Research on Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning 1st Volume 1607529513, 9781607529514

The aim of this book series is to provide a much needed outlet for the wealth of cross-cultural research that has not im

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Research on Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning 1st Volume
 1607529513,  9781607529514

Table of contents :
1 Modern Education Needs CrossCultural Psychology..............1
Part I THE MOTIVATION CONTEXT..............15
Part II THE LEARNING CONTEXT..............99

Citation preview

Research on Sociocultural Influences on Motivation and Learning, Volume 1

RESEARCH ON SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON MOTIVATION AND LEARNING, VOLUME 1 Edited by

Dennis M. Mcinerney and

Shawn Van Etten

~~ INFORMATION AGE PUBLISHING

411 West Putnam Avenue Greenwich, Connecticut 06830

DEDICATIONS To Martin L. Maehr A scholar and educator who emphasized the importance of the sociocultural dimensions of motivation and learning in mainstream education long before it was fashionable, and who has been a guiding light to the author throughout his professional career.

-Dennis M. McInerney

To Michael Pressley A friend, mentor, and colleague who is always on the cutting edge and willing to share his vision-thanks!

-Shawn Van Etten

v

CONTENTS Introduction 1.

Modern Education Needs Cross-Cultural Psychology Harry Triandis

Part I. 2.

3.

4.

1

The Motivation Context

Beyond Dichotomous Characterizations of Student Learning: New Directions in Achievement Motivation Research Janine Bempechat and Beth A. Boulay

15

A Comparison of Motivational and Critical Thinking Orientations Across Ethnic Groups Tim Urdan and Carol Giancario

37

The Contexts of Individual Motivational Change Judith MacCallum

61

Part II.

The Learning Context

5.

Social Representations of School Failure in Brazilian Public Schools: A Framework for Understanding and Change Elizabeth Gama and Denise Meyrelles de Jesus 99

6.

The Impact of Sociocultural Context on Future Goals and Self-Regulation Stephanie Brickman and Raymond Miller

119

Uncovering Sociocultural Influences Leads to a Call for Personalized Learning Glenn Fay

139

7.

vii

Part m. 8.

The Family Context

Perceived Parenting Success of Mothers inJapan Robert Strom, Shirley Strom, and Paris Strom

9.

159

Fathers' Role in the School Success of Adolescents: A Singapore Study Ong Ai Choo and Esther Tan

10. Correlates of Achievement in the United Arab Emirates: A Sociocultural Study Maher M. Abu-Hilal

Part IV.

183

205

The Curriculum Context

11. Engaged Reading: A Multi-level Approach to Considering Sociocultural Factors with Diverse Learners Robert Rueda, Laurie Macgillivray, Lilia MonzO, and Angela Arzubiaga

231

12. Adolescent Second Language Writers in China: A Sociocultural Analysis Kerri-Lee Krause and Dan

a 'Brien

265

13. Achievement in Mathematics and Language Arts: A Comparative Study of Canadian and German Preservice Teachers' Beliefs Erika Kuendiger, David Kellenberger, and Siegbert Schmidt

291

14. Native American Influence on Curriculum and Instruction Scott Sparks

325

15. Sociocultural Context and Service Learning Inside and Outside of the University Classroom Valeri.e McKay

339

16. Play and Learning in School: A Motivational Approach Ole Fredrik Lillemyr

363

INTRODUCTION The manner in which learners respond to school and other educational settings and benefit from the experiences presented therein will be a function of the cultural environment in which these learners are socialized. The cognitive, social and emotional development of all learners is undoubtedly shaped by personal and cultural histories related to gender, class, race and family, and the self-regulation of valued activities (Ferrari & Mahalingam, 1998). Learning activities are set in political and cultural contexts that define what is acceptable and valued. Within these political and cultural contexts individuals and groups seek to fulfill their self identities by participating in activities that develop the skills and dispositions needed to excel in their cultural milieu (Ferrari & Mahalingam, 1998). What defines academic success in one cultural milieu may not be the same as what defines success in another. Cognitive, social, and emotional development is, therefore, a very complex process when viewed through these sociocultural lenses and any attempt to describe this complexity unidimensionally as it applies in diverse cultural settings must, by necessity, be an oversimplification. Yet many theories of motivation and learning are unidimensional and fail to effectively take into account important sociocultural dimensions of motivation and learning. They fail to relate motivation and learning, in any holistic sense, to the full world of the child which includes social, emotional, moral and religious dimensions. Teachers need to build on the experiences of learners in order to advance their academic and social development. In other words, effective education must be situated within the zone of proximal development for children-a Vygotskian perspective. Generally, school practices are consistent with how majority students have been socialized in their home culture and with the learning preferences and strengths they have developed. However, effective teaching also requires that teachers make linkages between all students' home culture and classroom practices even when the students are nonmembers of the mainstream group (Hollins, 1996). ix

x INTRODUCTION Vygotskian perspectives have influenced educators' ideas of effective learning in cultural settings (Rogoff & Chav.yay, 1995; see also Gipps, 1999). In particular, the sociocultural milieu of learning affects the following: • • • • • •

the way children go about learning; values and goals appropriate to learning; definitions of meaningful learning; definitions of intelligence and intelligent behavior; the importance of individual versus group activities; appropriate measurement and evaluation.

Maehr (1984, p.12) put this another way: Most practicing educators are aware that students place different values on school tasks quite apart from their ability to perform. That this may be the critical feature in explaining cross-cultural variation in achievement patterns has recently been illustrated in a series of cross-cultural studies .... Generally, it seems that individuals project different pictures of what they would like to become. They derive these pictures from personal experiences within their own culture ... all have their own pictures of the nature of successful achievement. But the critical point is that, as events are interpreted as conforming to these pictures of achievement, they are associated with success. Simply a performance outcome or any information that is perceived as indicating that we are becoming what we want to become is readily defined as success ... Of course, events, outcomes and information to the contrary eventuate in perception of failure.

For education to be meaningful, therefore, it must take notice of the learner's background. Language and conversational forms, and the leamer's familiarity or lack of familiarity with the use of various conventions (such as questioning) and tools (such as computers), and the perceived purposes for, and social-cultural ramifications of, education must be considered for all students (Smagorinsky, 1995). In some cases the mismatch between teachers' understanding and the learner's backgrounds and culture can be so vast as to impede effective schooling. We must, therefore, support research directed at uncovering the richness of the sociocultural dimensions of learning. This information may then be used to inform effective educative practices. We must also support community initiatives to restructure schools and teaching so that a community's cultures become the essential basis from which educational programs for the community's children are developed. Effective schooling must be situated within its appropriate cultural contexts. Schools must be concerned with more than simply passing on information and academic skills. They should also be concerned with developing the life chances for students they serve. There are two basic types of life chances. First, those that relate to increasing social options for children (such as enhancing employment and further education opportunities),

