Testimonies of Syrian Academics Displaced Post 2011: Time, place and the agentic self

This article explores the experiences of protracted displacement in a group of 19 displaced Syrian academics now living in Turkey who are often referred to as the precariat that is, a group or collective of people who are living in conditions of high unpredictability, insecurity and uncertainty. As part of a small-scale collaborative professional enquiry , semi-structured interviews with these academics were conducted to understand the social, affective and professional experiences, needs and concerns of the academics during and after their forced displacement. The key concepts of precarity and crises of selfhood, alongside memory and testimony, inform the analysis. This article seeks to provide an account of this collective experience and its complex character and concludes with observations on how one might understand the constraints on professional agency and how might one support displaced academics in such contexts. Solidarity in exile and the development of political friendships are argued for as a principle to inform all work.CARA and Soros Foundatio

Cultural trauma and the politics of access to higher education in Syria

This paper examines the relationship between the politics of Higher Education access pertaining to longstanding practices of patrimonial authoritarian politics and the narration of collective trauma. Building on an empirical study of Syrian HE during war, we suggest that a narrative disjuncture within HEIs has a damaging impact not only upon the educational process, HE reconstruction and reform, but also upon the possibility of social reconciliation. This is especially true when access to education and post-graduation opportunities are directly linked to patrimonial favouritism; widespread social inequalities in access and retention; a violent turn in the purging of oppositional academics; a severely exacerbated brain drain linked to political views; and significantly sparser employment opportunities. Building on the study findings, we show how these challenges are linked to ethico-political positioning vis-à-vis the mass movement of 2011 and related cultural trauma narratives. In closing, we suggest that understanding the relationship between HE access and cultural trauma can inform decision-making on HE reconstruction and future reform. © 2020, © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

The Deconstruction and ‘Re-Representation’ of First Nations People in Social Studies Education : The Dialectic of ‘Voice’ as an Epistemological Tool for Change

Note:Traditionally, researchers have failed to involve marginalized groups in the development of egalitarian assessments of cultural representation in schools. This thesis, drawing from the fields of critical ethnography and post-structuralism, addressed this concern by developing a culturally relevant instrument for assessing the representation of First Nations people in social studies education across two school contexts in B.C., Canada. This instrument, developed in collaboration with First Nations people, served as an empirical tool for exploring the dialectical relationship between researchers and culturally oppressed peoples in examining racial inequity in schools. […]Les chercheurs sont rarement parvenus à impliquer les groupes marginalises dans le processus de développement d'instruments de mesure égalitaires des représentations culturelles en milieu scolaire. La présente thèse aborde cette problématique en s'appuyant sur des modelés poststructuraliste et d'ethnographie critique. Elle propose un instrument de mesure culturellement adapte de la représentation des nations autochtones pour l'enseignement des sciences sociales dans deux écoles de Colombie-Britannique, au Canada. La méthodologie employée a servi de base théorique à l'exploration du rapport dialectal entre des chercheurs scientifiques et des peuples culturellement oppresses, dans la perspective de découvrir les iniquités raciales en milieu scolaire. […

The domain specific nature of children's self-perceptions of competence : an exploratory paradigm for understanding the social construction of self-knowledge in children

In recent years we have witnessed a burgeoning interest in the role socializing agents' play in the development of children's self-perceptions of competence. Outlined extensively by Harter (1981, 1982, 1985), the basic assumption underlying this work is that the self-concept is a multidimensional construct reflecting cognitive representations of individuals' socialization experiences across achievement contexts. These multiple dimensions are subsumed under the guise of self-perceptions and are thought to reflect distinct cognitive structures within the phenomenological world of the child. To date, however, the majority of research stemming from Harter's original theoretical conceptualizations has been limited to examining the impact of socializing agents' expectations on children's self-perceptions of academic competence. The differential contributions made by socializing agents to the prediction of children's self-perceptions of competence across achievement domains, however, has not been assessed. In the present study, an attempt was made to fill this research gap. In accordance with the recognition of the multidimensional nature of perceived competence, the purposes of this study were: (1) to compare the contributions made by different socializing agents' expectations to the prediction of children's self-perceived academic, social, behavioral and athletic competence; (2) to assess the extent to which socializers' expectations contribute differentially to children's perceived competence when examined in conjunction with additional variables instrumental in the development of self-concept in children; (3) to extend Harter's (1981) original conceptualization of the self by testing a uniform perceived competence model across achievement domains; and (4) to identify the primary references children utilize to define themselves. Data were collected from 87 fourth and fifth grade children. The children completed questionnaires that assessed their self-perceived academic, social, behavioral and athletic competence. Teachers' and parents' actual expectations, children's perceptions of these expectations and children's academic and social performance were also measured. Four stepwise hierarchical regression analyses were conducted (i.e., one for self-perceived academic, social, behavioral and athletic competence, respectively) to identify those variables which best predict children's domain-specific self-perceptions. Results revealed that: (a) the relative contributions made by socializers' expectations to the prediction of children's perceived competence across achievement contexts vary as a function of the domain assessed; (b) children's perceptions of significant others' expectations and performance factors also play a significant role in the prediction of domain-specific perceived competence; and (c) the social references children utilize when making self-evaluations can be conceptualized within a domain and context specific framework. Issues related to the development of self-concept theory, empirical research and counselling practices are discussed in relation to the acquisition of self-knowledge in children.Education, Faculty ofEducational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department ofGraduat

Lost Youth in the Global City

What does it mean to be young, to be economically disadvantaged, and to be subject to constant surveillance both from the formal agencies of the state and from the informal challenge of competing youth groups? What is life like for young people living on the fringe of global citie

Personal Constructions of Parental Influence Relatied to Career Development

Psychological researchers, influenced by sociological and ecological approaches to human development, have begun to question the lack of attention to interactive processes in the family related to the career development of adolescents and young adults. The purpose of the present study was to explore the ways parents and young adults socially construct the interactive domain of parental influence. A sample of 279 parents and young adults were randomly assigned to complete a Q-sort set describing various family activities and interactions thought to influence career development Consistent with Qmethodology, factor analyses were conducted for subjects rather than items, followed by qualitative analyses. Results revealed that interactions perceived as key elements in career development refer to either the process or outcomes of parental influence and address responsibility, autonomy, open communication, support and encouragement, and direction and guidance. The results are discussed in light of the theoretical perspective proposedLes chercheurs en psychologie, influencés par les approches sociologiques et écologiques pour le développement personnel, commencent à se poser des questions sur le manque d'attention portée aux processus interactifs de la famille relativement au développement de carrière des adolescents et jeunes adultes. La présente étude vise à explorer les façons dont les parents et jeunes adultes construisent socialement le domaine interactif de l'influence parentale. Un échantillon de 279 parents et jeunes adultes a été choisi au hasard pour compléter un jeu de triage-Q décrivant diverses activités familiales et interactions qui pourraient influencer le développement de carrière. Dans le même contexte que la méthodologic-Q, des analyses d'éléments ont été faites sur des sujets plutôt que des articles, suivies d'analyses qualitatives. Les conclusions révèlent que les interactions perçues comme éléments-clé dans le développement de carrière se réfèrent soit au processus soit aux conséquences de l'influence parentale, et adressent la responsabilité, l'autonomie, la communication ouverte, l'appui et l'encouragement, ainsi que la direction et l'orientation. I^es résultats sont discutés dans le contexte de la perspective théorique proposé