The vast majority of cross-cultural research has focused on a comparison between cultures across societies, ethnicities, nations and religions. These studies identified several dimensions and values that construct the human belief system and differentiate between cultures, with the individualism-collectivism dimension the most studied among them.…

Former chancellor of the Washington, D.C., public schools, Michelle Rhee, recently spoke with journalist Lenora Chu about Chu's new book, "Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve" (HarperCollins). Chu and her family currently live in Shanghai, where her son, Rainey, attends local schools--part…

Chinese culture is widely regarded as being dominated by Confucian thought, which is characterized as focusing on morality, relationalism and collectivism. Also, Chinese culture has been deemed to be very hierarchical and lacking in a sense of autonomy. However, there has been little attention paid to other diverse elements in Chinese culture and…

In recent years, the United States observed a significant uptake in concurrent use of multiple tobacco products and alternative nicotine delivery devices among youth--a phenomenon identified as polytobacco use--making tobacco control efforts more complex for clinicians, policy makers, and scientists, alike.The present commentary stimulates new…

The author finds Roland S. Persson's (2012a) paper to be timely, fascinating, important and powerful. At risk of mixing metaphors, it provides much food for thought and a penetrating lens through which all those vested in the optimal realisation of human potential would be prudent to review their own perceptions, boundaries of belief and…

I summarize a theoretical model of the social, cultural, and psychological influences on achievement-related choices and outline how this model can help us understand gendered educational and occupational choices. I argue that both gender differences and individual differences within each gender in educational and occupational choices are linked…

Over the past several decades, schools have become the "farm system" for corporate America and the holistic aspect of education has been overrun by concerns for America's place in the global market. This has led to a distortion of understanding about what is true and what is important about education and how it is delivered. At times over the last…

In view of the limitations of mainstream Western psychology, the necessity of indigenous psychology for the development of global community psychology is discussed in the context of multiculturalism. In addition to this general introduction, four articles underlying a common theme were designed to discuss (a) various types of value conflicts…

University professors teaching pre-service teachers base much of their philosophies on theories. Students often ask "Why do we have theories?" "What is the purpose of theories?" "If we like a theory, do we have to use all of the theory?" The most frequent controversial issue is how to use a particular theory in a practical way. In the quest for…

The role that speculative literature can play in futures studies is examined. For example, speculative fiction makes the future accessible to a wide audience. The best futurist work springs not from a denial of historicity, but from a reflexive appreciation of it, and reveals often overlooked aspects of reality. (RM)

The cultural values of rural Appalachia have been antithetical to the explicit leadership needed in activist movements for social change. "Subsistence, barter, and borrow" economic systems, pervasive in Appalachia, are based on nonmonetary, voluntary reciprocity within dense insider networks, not the formal contracts of both capitalist…

This edited version of an address to the Australian Children's Book Council focuses on developments in the interrelationships between children's literature and culture from a British perspective. Topics include conservative values; realist writers such as Anne Fine and Jacqueline Wilson; and an examination of Philip Pullman's fantasy…

A creatology matrix is developed to examine the abilities, processes, and products of four kinds of entities (culture, organization, group, person). Also examined are creativity as a matter of knowledge, identification with basic cultural values, and typicality of creative people within a culture. (JDD)

The cultural ideology commonly practiced in schools has detrimental effects on student success. In redefining culture, teachers should begin with validation of what students already know and its connection with what they should learn. (SK)

Presents a neo-Marxist perspective on morality, showing how it pertains to the use and misuse of the culture construct. Explains the standpoint concept, and identifies issues central to morality. Maintains that moral beliefs are grounded in cultural contexts, arguing that the dominant morality in a culture justifies ruling class interests, and…