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and, second, those that relate to helping children establish themselves within a social framework that acts as a network for the development of a personal sense of identity. On the whole, schools don't do very well on the first kind of life chance for many minority children, and also perform poorly on the second. It is common knowledge that individuals from many minority groups do not do well in our schools and have limited further education and career prospects as a result. It is also common knowledge that many students from minority groups become alienated from the wider society of which they should be a part because their schools ignore the community element of education. Schools must situate education within the context of mutually respectful relationships where children develop the social connections and sense of identity that bind them to each other, to their family community and to the wider society. Many schools foster values (such as individualism and competitiveness) that are in conflict with community values. This has the potential to set up a personal (and often unresolvable) dualism for children. A dilemma of mainstream schools is, therefore, how to enhance the opportunities of students from minority social and cultural groups in the wider community (which will involve giving them relevant literacy and numeracy skills and, perhaps, work values such as competitiveness, independence, individualism, responsibility and punctuality), while also preserving and fostering skills (such as language) and values (such as family ties, community bonds and cooperation) important in the students' sociocultural communities. These latter skills (such as community languages) and values (such as cooperation and social concern for others) might appear to be irrelevant, or even incompatible with those deemed important for survival by schools. We hope to show in our series that such skills and values can never be irrelevant, and should never be incompatible with good educational practices. Much mainstream psychological theorizing on motivation and learning, self-concept, identity formation, cognitive styles, information processing, effective teaching and curriculum development (and many other domains) provides valuable insights to us in our attempts to understand the needs of children from diverse social and cultural groups for an education that is culturally relevant, yet also appropriate to the mainstream internationalized world of which students are a part. Many Western theories and practices, however, are challenged by cross-cultural psychological research and increasingly research is examining the relevance of many of our "taken-for-granted" approaches to teaching and learning. In our "modern" theorizing about the most effective ways to facilitate motivation and learning for all children, we can learn from models characteristic of traditional learning styles and settings. Traditional emphases on learning through real-life performance, learning through observation and imitation, constructing knowledge holistically rather than through decontextualization and fragmentation, and learning through cooperation and

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group work are not far removed from the notions of effective learning and teaching models currently being developed and fostered within Western education settings. Furthermore, the emphasis on community involvement in educational programs, a major element in many indigenous minority schools, is being encouraged in mainstream schools through the establishment of school councils (Townsend, Manley, & Tuck, 1991). How can schools and teachers best assist children from diverse backgrounds to learn? In order to enhance the opportunities of all children, education must be anchored in a situationally-variable and multiply-determined pedagogy, one that embraces the individual differences of all students, thereby embracing social and cultural differences as distinct elements of pedagogical and curricular materials and strategies. A term often used to describe teaching that is responsive to the cultural backgrounds and needs of students is culturally relevant teaching. Teachers responsive to cultural difference "promote learning among diverse students when they honor different ways of knowing and sources of knowledge, allow students to speak and write in their own vernacular and use culturally compatible communication styles themselves, express cultural solidarity with their students, share power with students, focus on caring for the whole child, and maintain high expectations for all" (Riehl, 2000, p. 64). The following principles drawn from the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings with exemplary teachers of African American students (Ladson-Billings, 1995), are applicable in all diverse educational settings. Culturally relevant teaching should do three things: l. 2. 3.

Produce students who can achieve academically. Produce students who demonstrate cultural competence. Develop students who can both understand and critique the existing social order.

According to Ladson-Billings culturally responsive teachers: • • • • •

Believe that all students are capable of academic success. See their teaching as an art. See themselves as members of the community the school serves. See teaching as a way to give back to this community. Believe in teaching as a process of pulling knowledge out.

Culturally responsive teachers create social interactions to help them meet the three outcomes listed above. These teachers: • • • •

Maintain fluid student-teacher relationships. Demonstrate a connectedness with all of the students. Develop a community of learners. Encourage students to learn collaboratively and be responsible for another.

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Effective teachers must also have a firm grasp of knowledge and its acquisition and the assessment of that knowledge. Ladson-Billings (1995) found that for culturally responsive teachers: • • • • •

Knowledge is not static; it is shared, recycled, and constructed. Knowledge must be viewed critically. Teachers must be passionate about knowledge and learning. Teachers must scaffold, or build bridges, to facilitate learning. Assessment must be multifaceted, incorporating multiple forms of excellence.

As you will surmise, these are principles of effective teaching with any group. It is often the case, however, that these principles are less often used within classrooms characterized by diversity, and in particular with students who are academically disadvantaged, such as indigenous minorities (Aboriginal Australian, Native Americans) and ethnic minorities (such as Mrican American and Mexican American). In order to improve our teaching, so that it becomes more culturally sensitive, we need information. The aim of this book series is to provide a much needed outlet for the wealth of cross-cultural research that has not impacted: (1) mainstream educational and psychological texts (e.g., learning, motivation, development, social, and cognitive texts); and (2) mainstream undergraduate and graduate courses in education and psychology. A review of standard texts reveals very little citation of this cross-culturalliterature; one has to access journals such as the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology or the Journal of Intercultural Studies or specialized texts to obtain this information. This series attempts to bridge this information gap by making sociocultural research accessible to mainstream educators by exploring the sociocultural influences on motivation and learning across a broad range of settings and content areas. For this reason, the series, while erudite, will present issues, research findings, implications, and applications in a format that will be attractive to seasoned and beginning academics, students, and those who have a specialized interest in cross-cultural research. Societies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and Europe are becoming increasingly diverse in cultural and social demographics. For this reason, we hope that the series will play a significant role in making sociocultural influences a mainstream concern in research and application.

THE AUTHORS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS

We are delighted that we have an excellent team of authors contributing to our first volume. Each chapter makes a unique contribution to our knowledge of sociocultural influences on motivation and learning. We invited Harry Triandis to write an introductory chapter. His brief introduction was to show how and why modern education needs to be

infonned by cross-cultural psychology. His chapter provides a set of principles that can be related to each of the subsequent chapters. We have divided the book into four parts: the motivation context, the learning context, the family context, and the curriculum context and hope that there is a synergy between the articles in each. In our sections below we briefly outline the content of the chapters in each part.

Part I. The Motivation Context In their chapter, Janine Bempechat and Beth Boulay argue that in order to provide teachers with infonnation that can be of real use in their classrooms, researchers need to understand how students make sense of their educational experiences. They show how students' own perspectives about learning have been neglected by theories and methods that have paid limited attention to the social and cultural contexts in which beliefs about achievement evolve. In particular, they demonstrate how we can tap into the richness of students' beliefs by moving away from surveys and experiments to qualitative methods of inquiry. In the year 2000, California became a "minority-majority" state. For the first time since becoming a state, there are fewer White residents than nonWhite residents. The changes in the demographics of California are being replicated in states throughout the country as the Latino and Asian populations soar. Despite these changes, most of the research on motivation and critical thinking has been conducted with White samples. In their chapter, Tim Urdan and Carol Giancarlo examine the motivation and critical thinking tendencies of a diverse sample of high school students. Results from the first year of a two-year study indicate that there are important differences between Latino, Vietnamese American, Filipino American, and White students in their motivational beliefs, their critical thinking dispositions, and the relations among their motivation and critical thinking tendencies. Their results suggest that future research needs to include more diverse samples and school refonn efforts may have different effects for different students. Judy MacCallum considers the contexts of individual motivational change by reporting a qualitative analysis of 10 case studies of students in transition from primary to secondary school, theoretically based in goal theory. In judy's chapter students are portrayed as creating their own sociocultural contexts in which their motivation and motivational change is situated.

Part II. The Learning Context Confronted with the high incidence of elementary school failure in Brazil, Beth Gama and Denise Meyrelles de Jesus asked public school teachers to explain the cause of this problem. Their findings and other supporting

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studies show very similar explanations and thinking. Faced with such shared beliefs, they conclude that teachers apparently have developed their own social representations about the causality of school achievement. Philosophical and psychological theories about schooling, achievement and poverty appear to have been reelaborated and come to constitute a new paradigm for them. Once established, they guide everyday thinking and behavior and Beth and Denise suggest this may promote the perpetuation of social exclusion in the school system. Stephanie Brickman and Raymond Miller introduce a model which maintains that social and cultural experiences influence both the beliefs about ability and the goals students' perceive possible in the future. These factors influence how students regulate their behavior in school. They report a study of three students, each from distinctly different backgrounds, and the social and cultural influences that shaped their beliefs about their capabilities and their future goals. Their findings suggest that it is important to approach the framing of instruction and educational interventions so that they take into account the influence of personally valued future goals on present academic and social behavior. Glenn Fay schapter reports on a study that differentiates between students who were ready to succeed at an independent project and those who would experience difficulty completing independent work. Participants describe their orientations for independent learning in three overlapping dimensions, namely educational capital, making meaning through experience, and relationships with others. Few of the participants articulate self-regulated learning strategies that they consciously employ, although students do describe tactics for their own projects. The attributes, values and expectations of successful learners show more congruence with the school standards than those of less successful students. Social class and gender playa role in projects which students selected and the process they use in independent learning. Glenn's study suggests the importance of developing congruence between individual students' orientations and the school culture.

