Understanding transitions using a sociocultural framework

Transitions have traditionally been characterised as forms of change. These may either be inner changes (new beliefs or developmental growth) or the physical move from one place to another (see Erikson, 1975), such as the move from primary to secondary school. This theoretical paper will argue that transition can be best understood using a sociocultural framework, which links human thought and action to social and cultural situatedness (Zittoun, 2006). Using ideas underpinned by Vygotsky (1978) we will present three frameworks for addressing sociocultural transitions: (i) the notion of consequential transitions (Beach, 1999); (ii) symbolic transitions and identity rupture (Zittoun, 2006); and (iii) Communities of Practice transitions (Wenger, 1998). We will borrow examples from research on educational transitions from primary and secondary school contexts through to Higher Education in order to demonstrate that transitions are about a change in self-identity born out of uncertainty in the social and cultural worlds of the individual. Implications for educational practitioners involved in supporting young people undergoing transitions will be discusse

The mediating role of a minority ethnic teacher's past experiences as a tool for understanding mathematical learning and teaching : European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Special Interest Group 21: Learning and Teaching in Culturally Diverse Settings: Moving through cultures of learning

This paper will examine how a teacher's past experiences, alongside experiences of the present and future, play a mediating role in understanding home and school mathematics learning and teaching. The sociocultural approach will form the basis for the introduction of two key theoretical concepts which are i) heterochronicity, which looks at the way meaning is generated over time in the overlapping histories of the individual and society and ii) prolepsis, where the notion of future mediates with the past and present. As such, the movement through cultures of learning are temporal and spatial. The analysis will draw on a case study exemplar of a minority ethnic teacher (Pakistani Kashmiri) working in a school which was mostly made up of South Asian pupils (Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi) in the Southeast of England. The findings will shed light on how she interweaves her own experience of growing up in the English school system with herself as a school teacher, herself as a mother and her understandings of the parents in the school. Thus, her own past experiences of mathematics learning are embedded at the level of the individual, the family and the wider community. Perhaps more importantly, this paper will address how her general understandings of the wider community have a powerful influence on her representations of the mathematical

Parental re-sources of understanding mathematical achievement in culturally diverse settings

The last ten years has seen some fairly major educational reform for English schools. The introduction of Standard Assessment Tests as part of the National Curriculum in primary schools has led to a political drive to see more parents involved in their children’s school learning. This is partly born out of educational and political concerns for the ‘gaps’ in children’s school performances of different ethnic groups. This paper examines the ways in which parents attempt to understand how well their children are achieving in mathematics in culturally diverse settings. Borrowing from Gallimore and Goldenberg’s (2001) ‘cultural models’ and ‘cultural settings’, as well as critical-developmental concepts of child development, this paper explores three parental sources of information: (i) the teacher, (ii) exam test results and (iii) constructions of child development. These theoretical positions open for scrutiny new and subjective dimensions of development, which include representations, meanings and experiences. The interviews with twenty-two parents revealed that whilst all of the parents expressed a wish for their children to do well, understanding their child’s achievement is like putting together ‘pieces of a puzzle’ - leading parents to use sometimes intangible sources. Some sources were concrete, such as examination results. Other sources were symbolic, such as the representation of child development, and were less likely to be to be shared with the school community. Either way, these sources were open to parental interpretations and influenced by parents’ own experiences and cultural representations

Factors affecting sow and gilt efficiency in commercial piggeries in Zambia

The research looked for simple answers to simple problems in the Zambian commercial pig industry. Due to logistical difficulties of working in a developing country it was designed to be a project that could be carried out in the third world and which did not involve reliance on sophisticated machinery or techniques.Thesis (M.Ag.Sci.) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Science, 199

Recent research on child language brokering in the United Kingdom

Recent patterns of migration and population change in the UK have led in some places to a need for child language brokering (CLB). Although there is only limited evidence on CLB in the UK, the research that has been published indicates the diversity of the phenomenon and suggests its frequency and significance in the lives of some families. In this paper we review a range of small scale studies from different research centres to illustrate that diversity. The research has highlighted ways in which language brokering often elides into cultural brokering with young children playing a brokering role within as well as outside their families. An important line of enquiry has been research on the CLB process itself, but detailed studies of how children and young people respond to the challenges of translation in different settings remain elusive, as do studies of the impact that the activity has on their interactions with others. A key issue for the children and parents involved is others’ perceptions of and reaction to CLB, including not only the professionals and officials with whom they deal but also their peers at school and elsewhere who are not involved in language brokering. Ultimately CLB is of theoretical interest not only for the light it throws on children’s language learning and acculturation but also for the challenge it presents to traditional notions of child development and family role

