For over 50 years, developmental psychologists have conducted research around the world to understand the relation between culture and cognition. In fact, psychologists have been interested in this topic for over a century. In the late 1800s, Wundt introduced "Elements of Folk Psychology," the study of how culture becomes part of higher…

The growing poverty and inequity in America should create a sense of urgency in researchers to leverage what they know for the public good--to intervene more productively and vigorously in an ever more fragile public educational system and to address the increasing vulnerability of far too many youth in the United States. The current worldwide…

Comments on an article by J. J. Arnett regarding the assertion that American psychology focuses too narrowly on Americans while neglecting the other 95% of the world's population. The authors agree with Arnett's call for greater attention to this issue. However, they fundamentally disagree with his position on issues related to generalizability…

Much has been written about the adaptation from criminology of the "Broken Windows" theory of order maintenance in successful urban educational models. Yet, the manner in which the theory is written and discussed often misses the nuances and feel of the theory as successfully applied. This misunderstanding has lead to its conflation with the "Zero…

The use of hybridity today suggests a less coherent, unified and directed process than that found in the Enlightenment science's cultural imperialism, but regardless of this neither concept exists outside power and inequality. Hence, hybridity raises the question of the terms of the mixture and the conditions of mixing. Cultural hybridity produced…

Contrary to Marxist theory, commitments to traditional cultural values and immediate communal relations are crucial to many radical movements. Radical mobilization occurs when people have something to defend, have some social strength, and confront social transformations which threaten to take everything from them. (Author/KC)

By focusing on concepts of power, culture, and ideology in light of new socio-cultural and anthropological interpretations with regard to their use in international, intercultural, and cross-cultural communication research, an outline for the framework of a more hermeneutic-interpretive approach to the study of communication and socio-cultural…

David Bleich, in his analysis of Toni Morrison's "Beloved," is representative of theorists and practitioners who misrepresent feminism and women's issues. In his essay, "Reading from Inside the Outside of One's Community," Bleich converts a book about the strength and dignity of an African-American woman into a male-bashing…

Argues with John Fiske's position on the nature and function of cultural interpretation. Defines and defends cultural interpretation as an investigative mode the main objective of which is to render participants' communication practices coherent and intelligible, through an explication of a system of symbols, symbolic forms, and meanings which is…

Outlines a new direction for graduate study in curriculum. Sees curriculum theory as a form of social theory, thus relating curriculum discourse to knowledge and social practices that produce and legitimize particular forms of social life. Suggests ways a new program might be constructed and discusses the obstacles it would face. (Author/RDN)

Defining "rural" has preoccupied rural sociologists. Two constituents of rural are suggested: "capitalist space" in the form of uneven regional development and the "mode of primary production" (including the occupational category), which is distinguished by its direct interaction with the natural environment.…

Presents a developmentally grounded perspective on study of social life in cultures that examines sources of coexistence of sociability and opposition, harmony and conflict, acceptance and critique. Proposes that coexistence of these elements is systematically connected both to development of distinct domains of thought and to the dynamics of…

This paper provides a critical review essay of Ajay Sharma's "Portrait of a science teacher as a bricoleur: A case study from India." The main focus is two fold. First, arguments are presented to draw attention to how little advances in science teaching and science learning research have impacted teachers' practice and student…

Educational administration in developing countries should incorporate a concern for culture and political ethics. A theory is needed with empirical, moral, sympathetic, and critical perspectives that considers the just use of power and the accomplishments of the nation's best cultural traditions. (CJH)

In this paper, in response to Ajay Sharma's paper titled "Portrait of a science teacher as a bricoleur: A case study from India" and associated reviews, I address the value of bridging two narrative styles for describing teacher development, discuss questions of over-essentializing an Indian school context, propose that teacher and…