Part III. The Family Context Bob, Shirley, and Paris Strom, and their coauthors, set out to discover how Japanese mothers of 10- to 14-year-old children see their strengths and limitations as parents and to learn how children in this age group perceive the parent performance of their mothers. They administered the Parent Success Indicator to 589 mothers and to 646 adolescents. Their analyses reveal significant differences between generations on four of six scales. Mothers see themselves as better teachers and report greater satisfaction with their role than is observed by adolescents. Children rate mothers more favorably than the mothers do for how well they deal with frustration and acquire the information needed to give relevant advice.

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Ong Ai Choo and Esther Tan examine parenting behaviors and styles in the cross-cultural context of Singapore and describe how these are related to adolescents' academic competence. While information was obtained on both fathers and mothers, the focus of their paper is on the father, the forgotten parent. The study addresses issues such as adolescents' changing perception of the father as the authoritarian disciplinarian, and the role that fathers may have in the educational outcomes of their children. The chapter by Maher Abu-Hilal discusses the sociocultural backgrounds of two groups in the United Arab Emirates and the way by which such backgrounds influence achievement. Other individual and family variables are included and their influences on achievement are discussed within a sociocultural context. The chapter addresses gender differences in achievement. The way the Arab culture treats boys is different from its treatment of girls. The differential treatment seems to have differential effect on motivation and achievement of boys and girls. The study that is reported in this chapter shows that girls outperform boys in almost every measured variable; and that expatriate children outperform national children in almost every measured variable.

Part IV. The Curriculum Context In their chapter, Robert Rueda, Laurie MacGillivray, Lilia Monzo, and Angela Arzubiaga propose a conceptualization of the motivation construct which moves from an individual characteristic to a process developing from the dynamic interaction of the individual with the sociocultural context. They present data from a study of low-income Latino children that reveals how the social context has important implications for reading engagement. Specifically, reading engagement is seen as influenced by the nature of the interaction of classroom literacy activities and by the families' resources and constraints, especially their access to instrumental knowledge about school. Kern Lee Krause and Dan 0 'Brien report on a study examining the argumentative writing of second language (L2) Chinese adolescents within a sociocultural context. As a platform for examining the role of sociocultural factors in students' writing, Kerri-Lee and Dan focus on the issue of audience awareness in students' written arguments. They contend that audience awareness is integral to successful argumentative writing but students' ability to demonstrate such an awareness is mediated by such factors as students' age and stage of development and the sociocultural nature of the learning environment. Kerri-Lee and Dan contend that if teachers are to improve the quality of their L2 students' writing, they must be cognizant of these factors in their teaching and assessment of writing. Erika Kuendiger, David Kellenberger, and Siegbert Schmidt investigate preservice teachers' achievement-related beliefs in two ways. First, preservice

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teachers were asked to look back at their high school achievement in mathematics and language arts and attribute their past achievement. The study investigates how this subject-area specific motivational system, called learning history, influences their self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers. Second, preservice teachers were asked to explain the achievement of hypothetical students. The comparison between Canadian and German preservice teachers' learning histories as well as the attributions they use to explain student achievement show that there are considerable country-differences that indicate differences in the motivational climate between the two countries. Scott Sparks sets out to develop cultural awareness in his readers and offers some practical suggestions about Native American learners. He explores issues within the Native American community as well as ways public schools can advance the cause of Native American education. The strengths that Native American learners bring to the classroom and the resulting enrichment of the overall environment is a primary focus of his chapter. Scott takes the stance that Native Americans bring positive influences to the learning environment and when that environment is responsive to them, all students benefit. Finally, his chapter describes many of the challenges that face Native Americans in today's world. There are many teaching methods which offer students the experience of hearing others speak to who they are while at the same time testing their own understanding of self-among these is community service learning. In Valerie McKay s chapter, Valerie seeks to present the reader with information about the engaging, pedagogical value of service learning while at the same time proposing that service learning be used as a tool to motivate students of diverse learning styles to participate in their own learning process. Ole Fredrik Lillemyrs chapter examines student interests in play and learning activities at the transition preschool-school. His research documents the links between play and motivation and its relationship to learning potential. Ole argues that children's play reflects important sociocultural aspects of children that need to be considered by schools.

REFERENCES Ferrari, M., & Mahalingam, R. (1998). Personal cognitive development and its implications for teaching and learning. Educational Psychologist, 33, 35-44. Gipps, C. (1999). Socio-cuItural aspects of assessment. Review of Research in Education, 24, 355-392. Hollins, E.R. (1996). Culture in school learning: Revealing the deep meaning. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 465-491. Maehr, M.L. (1984). Meaning and motivation: Toward a theory of personal investment. In R. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education: Vol. 1. Student motivation. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

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Riehl, CJ. (2000). The principal's role in creating inclusive schools for diverse students: A review of normative, empirical, and critical literature on the practice of educational administration. Review ofEducational Research, 70, 55-81. Rogoff, B., & Chavajay, P. (1995). What's become of research on the cultural basis of cognitive development? American Psychologist, 50, 859-877. Smagorinsky, P. (1995). The social construction of data: Methodological problems of investigating learning in the zone of proximal development. Review ofEducational Research, 65, 191-212. Townsend, M.AR, Manley, M., & Tuck, B.F. (1991). Academic helpseeking in intermediate-school classrooms: Effects of achievement, ethnic group, sex and classroom organization. New ZealandJournal ofEducational Studies, 26,35-47.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

We have organized this section in the order in which the authors' articles appear and hope the snapshot gives a little sociocultural dimension to each of them! We have listed at the end of this section email contacts for each first author for those readers who would like to follow-up ideas with the authors themselves. Dennis M. McInerney was awarded the first Personal Chair in Educational Psychology at the University of Western Sydney. Dennis's major research interests are motivation and learning in cross-cultural contexts, and multicultural education. Dennis has had a longstanding interest in indigenous education and works extensively with Aboriginal Australians, Navajo and Yavapai Native Americans, as well as with many minority groups in Australia. His cross-cultural work was featured at the AERA Annual Meeting in San Diego (1998). Dennis has published extensively and his textbook Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning (2nd ed, 1998, Prentice Hall Australia, co-authored with Associate Professor Valentina McInerney) is the best selling educational psychology text in Australia and New Zealand. His latest text: Helping Kids Achieve Their Best: Understanding and Using Motivation in the Classroom was recently published by Allen & Unwin (Australia) and a further text: Publishing Your Psychology Research: A Guide to Writing/orJournals in Psychology and Related Fields is in press with Allen & Unwin (Australia) & Sage (UK/USA). Shawn Van Etten is currently the Director of Institutional Research at SUNY Herkimer County Community College. Shawn is responsible for designing and implementing research/evaluation projects (using both qualititative and quantitative approaches that take into consideration theoretical, philosophical, political, and pragmatic concerns) aimed at enhancing and applying our extant knowledge about curricular, faculty, student, social, and cultural development. Shawn regularly reviews educational texts/ manuscripts for top-shelf publishers and journals, he is engaged in a pro-