[Book Review] Unaccompanied young Migrants: Identity, care and justice

Unaccompanied young migrants: Identity, care and justice breaks new ground by offering a comprehensive picture of a problematic legislative and policy framework surrounding the lives of unaccompanied minors, both in the UK and internationally. Importantly though, the book does this whilst ensuring that the stories and experiences of unaccompanied minors do not get lost. This edited book carefully unpicks the complexities reflected in the contradictions in legislation and policy whilst being mindful of shifting contexts. Two things become manifestly evident very early-on when reading this book. The first, is that the contributors clearly care deeply about the perilous uncertainty that plagues the lives of unaccompanied minors, both before their arrival into their new country and long after it. The second, is that the legislation, policy and border treatments of unaccompanied minors are like sticking plasters, placed one on top of another. For every form of protection in place there is an amendment to policy or practice which seeks to undermine it. On the surface, systems of protection are in place but in reality, there has been systematic failure to deliver that

The online multi-agency support barometer

This report presents the findings of a small feasibility study which sought to investigate the use of an online risk management Barometer. The barometer was developed with a view to helping multiple agencies communicate about vulnerable and 'at risk' patients within mental health settings.The Barometer is an online tool which allows staff from multiple agencies to access and share information with other staff if a patient is at risk.The key aims and objectives of this small research project were i) to evaluating how professionals felt about their current risk assessment tools, ii) to assess the ease of use and the relevance of questions within the Barometer tool and iii) to discuss some potential modifications/problem areas of incorporating the Barometer tool within mental health services and across a multi-disciplinary perspective.The research was conducted in three mental services within the South Essex Partnership Trust (2 x CAMHS and 2 x Adult Services) using a mixed-methods approach

The contact zone and dialogical positionalities in ‘non-normative’ childhoods: How children who language broker manage conflict

This paper examines the processes by which different dialogical positionalities are taken in the contact zone (Hermans, 2001a, 2003; Pratt, 1991). The contact zone provides a framework for the consideration of potential confrontations and uncertainties during intercultural contacts between migrant children, their family and another adult. The other adult is usually someone in a position of authority. For young people who language broker, managing the uncertainties and confrontations of conflictual situations highlighted three positionalities: (i) ‘conflict avoider’, (ii), ‘the neutral or passive broker’, (iii) the ‘active broker’. The contact zone was a sphere of experience that opened up possibilities for agentic action as well as constraints. The contact zone had the potential to foreground different aspects of their status such as ‘the child,’ ‘the immigrant’ or the second-language speaker. Equally, the young people took opportunities to utilise these statuses as part of their dialogical positionalities to get the best outcome for them and/or their families. We argue that further exploration of the contact zone within the framing of dialogical positionalities can enable better understanding of critical-cultural-development childhoods

Using the vignette methodology as a tool for exploring cultural identity positions : European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Special Interest Group 21: Learning and Teaching in Culturally Diverse Settings: Moving through cultures of learning

In this paper we will examine how the vignette methodology can aid understanding of cultural identity. Vignettes are typically short stories about a fictional character or fictional scenario appropriate to a particular study. The story places the behaviour of the character in a concrete context and allows the researcher to explore participants? positions and perspectives on the issues arising from the situation. We argue that within a framework of cultural development theory and the dialogical self theory (Hermans, 2001) identity positions can be explained in relation to the sociocultural context. To do so we report on part of wider study about representations of children who work. In particular this paper will focus on language brokering which involves translating or interpreting on behalf of family members who do not speak the host language. Language brokering requires the child to engage in both the cultural contexts of the host culture and the home culture and as such, the child must negotiate new cultural identities. Those interviewed were young people aged between 15-18 years, some of whom were brokers and others who were not. When looking at the language broker vignette scenario these young people often positioned the parents, teachers and friends of the language broker in the scenario in particular ways. Through notions of adequacy and inadequacy, visibility and invisibility, theoretical ideas around cultural identity theory and the dialogical self theory can provide an understanding of how the young people moved through different (often conflicting) identity positions

Child language brokers’ representations of parent-child relationships

This paper reports the analysis of qualitative data from a broader study of young people’s representations of conflicting roles in child development. Just over a quarter of the group, bilingual students who spoke a variety of first languages, had had personal experience of child language brokering (CLB). Employing vignette methodology, they were invited to reflect on the implications of an adolescent boy’s language brokering activities for, among other things, his relationships within his family. In this paper we will present brief case studies to illustrate different positions that members of the group adopted in relation to developmental scripts emphasizing independence and interdependence between young people and their parents (Dorner et al. 2008). Through an analysis of individual CLB case studies, we illustrate various ways in which individual young people reported the balancing of the demands of autonomy and connectedness in their analysis of relationships between young people and their parents