scholarly journals Does Short-Term International Immersion have a Sustainable Impact on Teachers’ Cultural Competence? Follow-up Interviews Eight Years After a Teaching Experience in South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Oh ◽  
Natalie Nussli
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Short Term ◽  
School Students ◽  
International Immersion

This qualitative study was conducted with teacher candidates studying in a Masters program at a university on the west coast in the United States. The main goal was to capture if immersion in a foreign culture and the short-term teaching of primary and secondary school students in South Korea had any sustainable impact on the participating teachers’ perception of their cultural knowledge, competence, and awareness almost a decade after their immersion experience. The researchers interviewed four teachers who had participated in one of two immersion projects conducted in 2010 and 2011. A questionnaire on teachers’ self-efficacy regarding culturally responsive teaching (modified from Chu & Garcia, 2014) was administered prior to the interview giving the participants a tool to reflect on what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and to self-assess their own cultural competence and teaching practices. Four themes emerged from the interviews, namely, perspective-taking ability, relationships, teaching strategies, and cultural knowledge. The findings indicate that international immersion not only offers an effective way for pre-service teachers to receive intercultural training. It also has the potential to create transformative learning experiences by immersing students in cultural contexts unfamiliar to them. The findings from this study will be interesting to teacher educators who consider integrating international immersion projects into their teacher education programs.

scholarly journals Exploring students’ cultural competence development during a short-term international experience: A Q-sort study

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-78
Author(s):  
Shelli Rampold ◽  
Bradley Coleman ◽  
J. C. Bunch ◽  
Richie Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
International Experience ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Q Sort

This study was conducted to understand how students’ cultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and communication abilities combine to influence their development of cultural competence. Q methodology (Q) was used to capture the subjectivity and lived experiences of participants of an international experience (IE) and assess the impact of the program on their cultural competence development. When viewed through the lens of the Personal Cultural Competence Enhancement Framework (PCCEF), findings suggested students’ cultural competence development could be interpreted through three typologies: (a) Cultural Learners, (b) Cultural Engagers, and (c) Cultural Samplers. Cultural Leaner students demonstrated new awareness of their limited amounts of cultural knowledge and desired to learn more about other cultures through future travel, but were still apprehensive about engaging and communicating with people from other cultures. Cultural Engagers, on the other hand, expressed greater confidence in stepping out of their comfort zones and communicating in a different language. Lastly, Cultural Samplers demonstrated increased awareness of the benefits of experiencing other cultures and they comforts they have back home, and they expressed a desire to continue traveling abroad in the future. These findings support the use of short-term IE programs as supplemental activities to foster agricultural students’ progression toward cultural competence.

Inspiring Teacher Candidates to Embrace Cultural Diversity

2020 ◽  
pp. 120-139
Author(s):  
Judi Simmons Estes ◽  
Judith Lynne McConnell-Farmer
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Underserved Students

One of the challenges facing teachers in the United States is providing high-quality education for all students met in the classroom, including those who too often are underserved: students of color, low-income students, English-language learners, as well as students in urban and rural settings. Teachers report feeling unprepared and lack confidence in teaching students from culturally different backgrounds from themselves. This chapter suggests that in addition to becoming certified teachers, teacher candidates need to be inspired by teacher educators who are passionate about cultural learning and willing to share their own journey. Through sharing, teacher educators can provide practices that build cultural knowledge and increase cultural experiences of teacher candidates.

Inspiring Teacher Candidates to Embrace Cultural Diversity

2021 ◽  
pp. 879-898
Author(s):  
Judi Simmons Estes ◽  
Judith Lynne McConnell-Farmer
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Underserved Students

One of the challenges facing teachers in the United States is providing high-quality education for all students met in the classroom, including those who too often are underserved: students of color, low-income students, English-language learners, as well as students in urban and rural settings. Teachers report feeling unprepared and lack confidence in teaching students from culturally different backgrounds from themselves. This chapter suggests that in addition to becoming certified teachers, teacher candidates need to be inspired by teacher educators who are passionate about cultural learning and willing to share their own journey. Through sharing, teacher educators can provide practices that build cultural knowledge and increase cultural experiences of teacher candidates.

Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about second language pronunciation teaching, their experience, and speech assessments

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882093727
Author(s):  
Aki Tsunemoto ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich ◽  
Sara Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
School Students ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Teacher Assessments ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Teacher cognition has attracted increased attention among second language (L2) researchers and practitioners, likely because of its potential consequences for classroom practices, such as teaching and assessment. Prior research has revealed links between teacher beliefs about pronunciation teaching and teachers’ own experience (e.g. amount of teacher training and teaching experience). However, no research has to date focused on how teachers’ experience and their beliefs are intertwined, possibly affecting teacher assessments of L2 speakers’ pronunciation. For this study, 77 Japanese pre-service teachers of English completed an online questionnaire examining their beliefs about the teaching of English pronunciation and eliciting details about their L2 teaching and learning experience. Additionally, pre-service teachers assessed 40 Japanese secondary school students performing an extemporaneous speech task, rating these speakers for comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency. Results showed that pre-service teachers could be categorized into two distinct profiles, defined by joint contributions of pre-service teachers’ experience (a mixture of language learning/teaching experience and pronunciation-related instruction) and their beliefs (teachability of L2 pronunciation and approaches to its teaching). Pre-service teachers with more experience appeared to be more skeptical about how (easily) L2 pronunciation can be learned and taught and also provided harsher accentedness ratings, compared to pre-service teachers with less experience, revealing links between experience, beliefs, and speech assessments. Taken together, the findings reveal how pre-service teachers’ experience might shape their beliefs and assessments, implying that teacher educators must encourage future teachers to hold positive views about the teachability of L2 pronunciation by shifting their attention toward communicatively oriented dimensions of L2 speech and by providing teachers with pedagogical skills to target these dimensions.

scholarly journals Diverse Needs of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Qualitative Research in Malawi, South Korea, and the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 609-609
Author(s):  
Youjung Lee
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
The United States ◽  
Custodial Grandparents ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
Global Context ◽  
Intergenerational Caregiving ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Despite custodial grandparents’ significant contributions to their grandchildren’s healthy development, unique needs of older adults often remain unmet with a limited cultural understanding of intergenerational caregiving. Using a phenomenological approach, interviews and focus groups were conducted with 75 custodial grandparents in Malawi (n=29), South Korea (n=23), and the U.S. (n=23). Malawian grandparents presented financial and physical hardships; however, they experienced strong support from community. Korean grandparents reported similar needs as Malawian grandparents while additionally experiencing cultural biases toward grandparent-headed families (maternal grandparenting and adult child’s divorce). The U.S. grandparents disclosed increased needs for social support as well as family trauma with intergenerational impacts. The increase in custodial grandparent population across the world and findings from this comparative transnational research highlight the need for development of a model for culturally responsive practice with grandparent-headed families in a global context. Part of a symposium sponsored by the Grandparents as Caregivers Interest Group.

scholarly journals Can Online Education Programs Solve the Cyberbullying Problem? Educating South Korean Elementary Students in the COVID-19 Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11211
Author(s):  
Eunsun Choi ◽  
Namje Park
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Education Program ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
T Test ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
School Students ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Development Goals

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, public education has been forced to hold classes online, which increases the time students are on the internet at home. While this situation has significantly reduced the incidence of physical violence between students, cyberbullying has increased sharply, even among younger students. This paper examines a program developed to educate elementary school students on how to best respond to cyberbullying—a social issue that hinders the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). The program was applied to students, and the educational effects were tracked. First, we analyzed education programs in South Korea and the United States that teach students how to cope with cyberbullying, extracted characteristic parts, and developed the online education program in accordance with the current situation in South Korea. Next, we conducted an online education preference survey through an independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. As a result, regardless of gender and grade, most study subjects preferred online education. In addition, we conducted a paired sample t-test to determine the prevention and response effects of suggested online education programs. According to the test, the study subjects experienced less cyberbullying and victimization after participating in the online education program. Additional benefits were the students’ increased ability to defend against cyberbullying and a decreased need for defenders and assistants in warding off the cyberbullies.

scholarly journals Conventional Counterforce Dilemmas: South Korea's Deterrence Strategy and Stability on the Korean Peninsula