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grammatic research effort to better understand a range of educational processes from the phenomenological perspective of students, he teaches/ advises/mentors graduate and undergraduate students, and he often serves as a research/evaluation consultant. Harry Triandis received a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell University in 1958. He was Assistant Professor of Psychology (1958-61), Associate Professor (1961-66) and Full Professor (1966-97) at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. He is now Professor Emeritus. In addition, during leaves of absence, he was at the Institute of Anthropos, in Athens, Greece (1965), Visiting Scholar and Professor at the Center for International Studies of Cornell University (1968-69), at the University of Illinois Center for Advanced Studies (1972-73; 1979-80), and at the East-West Center in Hawaii (1987, 1993). He was named University of Illinois Scholar in 1987. He has lectured in more than 40 countries on all inhabited continents, and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Athens, Greece. Harry has published about 200 journal papers, chapters, and seven books and has edited two Handbooks. The American Psychological Association named him Distinguished Scientist Lecturer, for 1994, and also gave him its Distinguished Contributions to International Psychology Award. On the occasion of its centennial year (1992), the American Psychological Association gave four citations for distinguished contributions to international psychology in the areas of education, practice, public service, and science. Harry Triandis received the science citation. The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, gave him its Klineberg Award, in 1994. In 1996 the American Psychological Society named him aJames McKeen Cattell Fellow. Janine Bempechat is an Associate Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she teaches courses on achievement motivation and social and moral development. Janine grew up in Montreal, Canada, a child of immigrants, and became interested in social and cultural influences in school achievement while studying at McGill University. Her research, which has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation, focuses on achievement and motivation in students ordinarily considered to be at risk for school failure. Janine is particularly interested in parental influences in school achievement. Her books include, Against the Odds: How At Risk Students Exceed Expectations Gossey-Bass, 1998), and Getting Our Kids Back on Track: Educating Children for the Future Gossey-Bass, 2000). Beth A. Boulay is an advanced doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her primary research interest is in the role that academic failure plays in students' experiences of and attributions for success and failure. In her current research, she is exploring the hypothesis that

xx INTRODUCTION the experiences that students describe as the most meaningful and the greatest source of pride are the ones that are earned after some measure of struggle. This research question stems from an interest in how we have come to define failure in this society, as either a marker of inadequacy or a necessary step toward reaching our full potential. Tim Urdan is an assistant professor of Psychology and Liberal Studies at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Tim lives, works, and grew up in the most ethnically and culturally diverse state in America. As a child attending public schools in Berkeley during the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was immersed in cultural and ethnic diversity. As a result, his professional interests have often revolved around issues of potential differences and similarities among students of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, particularly how school reform efforts may affect students differently. Tim has most recently been examining the effects of students' achievement goals and perceived classroom goal structures on motivation and achievement for the last ten years. His recent research has focused on cultural and ethnic differences in students' motivation for schoolwork and beliefs about standardized achievement tests. Carol Giancarlo is an assistant professor of Liberal Studies and Teacher Education at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Carol has been examining Latino students' critical thinking in relation to cultural characteristics and academic success for the past four years. Her recent work has demonstrated a strong relationship between critical thinking and academic achievement in terms of grades and standardized tests for Latino students. Her work has also included the development of a critical thinking disposition instrument for use with younger student populations. Judith MacCaUum lectures in educational psychology at the Australian Institute of Education, Murdoch University in Western Australia. She has been involved in teaching in secondary and tertiary settings since 1974. Judith's main teaching and research interests revolve around ways of enhancing students' cognitive and social learning. These interests include student motivation and learning, learning through collaboration with others and mentoring. Judy is also developing ways of combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. Elizabeth Gama is originally from Brazil where she lived most of her life. Mter completing her graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, she returned home where she taught Educational Psychology and conducted several research studies at the Federal University of Espfrito Santo for close to 20 years and where she was granted the title of Emeritus Professor in 1993. She is currently a consultant at Personnel Decisions International in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Denise Meyrelles de Jesus is also Brazilian from Vit6ria, in Southeast Brazil. She completed her graduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. She speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and English and has worked at the Federal University of Espfrito Santo, at the College of Education for about 20 years. Her major area of research currently is school children at risk, with emphasis on Special Education. Beth and Denise have collaborated in numerous research projects and advised several dissertations focused on understanding the determinants of academic achievement of public school students in Brazil. Stephanie J Brickman teaches at Southwestern Oklahoma State University preparing school and community counselors. She has been a life-long resident of Oklahoma. Stephanie has worked with, and conducted research in public and alternative schools with diverse populations including Native American tribes and provided educational interventions to help students at-risk. Stephanie is a Licensed Professional Counselor and holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Psychology. She has presented research at national and international conferences. Raymond B. Milleris a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Oklahoma. Raymond has worked in the field of educational psychology for 21 years. He was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and attended college in Indiana. His experiences in higher education has enabled him to work with and learn from people with varied backgrounds, interests, and values. In addition to serving Oklahoma, Raymond has also taught in Illinois and Idaho. He has been an active member of the American Educational Research Association and the American Psychological Association for over 20 years. He has numerous publications and presentations on the influences of motivation on student engagement in school learning.

Glenn Fay, Jr. has taught at the middle school, high school, and college levels in the United States for 24 years. Originally a biology and geology major while in college, Glenn became hooked on working with adolescents at a state group home for troubled teens. He teaches high school science and facilitates educational change using a problem-based learning model. Glenn's doctoral research focused on understanding students' independent learning through a motivation lens. Glenn's current passion is teaching and working on projects which develop educator leadership with young people. Robert Strom is Alumni Foundation Distinguished Research Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of the Office of Parent Development International at Arizona State University (Ph.D., University of Michigan). Mter public school teaching in Detroit, Michigan and St. Paul, Minnesota, he was Research Director for the National School Dropout Project with the Ford Foundation in Washington, DC, and Professor in the departments of

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Education and Psychology at the Ohio State University. Robert has devised numerous instruments to identify guidance assets and learning needs of parents at successive stages of their roles. He believes that the training of American teachers is imbalanced toward European antecedents without due consideration to lessons from Asia. He is the author of 20 books and 300 articles. Shirley Strom is Research Coordinator for the Office of Parent Development in the Division of Psychology in Education at Arizona State University. She is a graduate of Western Michigan University and served as a counselor for the Detroit, Michigan public schools. Shirley has designed instruments that guide the formulation of curriculum for parents and evaluate the effects of intervention efforts. Her motivation to collaborate with Chinese,Japanese, and Indian colleagues has been to detect and honor cultural differences so context relevance is an ingredient in shaping programs. Intergenerational viewpoints are essential aspects of her work. The Parent Success Indicator shows how mothers and fathers see themselves in the parent role and how their performance is viewed by adolescents. Shirley is the author of five books and 70 articles in psychology and education journals. Paris Strom is a high school teacher of art and psychology for the Peoria, Arizona Public Schools (Ph.D., Arizona State University). His research is on the teaching and assessment of social skills for teamwork in cooperative learning environments. He is a co-author of the Peer and Self-Evaluation System, the first measure of interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. Paris is currently directing a project focusing on ways to reduce student misbehavior and improve the conditions for safety in high schools. This research utilizes new methods for teachers to document notable behaviors of students and quickly report to parents so they can provide corrective guidance for misconduct or reinforce commendable actions. His interest in cross cultural studies is to learn from and with Asian colleagues. Paris is the author of 20 articles. Katsuko Makino is a Professor in the School of Human Life and Environmental Sciences at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo,Japan. She graduated from University of Tokyo (Ph.D.) and serves as the chairperson for the school board of Yokohama. She has carried out comparative studies of parent practices for the Japan Association for Women's Education and developed curriculum to support family development. One of her emphases has been to help boys as well as men adjust to the role changes expected of them in sharing domestic tasks, providing child care, and becoming a more prominent source of supervision and instruction during adolescence. Katsuko's motivation for cross cultural work has been to find new ways to enhance family influence. She is the author of four books and 60 articles.

