Introduction to Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory (IPARTheory) and Evidence

Interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPARTheory) is an evidence-based theory of socialization and lifespan development. It is composed of three subtheories, each of which deals with a separate but interrelated set of issues. IPARTheory’s personality subtheory – which is the most highly developed component of the theory – deals primarily with the pancultural nature and effects of interpersonal acceptance and rejection. Coping subtheory explores the fact that some individuals are better able to cope with experiences of perceived rejection than are other individuals. Finally, IPARTheory’s sociocultural systems subtheory attempts to predict and explain major causes and sociocultural correlates of interpersonal acceptance-rejection worldwide. Empirical evidence overwhelmingly supports the theory’s major postulates and predictions, especially postulates and predictions in personality subtheory. Emerging evidence about the neurobiological and biochemical risks posed for the development, structure, and function of the human brain are beginning to help explain why these postulates and predictions are so consistently confirmed panculturally

Sociocultural theory and the teaching of process writing: The scaffolding of learning in a university context

This paper considers how independent and interdependent learning can be fostered through a process approach to the teaching of writing. It does so by presenting the theoretical rational which underlies a university academic skills programme. Drawing on reports of this programme which have been published elsewhere (e.g., Brine & Campbell, 2002), it is a case study illustrating how scaffolding can be effected by teachers and students. The paper begins by briefly reviewing three central concepts of sociocultural theory: the zone of proximal development, scaffolding, and appropriation. Attention is then turned to a consideration of writing as a collaborative process rather than as a product of solitary endeavour. Details are provided about a university course which applies sociocultural concepts to the adoption of a process approach to EAP writing. Attention is then given to the ways by which six principles of scaffolding (Van Lier, 1996) are applied throughout the course. Firstly, various forms of tutor scaffolding are outlined, and then a short sample of transcript data illustrates how students on this course can work collaboratively to co-construct texts and scaffold each other's learning. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the broader pedagogical implications of sociocultural theory to the teaching of writing

Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives, by Merrill Swain, Penny Kinnear & Linda Steinman (2015, 2nd ed.). Multilingual Matters Textbooks, 192 pages, Paperback £19.95, Hardcover £69.95, ISBN: 978-1-78309-317-5

Obra ressenyada: Merril SWAIN, Penny KINNEAR and Linda STEINMAN. Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives. Multilingual Matters Textbooks, 2015.The article reviews the second edition of Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives, by Merril Swain, Penny Kinnear and Linda Steinman, 2015.L'article revisa la segona edició de llibre Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives, per Merril Swain, Penny Kinnear i Linda Steinman, 2015.El artículo revisa la segunda edición de la Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives, por Merril Swain, Penny Kinnear y Linda Steinman, 2015.L'article passe en revue la deuxième édition de Sociocultural Theory in Second Language Education: An Introduction through Narratives, par Merril Swain, Penny Kinnear et Linda Steinman 2015

Sociocultural understandings of the silent period: young bilingual learners in early years settings

This briefing draws from longitudinal Doctoral research (Bligh, 2011) to re-examine the emergent stage of English language acquisition, the silent period, through the experiences of two early years bilingual learners. Historical understandings of Vygotsky (1986) provide the platform through which sociocultural learning theory is applied in relation to the silent period. Legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991), is examined as a workable concept through which to explore the initial learning trajectory of an emergent bilingual learner whilst negotiating participation within, through and beyond an early years community of practice. The initial research employed multi-method ethnographic approach to data gathering, including participant observations, unstructured interviews with monolingual participants, participant narratives and significant auto-ethnographic accounts. In this briefing the researcher focuses upon ‘gaze following’ (Flewitt, 2005) as an adjunct to participant observations. The findings are revealed through a two stage analytic process. Data is initially funnelled through thematic analysis, (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and tested out against sociocultural theorising. The deductive process highlights nine vignettes which present the silent period as a crucial time for learning. One professional narrative account and one significant vignette are examined in this briefing. Examining the silent period through a sociocultural lens reveals the initial stage of language acquisition as a significant, but lesser acknowledged contribution to learning in the early years community of practice. Key words: bilingual; silent period; legitimate peripheral participation; sociocultural; ethnographic; participation

Using Sociocultural Theory to Guide Teacher Use and Integration of Instructional Technology in Two Professional Development Schools

This article demonstrates how sociocultural theories can be used to support strategic structuring of professional development activities for preservice and practicing teachers on technology use and integration. Examples are drawn from the authors\u27 experiences with teachers in two professional development schools that participated in a four-year Preparing Tomorrow\u27s Teachers in Technology (PT3) project. After a review of sociocultural theory and their context, the authors describe three activity systems in these schools: one for practicing teachers, one for preservice teachers, and a joint preservice/practicing teacher system. Important supports for use and integration of technology built into each of these activity systems included varied activities aimed at both beginning and advanced technology users, multiple levels of assisted performance, and a collaborative culture that offered numerous opportunities for shared work. Lessons learned and implications for teacher educators involved in similar partnerships are outlined

What Students Tell Us About School If We Ask

This article examines what school climate factors students perceive as helping them be successful in school, and what school administrators can do to aid the process. Specifically, the questions that drove this inquiry were How does sociocultural theory impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom? How does caring pedagogy impact student voice and student engagement in the classroom? What school climate factors do students perceive as helping them to be successful in school

Mahler, Margaret

Born into a Jewish family in Sopron, Hungary, Margaret Mahler (1897–1985) is one of the founding pioneers in psychoanalytical theory and practice. She is most noted for her separation-individuation theory of child development, which emphasizes identity formation as occurring within the context of relationships. After immigrating to the United States in 1938, Mahler’s work as a child psychiatrist informed her theory regarding the interplay between our internal (psychological) development and our external social environment. This approach was considered scandalous within her professional community, which tended to minimize sociocultural and relational contributors to our sense of self. Her conceptual framework regarding the nature of attachment relating, specifically our need for both closeness and distance, is imbedded in many theoretical constructs regarding attachment, interpersonal relationships, family, and broader social system functioning

OntoSOC: Sociocultural Knowledge Ontology

This paper presents a sociocultural knowledge ontology (OntoSOC) modeling approach. OntoSOC modeling approach is based on Engestrom Human Activity Theory (HAT). That Theory allowed us to identify fundamental concepts and relationships between them. The top-down precess has been used to define differents sub-concepts. The modeled vocabulary permits us to organise data, to facilitate information retrieval by introducing a semantic layer in social web platform architecture, we project to implement. This platform can be considered as a collective memory and Participative and Distributed Information System (PDIS) which will allow Cameroonian communities to share an co-construct knowledge on permanent organized activities.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

Measures Matter: Scales for Adaptation, Cultural Distance, and Acculturation Orientation Revisited

Building upon existing measures, four new brief acculturation scales are presented, measuring sociocultural adaptation, psychological adaptation, perceived cultural distance, and acculturation orientation. Following good scale reliability in initial samples, the English scales were translated into nine different languages (Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish). The translated scales were administered to a large sample of sojourners (N = 1,929), demonstrating good reliability and adequate structural equivalence across languages. In line with existing theory, sociocultural adaptation and psychological adaptation were positively correlated, and showed a negative association with perceived cultural distance. General measures of well-being were correlated with adaptation and distance, with better adaptation relating to higher well-being, and more distance relating to lower well-being. Acculturation orientation toward the home and host culture were measured separately and a weak negative correlation was found between the two, supporting their independence. Arguing against dichotomization, these subscales were analyzed as continuous variables. Regression analysis showed sojourners to be better adapted, if they were oriented more toward the host culture and less toward the home culture. These new scales are proposed as alternatives to existing measures