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-39
Author(s):  
Ian Bowers ◽  
Henrik Stålhane Hiim
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
The United States ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Strategic Stability ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Balance Of Forces ◽  
Cruise Missiles

In response to North Korea's nuclear weapons program, South Korea is quietly pursuing an independent conventional counterforce and countervalue strategy. This strategy is unique. Few, if any, nonnuclear states have sought to rely on advanced conventional capabilities to deter a nuclear-armed adversary. Why is South Korea pursuing a conventional counterforce and countervalue strategy, and what could its impact be on strategic stability on the Korean Peninsula? South Korea's approach should be understood as both a short- and long-term hedge against U.S. abandonment. Its deterrent effect, no matter how uncertain, acts as a short-term stopgap if the United States abandons South Korea. Over the long term, capabilities such as advanced ballistic and cruise missiles bolster South Korea's nuclear latency. At the same time, we highlight that the strategy poses numerous technological and operational difficulties and has negative implications for arms race and crisis stability. Given South Korea's approach and North Korea's response, disarmament efforts focused purely on the bilateral U.S.–North Korea relationship will not succeed. Rather, any agreement will now need to address the growing gap in the conventional balance of forces on the Korean Peninsula.

scholarly journals The NIDDK High School Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-14
Author(s):  
Robert Rivers ◽  
Keith C. Norris ◽  
George Hui ◽  
Bonnie Halpern-Felsher ◽  
Carolee Dodge-Francis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Native American ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Science ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Short Term ◽  
School Students

Background: Increasing the pipeline of aspiring minority biomedical/health profes­sionals is a crucial component to diversifying the health science workforce. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) created the High School Short-Term Research Experience for Underrepresented Persons (HS-STEP-UP) to provide introductory biomedical/biobe­havioral research experiences to promising high school students, who are traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical/biobe­havioral sciences. The program reached out to African American and Hispanic students, as well as Native American students and students from the United States Territories,Methods: HS-STEP-UP provides a stimu­lating, rigorous 8- to 10-week summer research experience for a national cohort of ~100 high school students each year; the experience is organized through four National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded coordinating centers. Typically, the program receives about 300 applications a year and about 100 students are accepted. Appli­cants are reviewed and selected based upon their online application that includes: a high school transcript, list of classes and extracur­ricular activities, two recommendation let­ters and a personal statement. The program culminates with a symposium at the NIH where students present their research and attend workshops and seminars.Results: For the 2017 and 2018 HS-STEP-UP programs, the classes included 193 students; 67% were females and 82% were underrepresented minorities. Forty eight percent of students reported a family income <$37,000/year, and 23% were from first generation college families. Ninety percent were very satisfied or satisfied with their research topic and 94% rated the end of the year symposium at NIH as excellent or very good. Only 65% were very satisfied or satisfied with their mentor matching, and 21% stated they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their mentor. All the students successfully completed their sum­mer research projects and presented their research abstracts at the symposium. All par­ticipating seniors reported attending college.Conclusion: HS-STEP-UP has been highly successful in recruiting traditionally under­represented students and supporting under­represented HS students with a reward­ing introductory experience to research. Students are overall satisfied with the program, but mentor matching needs more attention. Longer-term follow-up is needed to determine how participating in STEP UP impacts their decisions to participate in the biomedical workforce in the future. Ethn Dis.2020;30(1):5-14; doi:10.18865/ed.30.1.5

scholarly journals “It’s OK. She Doesn’t Even Speak English”: Narratives of Language, Culture, and Identity Negotiation by Immigrant High School Students

2019 ◽  
pp. 004208591987369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydiah Kananu Kiramba ◽  
James Alan Oloo
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Students ◽  
Cultural Wealth ◽  
Multilingual Students ◽  
Immigrant And Refugee

This study employs narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of two female, first-generation immigrant- and refugee-background students from West Africa. Using interview as conversation for guiding open-ended research questions and Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, we present participant narratives that speak to both similar and divergent experiences, which demonstrate a deep understanding of complex social issues presenting both tensions and opportunities for African immigrant and refugee student educational success in the United States. The study draws implications for rephrasing normative thinking about emerging multilingual students of African descent and developing a culturally responsive pedagogy for all students.

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