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Yukiko Morishima is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Human Life and Environmental Sciences at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan. She studied at the University of California, Berkeley, to become acquainted with the American perspective on changes in the structure of families. While in the United States she carried out studies of three generations of Japanese Americans in order to determine differences in social identity. She is interested in promotion of reciprocal learning between generations through the lifespan. Her motivation to participate in further cross cultural research is to discover ways which will enable individual adjustment to social change while also recognizing and preserving appropriate elements of cultural continuity. Yukiko's aspiration is to be a university teacher. Ong Ai Choo completed her doctoral dissertation on Parenting Behaviours and their Relationship to Adolescent Adjustments at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, where she is currently a faculty member. She has spent many years working with youth as a teacher and counselor in the cross-cultural contexts of Singapore, California, and the Philippines. Ai Choo was formerly the deputy director of Educational and Staff Development at Singapore Polytechnic, and has researched and taught extensively in areas of adolescent development. Esther Tan is Associate Professor and Head of Psychological Studies at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Esther has worked extensively with youth and their parents as a high school teacher in Hong Kong, a school counsellor in Canada, and a teacher educator in Singapore where she is also Advisor to the Juvenile Court. A firm believer and an ardent advocate in the importance of positive parenting, Esther has attributed her own success as a writer and educator to the inspiration and role modelling of her father who was a life-long learner and prolific writer in his lift time. Dr. Tan has researched and published in the areas of adolescent development and parenting, including a practical handbook for parents entitled Winning Ways with Teens (1997). Maher M. Abu-Hilal, is a professor at the department of psychology, the United Arab Emirates University. Maher is from Palestine and got his higher education and citizenship from the United States. As a person with exposure to different cultures and subcultures (e.g., Arabic, American, various cultures and subcultures within the United States and the United Arab Emirates), he believes that cultural interaction is an especially important cultural issue. Such interaction helps in better understanding among different cultural groups and helps moving some useful norms across cultures. He also believes that it is difficult to understand motives and behavior-social, educational, etc.-if they are not addressed within a sociocultural context.

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Robert Rueda is from Los Angeles and is a professor of Learning and Instruction at the University of Southern California. His work centers on sociocultural processes in teaching and learning, especially those involving children acquiring literacy. Much of Robert's work has focused on special populations, including students in special education settings and students who are acquiring English. Laurie MacGillivray is an associate professor of Learning and Instruction at

the University of Southern California. She teaches courses in the theoretical and pedagogical aspects of reading and writing. Laurie's current research interests include teachers' literacy beliefs, emergent literacy, as well as political and sociocultural issues surrounding reading and writing in the inner city. Lilia Monzo is a doctoral student in Education at the University of Southern California. As an immigrant Latina raised in the United States, Lilia is particularly concerned with the education of ethnic and linguistic minorities. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a bilingual teacher in low-income Latino communities in California. Lilia's research interests include Latino family and community contexts in language learning and identity as well as the role of minority teachers in culturally diverse schools. Angela Arzubiaga is Research Associate at Vanderbilt Institute for Public Pol-

iey (VIPPS). She completed her doctoral work at the University of California, Los Angeles in Educational Psychology and Counseling. Angela considers Peru her first home and learned to speak English as a second language. Her recent work examines families and success in school. Kern-Lee Krause is a Lecturer in the School of Education, Macquarie University. She lectures in the area of educational psychology and has a particular interest in the study of cognitive processes, affective and sociocultural factors and their relationship to writing competence and literacy development. Kerri-Lee's interest in sociocultural aspects of the writing process extends to a study of the writing of Chinese adolescents (involving a joint study with educators and students in mainland China) and implications for teachers. She has a particular interest in computer literacies and their role in effective teaching and learning. Kerri-Lee has jointly edited a book titled Cyberlines: The Languages and Cultures of the Internet (James Nicholas Publishers, 2000), and she co-edits an international refereed journal titled: Information Technology, Education and Society (James Nicholas Publishers).

a 'Brien is an Associate Professor in the School of Education, Macquarie University, and lectures in the areas of Language and Literacy, Literacy in a Multicultural Society and Education in a Global Society. Dan has specialized in the area of School Students' Writing and has two books on the subject. one for NSW students and one for Zambian students. In addition he has published a book on the Grammar of Zambian Tonga. His Ph.D. is on the Dan

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Verb system of the language of the Southern Province of Zambia (Tonga). Dan has written several articles on the oral history of the Tonga in Zambia with a concentration on their religious ceremonies. He is at present engaged with Kerri-Lee Krause and Chinese teachers on an examination of the English writing of School Students in the Henan Province of China. Erika Kuendiger is a professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Windsor, Canada. She teaches mathematics education, cognition and learning, and research methods courses. Erika started her university career in Germany, where she grew up. Having experienced first hand the differences in motivational climate in which the teaching and learning of mathematics takes place between the two countries, she became interested in researching this topic. David Kellenberger is an assistant professor at the University of Windsor.

David teaches in the area of computer education. Like his colleagues from Windsor and Cologne, he shares an interest in preservice teachers' beliefs. Siegbert Schmidt is a professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Cologne, Germany. He teaches mathematics and mathematics education courses. As teacher educator he considers it important to be knowledgeable about the perceptions preservice teachers in different countries have about mathematics. Scott Sparks is originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. As a professor of special education at Ohio University, Scott has researched and written several works about Native American education and has done consulting work with the National Indian School Boards Association. These consultations took him into tribal schools on reservations throughout North Americil over a three year period in the 1990s and has kept the fire for knowledge and answers to problems fueled within him. Valerie McKay graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1988 with a Ph.D. in Instructional Communication and Psychometrics. Her research interests include diversity and student learning and the nature of student learning in Service Learning courses. Valerie is currently the Acting Director for the Center for Faculty Development at California State University, Long Beach which has provided the opportunity to facilitate faculty conversations about student learning and diversity as well as provide leadership for the campus diversity initiative. Also a member of the Campus Assessment Committee, Valerie is involved in faculty discussions about the measurement of student learning outcomes. These experiences culminate in the conception of this chapter. Ole Fredrik Lillemyr, is Associate Professor of Education at Queen Maud's College of Early Childhood Education, Trondheim, Norway. His profes-

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sional interests include music education, student motivation, children's self-concept, children's play and school learning. Ole is particularly interested in play and learning as it relates to students' sociocultural backgrounds. Ole is the author of several books, reports, articles and he was appointed member of The National Board of Education 1994-98.

First Author Email Contact Dennis M. McInerney: [email protected] Shawn Van Etten: [email protected] Harry Triandis: [email protected] Janine Bempechat: [email protected] Tim Urdan: [email protected] Elizabeth Gama: [email protected] Stephanie Brickman: [email protected] [email protected] Glenn Fay: [email protected] Robert Strom: [email protected] www.public.asu.edu/-rdstrom Ong Ai Choo: [email protected] Maher M. Abu-Hilal: [email protected] Robert Rueda: [email protected] Kerri-Lee Krause: [email protected] Erika Kuendiger: [email protected] Scott Sparks: [email protected] Valerie McKay: [email protected] Ole Lillemyr: [email protected]

CHAPTER 1

MODERN EDUCATION NEEDS CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Harry C. Triandis

INTRODUCTION The world has changed and continues to change, so that, in the developed part of the world, we are increasingly aware that ethnocentric assumptions are no longer viable. We cannot impose the cultures of the rich on the poor, nor the cultures of the strong on the weak. A high gross national product requires productive work from all citizens, no matter what their culture. In short, we need to create cohesive societies, and one of the best ways to do that is to have educational systems that increase such cohesion. In this chapter I will argue that diversity is a reality in the case of most educational systems, but to increase cohesion we need to understand the full implications of diversity. We need to work to make the changes that will result in cooperation and cohesion. To make these changes we need to understand the factors that are important in intergroup contact, and to do that, we must understand cultural differences. In addition, we need to examine how we can modify educational systems so as to change the nature of intercultural contact. To make these changes we need many strands of information, including data that come from crosscultural psychology. First, we will consider how cultures differ.

