Learning episodes in an intercultural virtual exchange: The case of social high-immersion virtual reality

Computer-mediated communication tools facilitate international collaboration projects between foreign language learners and peers abroad (O’Dowd, 2018). Social Virtual Reality (VR) applications allow for synchronous interactions and task-based communication in which learners can experience telepresence and immersion and conversate in a foreign language. Based on previous pilot experiences (Jauregi-Ondarra, Gruber, & Canto, 2020, 2021), this Virtual Exchange (VE) project aims to investigate how the specific affordances of Social High-immersion VR (SHiVR) in conjunction with designed tasks influence interaction patterns, and learning episodes. The VE took place between two groups of university students in the Netherlands (N=15) and Cyprus (N=14) through SHiVR in March 2022. The main aims of the tasks were to raise student intercultural awareness, stimulate task-based communication processes using English as a lingua franca and digital pedagogical competences of language education students. Different sources of data were gathered and analysed. In this paper, we describe and present the pedagogical experience and the initial result

Individual and culture-level components of survey response styles: a multi-level analysis using cultural models of selfhood

Variations in acquiescence and extremity pose substantial threats to the validity of cross-cultural research that relies on survey methods. Individual and cultural correlates of response styles when using two contrasting types of response mode were investigated, drawing on data from 55 cultural groups across 33 nations. Using seven dimensions of self-other relatedness that have often been confounded within the broader distinction between independence and interdependence, our analysis yields more specific understandings of both individual- and culture-level variations in response style. When using a Likert scale response format, acquiescence is strongest among individuals seeing themselves as similar to others, and where cultural models of selfhood favour harmony, similarity with others and receptiveness to influence. However, when using Schwartz’s (2007) portrait-comparison response procedure, acquiescence is strongest among individuals seeing themselves as self-reliant but also connected to others, and where cultural models of selfhood favour self-reliance and self-consistency. Extreme responding varies less between the two types of response modes, and is most prevalent among individuals seeing themselves as self-reliant, and in cultures favouring self-reliance. Since both types of response mode elicit distinctive styles of response, it remains important to estimate and control for style effects to ensure valid comparisons

Beyond the ‘East-West’ dichotomy: global variation in cultural models of selfhood

Markus and Kitayama’s (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals had a major influence on social, personality, and developmental psychology by highlighting the role of culture in psychological processes. However, research has relied excessively on contrasts between North American and East Asian samples, and commonly used self-report measures of independence and interdependence frequently fail to show predicted cultural differences. We revisited the conceptualization and measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals in 2 large-scale multinational surveys, using improved methods for cross-cultural research. We developed (Study 1: N = 2924 students in 16 nations) and validated across cultures (Study 2: N = 7279 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations) a new 7-dimensional model of self-reported ways of being independent or interdependent. Patterns of global variation support some of Markus and Kitayama’s predictions, but a simple contrast between independence and interdependence does not adequately capture the diverse models of selfhood that prevail in different world regions. Cultural groups emphasize different ways of being both independent and interdependent, depending on individualism-collectivism, national socioeconomic development, and religious heritage. Our 7-dimensional model will allow future researchers to test more accurately the implications of cultural models of selfhood for psychological processes in diverse ecocultural contexts

Leikskólabyrjun og lengd dvalartíma : sjónarmið leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda

Markmið rannsóknarinnar sem sagt er frá í greininni er að varpa ljósi á viðhorf leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda til þess á hvaða aldri sé best fyrir börn að byrja í leikskóla og hversu marga tíma sé æskilegt að þau dvelji þar dag hvern. Greinin byggir á tveimur spurningum af 30 sem lagðar voru fyrir í könnun sem send var til allra leikskóla landsins veturinn 2011–2012. Notaður var listi, þýddur og staðfærður, sem áður hafði verið lagður fyrir kennara og leiðbeinendur í norskum leikskólum. Rannsóknin er samvinnuverkefni Menntavísindasviðs Háskóla Íslands (RannUng), Háskólans í Volda og Háskólans í Ósló. Fram kemur í svörum við spurningunum tveimur að lítill munur er á viðhorfum íslenskra leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda til leikskólabyrjunar og lengdar dvalartíma barna. Þegar niðurstöður eru bornar saman við hvernig staðan er í raun sést annars vegar að samræmi er á milli viðhorfs starfsfólks til þess hvenær best sé fyrir börn að hefja leikskólagöngu og hvenær þau hefja hana í raun en hins vegar dvelja eins og tveggja ára börn mun lengur daglega í leikskólum en starfsfólkið telur æskilegt. Niðurstöðurnar eru meðal annars ræddar í ljósi af erlendum rannsóknum á langtímaáhrifum leikskóladvalar á þroska og nám barna og niðurstöðum í svörum við sömu spurningum í norsku spurningakönnuninniIn Iceland, 83 percent of children from one to five years of age attend preschools, and the percentage has never been higher. Further, the number of hours each day that children stay at preschool has been gradually rising (Statistics Iceland, 2013). This reality has activated a discussion, not least within preschools, in which the focus has been on the children’s well-being, both because of the long days they spend there as well as the large number of children in preschool age divisions or groups. The aim of this study is to examine and compare the views of preschool teachers and preschool assistants about the age at which children should start their pre-school education and how long they should stay there each day. The study is part of a collaborative project with the University of Iceland, the University of Volda, and the University of Oslo, with both Icelandic and Norwegian preschool teachers and assistants participating in the survey. Data were gathered through a questionnaire sent to all preschools in Iceland during the 2011–2012 school year. Two questionnaires were used, one for the preschool teachers and another for the assistants. Staff members without preschool teacher education were categorized as assistants. The questionnaires, which were translated from Norwegian, had the same questions, aside from those relat-ing to background information. The article is based on two out of 30 questions in the questionnaire. The answers of the preschool teachers and those of the assistants were compared. The findings indicate that preschool teachers and assistants have similar views about when children should begin to attend preschool. About 30 percent thought that children should be one year old when they start preschool. When compared to the findings of the Norwegian study, 53 percent of Norwegian preschool teachers and assistants thought that children should start preschool at one year old. Most of the Icelandic and Norwegian participants thought that children should have started preschool by the age of two years. About 77 percent of Icelandic preschool teachers and 84 percent of assistants thought that children up to three years old should stay 4 to 6 hours or less in preschool. There the difference between teachers and assistants was statistically significant, although it was small. Similarly, 23 percent of preschool teachers and 16 percent of assistants thought that the children should stay 6 to 8 hours or longer. When compared to the findings of the Norwegian study, the percentage of those who thought that children should stay 4 to 6 hours or less was higher, or 52 percent, and the percentage of those who thought the children should stay 6 to 8 hours was lower, or 42 percent. When focusing on the Icelandic participants, it is obvious that there is consistency between the opinions of the preschool teachers and those of the assistants. When comparing the answers to the reality, it can be seen that there is consistency in the views regarding the age to start preschool, but the number of hours children spend a day in preschools is much longer than preschool staff consider desirable. According to Løvgren and Gulbrandsen (2012), the preschool staff in the Nor-wegian study were apparently more skeptical of the present supply of day cares than were the parents who use these services. The findings of the study are discussed further in light of research findings on the longterm effects of staying at preschool and the quality of preschools on children’s development and education

Sjónarmið leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda : áherslur og verkaskipting í leikskólastarfi

