perceptions of life's opportunities both while in high school and present day. This study seeks to tell the stories of young, female Muslims, stories about their identity negotiations in public high schools and present day in a post-9/11 world. Only through in-depth examinations of these women's lives can their stories be shared.</p>