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Cultural Differences We need to train students to understand the major ways in which cultures differ, in order to increase their sophistication in looking at other cultures. Cultures differ in a very large number of ways. While we do not know yet all we need to know about this, we do know some of the important dimensions. These are: Complexity Some cultures (hunters and gatherers) are relatively simple, and other cultures (information societies) are relatively complex. Cities are more complex than villages. The size of settlements is one of the best ways to index cultural complexity (Chick, 1997). Tightness In some cultures there are many rules, norms, and ideas about what is correct behavior in different kinds of situations; in other cultures there are fewer rules and norms. In t)1e former cultures also, which are called tight, people become quite upset when others do not follow the norms of the society (Triandis, 1994), and may even kill those who do not behave as expected. In the latter cultures, which we call loose, people are tolerant of deviations from normative behaviors. Thus, conformity is high in tight cultures. Tightness is more likely when the culture is homogeneous and relatively isolated from other cultures, so that consensus about what is proper behavior can develop. Cosmopolitan cities are loose, except when they have ethnic enclaves, which can be very tight; small communities are relatively tight.

Individualism and CoUectivism Triandis (1994, 1995) has suggested that individualism emerges in societies that are both complex and loose; collectivism develops in societies that are both simple and tight. Carpenter (2000) found empirical support for the links between tightness and collectivism and looseness and individualism. Theocracies or monasteries are both tight and simple; Hollywood stars live in a culture that is both complex and loose. Individualism is high in affluent societies; collectivism is high in traditional societies. Vertical and Horizontal Cultures Vertical cultures accept hierarchy as a given. People at the top are seen as very different from people at the bottom. Hierarchy is a natural state; thus those at the top "naturally" have more power and privileges than those of the bottom of the hierarchy. Horizontal cultures accept equality as a given. One person one vote is a "natural" way of thinking. People are basically similar, and if one is to divide any resource it should be done equally.

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Active-Passive Cultures

In active cultures individuals try to change the environment to fit them; in passive cultures people change themselves to fit into the environment. The active are more competitive, action-oriented, and emphasize self-fulfillment; the passive are more cooperative, emphasize the experience of living, and are especially concerned with getting along with others. In general individualist cultures are more active than collectivist cultures. Universalism-Particularism

In universalist cultures people try to treat others on the basis of universal criteria (e.g., all competent persons regardless of who they are in sex, age, race, etc. are acceptable employees); in particularist cultures people treat others on the basis of who the other person is (e.g., I know Joe Blow and he is a good person, so he will be a good employee). In general individualists are more universalist and collectivists are likely to be particularists.

Diffuse-Specific Diffuse cultures respond to the environment in a holistic manner (e.g., "I do not like your report" means I do not like you). Specific cultures discriminate different aspects of the stimulus complex (e.g., "I do not like your report" says nothing about how much I like you). Collectivists are often more diffuse; individualists are often more specific. Ascription-Achievement People can judge others primarily on the basis of ascribed attributes, such as sex, race, family membership, etc. These are attributes people are born with. By contrast, people may judge others primarily in terms of achieved attributes, such as skill, publications, and awards. In general collectivists give ascribed attributes more weight than achieved attributes, while individualists emphasize achieved more than ascribed attributes, though people in all cultures use both kinds of attributes in judging others. Instrumental-Expressive

People in some cultures sample more heavily attributes that are instrumental (e.g., get thejob done) or expressive (e.g., enjoy the social relationship). In general individualists are more instrumental and collectivists are more expressive. When people in an expressive culture meet a friend they are likely to stop and chat, even when they have an appointment. So, they are likely to arrive late for the appointment. The importance of the social relationship eclipses the importance of the instrumental relationship. E11Wtional Expression or Suppression People may express their emotions freely, no matter what the consequences, or they may control the expression of emotion. Collectivists around the Mediterranean are quite expressive, while collectivists in East

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Asia are quite controlling. Those who are expressive tend to exaggerate when they talk (this is the greatest..., the most wonderful...) People who suppress emotions tend to give moderate responses (e.g., "Are you happy?" "Well, I am doing almost okay.")

Contact Versus No-Contact Cultures In contact cultures people touch a lot, they get close together, and they orient their bodies so they face each other. They are loud, and they may even smell the other person. People in no-contact cultures have many taboos about touching, they place their bodies at a great distance from others' bodies, they do not face others but rather talk at an angle of some 90 degrees or even more from the other person. They speak softly and they would never be close enough to the other person to smell him or her. People from similar cultures (who have the same profile on the above dimensions) are likely to get along well. People from different cultures (where the "cultural distance" is great because people speak a different language, have different incomes, life styles, religion, political system, family structure) have difficulties in interacting. In short, perceived similarity helps people get along. The greater the perceived similarity, the more they are likely to like each other.

Effects of Perceived Similarity We can now examine the effects of perceived similarity on interpersonal interaction. We have seen, so far, that perceived similarity between one student and other students is important. Some factors are undesirable from the point of improving intergroup relationships. For instance, cultural distance and a history of conflict are undesirable. Other factors are desirable. Specifically, superordinate goals, such as goals that one group cannot reach without the help of the other group, situations in which authorities approve of the contact, equal status contact, and knowledge about the other culture are desirable factors. Once perceived similarity is present and there is an opportunity for contact, the interaction tends to be rewarding. We know that rewards lead to, an increased probability that the rewarding behavior will be repeated. The greater the interaction between people, in desirable contexts, the greater the probability that intimacy will develop. People will know more about each other. They will begin appreciating the other's culture. They will discover that they have common friends, and common attitudes about politics, sex, life styles, and other factors. The more interaction, the more accurate are the stereotypes we hold about another group (Triandis & Vassiliou, 1967). Accurate stereotypes are called sociotypes. Sociotypes are valid probabilistic statements about the attributes of a group. When I say that people from collectivist cultures pay more attention to the context

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than to the content of a message, I am presenting a sociotype. When people use sociotypes they are more likely to understand correctly the behavior of members of other cultures. An especially important factor is the attributions that people make. If, for instance, members of one culture use an external attribution (he did this because his group pressured him) and members of another culture use an internal attribution (he did this because he is nasty), the members of the two cultures make non- isomorphic attributions. In short, they see a different cause for a specific behavior. On the other hand, if they make isomorphic attributions, they use attributions that are more or less similar. Then, they are less likely to misunderstand the behavior of the member of the other culture. When they use isomorphic attributions, they are likely to feel "in control" of the situation. They are not surprised by the behavior of the other person. They can predict the other person's behavior. When this happens people feel little culture shock, and try to accommodate their culture's position to the other culture, rather than stress the differences between the two cultures. All these relationships are reversed when people see the other group members as dissimilar. Then the contact is punishing. People feel anxiety about having to interact with dissimilar others. They avoid interaction with them, they use stereotypes rather than sociotypes, they make non-isomorphic attributions, they feel that they have no control over the social situation, and they are likely to experience culture shock and to emphasize the virtues oftheir own culture ( i.e., become more ethnocentric).

Intercultural Contact

As we have seen, intercultural contact depends on many dimensions. Cultural distance is greater when people: 1. Speak languages that do not belong to the same language families (e.g., Indo-European and tonal languages); 2. have cultures with very different social structures. For example, Todd (1983) has identified eight types offamily structure (e.g., monogamy and polygamy); 3. adhere to very different religions (e.g., Roman Catholics and Suni Muslims); 4. have very different standards of living, and life styles, such as a per capita income of U.S. $30,200 in the U.S. or 1,237 per year in Albania; and 5. have very different values, for example, the values of "honoring parents and elders" and "pleasure" (Schwartz, 1992).