Markmiðið með þeirri rannsókn, sem hér er kynnt, er að skoða sýn, hlutverk og starfshætti leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda. Rannsóknin er samvinnuverkefni milli Rannsóknarstofu í menntunarfræðum ungra barna (RannUng) hjá Menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands, Háskólans í Volda og Háskólans í Ósló. Gögnum fyrir íslenskan hluta rannsóknarinnar var safnað með spurningakönnun sem send var í alla leikskóla hér á landi veturinn 2011–2012. Í þessari grein er leitast við að varpa ljósi á hvort munur er á því hvernig leikskólakennarar annars vegar og leiðbeinendur hins vegar lýsa áherslum sínum og daglegum verkum í leikskólanum. Niðurstöður leiða í ljós að óljós verkaskipting virðist vera milli leikskólakennara og leiðbeinenda í íslenskum leikskólum hvað varðar dagleg störf. Báðir hópar segjast sinna jafnt daglegri umönnun barnanna og taka þátt í leik þeirra og hreyfingu. Báðir hópar segjast leggja mikla áherslu á virka þátttöku, tjáningu, félagsfærni, leik og uppeldi barnanna. Hins vegar sögðust fleiri leikskólakennarar en leiðbeinendur leggja áherslu á nám og afmarkaða þætti tengda námssviðum leikskólans. Það sem einkum greindi hópana að voru samskipti við foreldra og umönnun og menntun barna með sérþarfir sem leikskólakennarar báru á ábyrgð í ríkari mæli. Niðurstöður eru ræddar í ljósi fagmennsku leikskólakennara og menntastefnu sem sett er fram í Aðalnámskrá leikskóla.Roughly 96% of Icelandic children between the ages of two and five attend preschool, and approximately 28% of them are two years old (Statistics Iceland, 2013). Despite the law that stipulates that educated preschool teachers should account for at least two-thirds of the staff that handle the care and education of children in each preschool (Laws on Education and Appointment of Teachers and Principals in Preschool, Elementary School and Secondary School nr. 87/2008), only 38% of the preschool staff had received preschool teacher education in the year 2011. The aim of this study is to examine the views, roles, and pedagogy of preschool teachers and preschool assistants in Iceland. This is a part of a collaborative study between the University of Iceland, the University of Volda and the University of Oslo. Research that compares the work of preschool teachers and assistants is rare, and the present study is the first of its kind in Iceland. In order to ensure the quality education of preschool children, it is important to gain insight into how those working in preschools view their own work. This research examined the ways in which preschool teachers and preschool assistants described their daily work and emphases. This article seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Is there a difference in how preschool teachers and preschool assistants describe what they emphasize in their work with preschool children? 2. Is there a difference in how preschool teachers and preschool assistants describe their daily work with preschool children? Data were gathered through a questionnaire sent to all preschools in Iceland during the 2011–2012 school year. Two questionnaires were used, one for the preschool teachers and another for the assistants. Staff without preschool teacher education were categorized as assistants. The questionnaires that were translated from Norwegian had the same questions, aside from those relating to background information. The questions were ranked on the Likert scale including 5–7 values. The answers of the preschool teachers and assistants were compared. The findings indicate a vague division of labour between the two groups, which suggests that the specialized knowledge of preschool teachers faces considerable difficulties, as has been corroborated in other Nordic research (Aasen, 2000; Arna H. Jónsdóttir, 2012; Grimsæth, Nordvik and Bergsvik, 2008; Haug, 2010; Lövgren, 2012; Olsen, 2011). Both preschool teachers and preschool assistants emphasized play, caregiving, movement, social development, and the active participation of all children. However, the preschool teachers indicated to a greater extent that they emphasized learning, specifically those learning areas presented in the National Curriculum Guidelines (Mennta- og menningarráðuneytið, 2012). Mathematical concepts and nature and science, among other areas, fall under the field sustainability and science. More preschool teachers than assistants claimed to emphasize these areas. Preschool teachers also placed more stress upon aspects categorized as culture and arts. They indicated more frequently that they supervised arts, music and creative expression and generally emphasized culture and arts to a higher degree than the assistants. Concerning literacy and communication, the preschool teachers also reported teaching the children about numbers and letters and read for them on a more frequent basis than the assistant teachers did. There was also a noticeable difference between the groups in relation to the supervision of circle-time or group-activities, which the preschool teachers attended to more frequently. The main difference between the groups, however, was that preschool teachers were more responsible for cooperating with parents and working with children with special needs. The preschool national curriculum (Mennta- og menningarráðuneytið, 2012) states that preschool teachers should take on a leadership position in guiding and strengthening the role of the preschool by, among other things, becoming exemplary in their work with children and bolstering the professional role of the preschool. The findings of the research pose questions concerning the extent to which preschool teachers are able to fulfil this obligation. Further research is required in order to investigate further the work and division of labour of preschool teachers and assistant teachers. It is important to shed light on how and where the preschool teachers’ specialized knowledge is fruitfully applied and what aspects prevent them from utilizing their professional knowledge

LGBT Desires in Family Land: Parenting in Iceland, from Social Acceptance to Social Pressure

More than 20 years ago, Iceland opened civil union to same-sex couples with its confirmed partnership law (staðfest samvist, 1996). Since then, the country has attained a high level of equality between same-sex and different-sex couples in the domain of family law, and the law has strong provisions against discrimination toward LGBT people. The increasing visibility and acceptance of LGBT people is raising questions about the social process of integration. LGBT people are confronted with heterosexual norms, a confrontation that is difficult to bypass. In this context, some may find that they are losing their identity. Iceland is a familialist society, and a key entry into the social acceptance of homosexuality has been through marriage and parenting. There is a clear gender gap in family-making. Lesbians have access to ART whereas adoption is scarcely available and surrogacy still illegal, reducing access to parenthood for gay men. However, in Iceland’s small LGBT community, parenting desire has increasingly become a reality for both females and males. Based on a survey consisting of 30 interviews, the paper studies how parenthood meets a wide range of personal desires, but also how it has become a normative pressure

Development of materialism in adolescence: The longitudinal role of life satisfaction among Chinese youths

The present research tests the longitudinal role of life satisfaction on materialism among Chinese adolescents, and provides empirical evidence to support the theorisation that materialism develops as compensation for dissatisfaction with life. Study 1 establishes that the negative relationship between life satisfaction and materialism is present and similar among the younger (N = 516; M = 12.94 years) and the older adolescents (N = 531; M = 16.57 years). A two-wave survey (Study 2) finds no longitudinal effect of materialism on life satisfaction, but life satisfaction has a negative lagged effect on materialism among the younger adolescents (N = 123; M = 13.81 years). For the older adolescents (N = 106; M = 16.38 years), however, there are cross-lagged effects of materialism on life satisfaction, and vice versa. Age and social economical status (SES) both have important roles in materialism, with the adolescents from lower SES backgrounds in general, and the younger ones in particular, reporting higher levels of materialism than their more well-off counterparts