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Evaluation and the Perception of Difference

All the factors mentioned earlier about cultural differences are relevant in increasing the impression that a person from a different culture is actually a different person than the self. The perception of difference is undesirable and needs to be changed through education. The perception of difference undermines the smooth functioning of interpersonal and intergroup relationships. It is especially serious within the classroom. The job of educators is to set up systems that bridge these differences. Even preschools (Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989) can reflect the fundamental differences among cultures. For example, Chinese preschoolers go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times a day, as a group. Chinese educators praise this practice because it creates togetherness, self-control, and orderliness. American educators responding to the videotape that shows this practice condemn it vehemently, because they assume that each child is unique, and has to have the freedom to go to the bathroom whenever it needs to. These reactions reflect the collectivism of the Chinese and the individualism of the Americans. Thus, by examining how members of different cultures view each practice in an educational setting we can extract the fundamental differences that contrast their cultures. If there is one thing that we do know in social psychology, it is that similarity leads to attraction (Byrne, 1971). Thus, we have a problem: On the one hand students are often quite different from one another, as suggested above, and yet for a cohesive intergroup relationship we want them to see each other as similar. How can we achieve this? Fortunately there are several strategies that can work.

Seven Remedies Similarities and Differences

First, we can emphasize that humans are fundamentally very similar to each other. As King and Wilson (1975) mentioned, the DNA of humans and chimps is 99% the same. Modern biology is finding enormous similarities between humans and fruit flies! Our educational system can stress these similarities and point out that the differences between humans are minor and skin-deep. We share 99.9% of the DNA The .1 % that is different is important, because it often is the difference between the person who develops or does not develop cancer or other diseases, though they live in the same environment, but let us not exaggerate its importance. Differences are important because they can create unnecessary interpersonal problems. For example, people in some collectivist cultures tend to sample the context more than the content of a message. Thus, instead of paying a lot of attention to what was said, they pay attention to how it was said. This can lead to m;:yor misunderstandings. For example, when the

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u.s. Secretary of State James Baker met the Iraqis in Geneva in January of 1991, he told them very clearly "we will attack you if you do not move out of Kuwait." The Iraqis wired back: "The Americans will not attack. They are not angry." In short, they paid attention to the tone of voice rather than to the message. Thus, this cultural difference can produce problems. But once we identity the cultural difference, we can correct it. We can train people in collectivist cultures to pay attention to the content of messages, and people in individualist cultures to pay attention to the context of messages-gestures, tone of voice, etc. Of course, that does not solve the problem, because difficulties do develop when people in a culture anticipate a cultural difference and overcorrect it. Thus, in addition we need to teach meta-cultural awareness (Smith & Bond, 1999, p. 287). We need to know the other culture's point of view and accord it legitimacy. Once we understand the importance of culture in shaping behavior, we can begin by "factoring in" the information that the other person has a different culture. There is a cartoon of the Japanese man extending his hand, and hitting the bowing American's head. When both are culturally sophisticated, such mistakes can happen. In the final analysis, the culture that is to be used in the classroom is negotiable. We can discuss whose culture we will use, in which situations. We can reduce ethnocentrism by identitying the strengths of each culture. We want French cooks and Japanese gardeners (Triandis, 1994). As part of the emphasis on similarity among humans some of the training should discuss a simplified version of categorization theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, et al., 1987). It is an unfortunate fact of life that humans categorize themselves and others. Categorization occurs because we are all lazy. The principle ofleast effort (Zipf, 1949) is universal. We do not want to take the time and make the effort to see every member of a category as distinct. We oversimplity and miss important differences among members of the category. In short, we stereotype. We need to undermine this tendency. One way to do that is to emphasize that the variability within each category is often greater than the variability between categories. For example, we tend to think that people in Singapore and in New Zealand are culturally different from each other. Yet Marshall (1997) has shown that the difference between Singaporeans and New Zealanders is not as great as the difference between the members of the different social classes in these two countries. Or to take another example, the six-cultures project studied the ideas that mothers have about how to raise their children in six very homogeneous cultures. Minturn and Lambert (1964) found that the variability in the answers given by the mothers within these cultures-villages in India, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Japan, and a neighborhood in middle class Connecticut-was greater than the variability in the answers obtained between these cultures. In short, when we categorize mothers in India, we forget that they are very different from

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each other, even in a homogeneous village. The data tell us that they are more different within than between cultures. Surely we can train children to see that stereotypes are absurd, by asking them if the stereotypes of members of their own cultures are always defensible. Is it true, for instance, that all Australians are intelligent? Don't you know anyone who is not? Historical Emphases

Second, we can insist that history texts should emphasize cooperative events, such as the creation of the European Union, and de-emphasize previous conflicts among the groups present in the classroom. At this time most history books do the opposite. They are ethnocentric, and are more likely to create conflict than cooperation. One school board in the U.S. South, agreed that diversity could be discussed, as long as it is made clear that American culture is the best of all existing cultures and in relation to all past cultures! Ethnocentric texts are the ones that most school boards and Ministries of Education are willing to buy. Naturally, publishers are primarily interested in profits, and thus, if their clients only buy ethnocentric texts, that is what they publish. This is a major problem. Consider how will members of minority groups react to such texts, especially when they place their own group at a disadvantage. How will they feel about themselves? The truth must be in the texts. One cannot ignore that dominant cultures have eliminated weak cultures (e.g., the Tasmanians), but one can deplore this action instead of glorifying it. From the modern perspective, the way Native Americans were treated during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries leaves much to be desired. When reality is not favorable to the culture of our students, we need to describe what happened-the broken treaties, the oppression, the reservations, removal of the children from their families to be "educated" in the white-man's world. At the same time, we can teach that each action must be seen in its historical context. What is "good" in one time period can be "bad" during another. That would increase the sophistication of the students. Also, we need to present the reality that the modern world is not a hunting-and-gathering culture, and there are advantages (longevity, happiness) associated with information societies (Diener & Suh, 2000). Most people currently alive do not endorse the exploitation of the poor and the weak. There is no point feeling guilty about what was done in the past. We can forge a better future for all. There is a lot of food for thought here, and much discussion can be included from different points of view in the history texts, instead of presenting only the ethnocentric side of the argument. We should insist that history texts be evaluated from a multicultural perspective.Japanese texts must include information about the rape of Nanking (Chang, 1997) and Turkish texts the information about the extermination of

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Armenians in the 191Os. It is estimated that only 1 % of Turks were involved in this genocide, and none of them are now alive. Again, seeing things in historical context is important. Running away from reality does not do these cultures any good. The texts must stress that just because those who carried out the atrocities were called Japanese or Turks does not create guilt for the modern Japanese or Turks. We are again faced with the problem that humans categorize, and categories are often the wrong ways to cut the pie of experience. Modern Japan and Turkey are different cultures from the cultures that created the historic atrocities. We need to institute in every culture the kinds of processes that the Germans used to de-Nazify their country. They did it successfully, though they still have a small percentage in their population who glorify Hitler. These deviant groups exist in most societies and must be discussed as part of history; they are a part of reality. They do exist in every culture, because in every culture there are people who are not doing well in the game of economic competition. They feel frustrated that their privileged positions are eroding, and need to blame some group for their personal failures. They need counseling to understand why they hate others. If history texts were to provide analyses of ethnocentrism and authoritarianism as realities faced by most societies, the next generation of citizens will be able to "control" these fringe groups. Ignoring their existence, as we do now, is not providing an optimal education for our students. Ethnocentrism is a reality in all cultures. If we only know one culture, there is no way to judge others except by using our own culture as the standard. Then we are most likely to think that what goes on in our culture is "natural" and "correct" and what goes on in other cultures is "unnatural," "defective," and certainly "incorrect." We tend to see our own customs as universally valid, and thus, those who do not use our customs as "crazy." We unquestionably see the norms, role- and self- definitions and values of our ingroup as correct. We think that it is natural that we should help and cooperate with people we place in the same category as ourselves, we should feel proud of these people, and we should avoid or fight those who are not classified the same way as we are. If students were trained to see the weaknesses of these beliefs, they would begin accepting other cultures. It would also help to show to the students that extreme positions on the various dimensions of cultural variation mentioned above are undesirable. For example, hunters and gatherers have very little within-group aggression, and rarely commit suicide, yet they live to be only 45 or so years old. Information societies have many people who are anxious and confused by the many choices that are available to them. They have much crime and child abuse. Suicide is very high in Austria, Hungary and Sweden. Yet they have life expectancies around 80. Tight societies (e.g.,Japan) have many people who feel extremely anxious that they will not behave appropriately, but they have very little crime

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and child abuse. Loose cultures (e.g., California) have high crime rates, but people are relatively relaxed about their relationships with others. Collectivist cultures result in people feeling unable to self- actualize and satisfy their personal needs, but if they have a death in the family they receive a lot of social support. Individualist cultures result in people feeling lonely and unconnected with others, but these cultures are quite creative. Vertical cultures do not take advantage of the talents of those who are in the lower social strata, yet they are able to mobilize themselves for group action. Horizontal cultures have difficulties in fighting outsiders (why should I take a risk that others are not taking?) Yet, people feel that they are treated fairly most of the time. Active cultures are associated with stress, but they get things done. In passive cultures people do not initiate desirable reforms, but they roll with the punches of life and are not too stressed. In universalist cultures people feel that their unique contributions and talents are not rewarded, yet they feel that most people treat them fairly. In particularist cultures many people feel left out of the rewards of the society because they did not have the right connections with powerful others. On the other hand, in such cultures if they know the right person in authority they get things done very quickly and thdr unique contributions are taken into account. In diffuse societies people are not analytic enough in examining the causes of events, but they produce many Nobel prizes in poetry. In specific societies, people are not likely to be good in poetry or many of the arts that require associative thinking, but they are good in science and technology. In high ascription societies people feel that their accomplishments are not recognized, but if they have desirable attributes (e.g., family status) they receive a lot of respect. In achievement societies people get rewarded for their achievements, but those who do not have enough talent are rejects ofthe society. In instrumental societies people do not develop good social relationships, but they get things done. In expressive societies people do not get their jobs done, but they often have a lot of fun. In emotionally expressive societies people insult each other but they know exactly where others stand. In emotionally suppressive societies people are never sure of where they stand in relation to others, but relationships are very smooth. In touch societies people derive much pleasure from touching, but they annoy others by being too loud. In no-touch societies people feel that others are cold and remote, but they do not feel that they are being imposed upon by others who are too noisy and intrusive. In short, all extremes are undesirable. Students who learn to view cultures critically, will be critical about their own culture as well as other cultures.

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Multiculturalism Third, we must make sure that the authorities in our cultures state very clearly that they favor multiculturalism, and a harmonious multicultural society. This tells the students that diversity is respectable, and they must learn to deal with it successfully. Learning about other cultures is as important as learning the ABCs. Respecting cultural differences, being aware of stereotypes and how wrong they can be, should be part of the educational curriculum. Superordinate Goals and Cooperation Fourth, we need to identify superordinate goals. These are goals that one group cannot reach without the help of other groups. The Aronson jigsaw classroom (Aronson, Stephan, Sikes, Blaney, & Snapp, 1978) is an important way to create interdependence and cooperation among students. The lesson is divided among the students, and each child must teach the part of the lesson known to him or her to the other children. This makes sure that there is intercultural contact, but also the contact is equal status, because each child is in the teaching position some of the time. Errors inJudgment Fifth, we must train students to understand the mistakes that humans make when they judge others. The ultimate fundamental attribution error is to think that when members of your ingroup do something desirable it is because of internal factors (their attitudes, beliefs, personality), and when they do something undesirable it is because of external factors (they were pressured to do it). However, when members of your outgroup do something undesirable, it is the result of internal factors, and when they do something desirable it is because of external factors! This error occurs frequently, though not when the two groups have good relations. Once we learn that humans are often in error in judging why people do what they do, we can learn to correct ourselves. We can learn to ask: "What is the hard evidence that internal/external factors were involved?" In most cases there is no evidence, only a cognitive bias. Social Dominance Sixth, we can teach students social dominance theory (Sidanius, 1993). High status groups think that it is natural and "correct" that they should have more status and power than other groups, and feel closely attached to their own group. Low status groups do not feel so attached to their groups. Members of some cultures are quite hierarchical in their thinking, and are especially likely to endorse ideas such as that it is correct for them to have status and to dominate others. People can be trained to ask: What is the justification for my high status? Did I earn it, or was it simply given to me?

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Intergroup and Interpersonal Behavior Seventh, we can train the students to see the difference between an intergroup and an interpersonal behavior. In intergroup behaviors we react to the other person according to the other person's group. We assume that all members of that group are alike. We saw above that this assumption, which is an aspect of our tendencies to categorize experience, is almost always wrong. We need to train students to react to others as individuals, not as members of social categories. They need to learn to identify the idiosyncratic attributes of others. Ask: "Am I justified in assuming that all members of that category are the same?"

Caveats Realism requires that we accept that the arguments presented above apply only to countries that are relatively secure from enemies that would exterminate them if they had a chance. Hopefully, as the world evolves, with economic unions in Europe, South America, North America, and other places, the conditions that will make the above ideals possible will become common.

CONCLUSION

There are many kinds of cultural differences, but they need not paralyze the smooth functioning of the classroom as long as we adopt a combination of the remedies mentioned earlier. First we must understand and teach about cultural differences. The Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology (Berry, 1997) is a good place to start. Second, we must use the information about cultural differences to construct training materials, such as those described in Triandis (1994, ch. 10). Third, we must test the effectiveness of the training, and keep modifying it until it accomplishes the aim of making students less ethnocentric, and more able to relate effectively to students from other cultures. If education focuses on improving intergroup relationships, it is possible to have productive, constructive, and smooth relationships, both inside and outside the classroom.

REFERENCES Aronson, E., Stephan, C., Sikes,j., Blaney, N., & Snapp, M. (1978). Thejigsaw classroom. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. Berry,j.W. (General Ed.). (1997). Handbook ofcrvss-culturalpsychology (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

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Byrne, D. (1971). The attraction paradigm. New York: Academic Press. Carpenter, S. (2000). Effects of cultural tightness and collectivism on self-concept and causal attributions. Cross-Cultural Research, 34, 38- 56. Chang, I. (1997). The rape of Nanking: The forgotten holocaust of World War IL New York: Basic Books. Chick, G. (1997). Cultural complexity: The concept and its measurement. CrossCultural Research, 31, 275-307. Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (2000) (Eds.). Subjective well-being across cultures. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. King, M.C., & Wilson, A. C. (1975). Evolution at two levels of humans and chimpanzees. Science, 188, 107-116. Marshall, R. (1997). Variances in levels of individualism across two cultures and three social classes. journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 28, 490-495. Minturn, L., & Lambert, W.W. (1964). Mothers of six cultures. New York: Wiley. Schwartz, S. (1992). Universals in content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 25). New York: Academic Press. Sidanius,j. (1993). The psychology of group conflict and the dynamics of oppression: A social dominance perspective. In S. Iyengar & W. McGuire (Eds.) , Explorations in political psychology. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Smith, P.B., & Bond, M.H. (1999). Social psychology across cultures. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Tobin, JJ., Wu, D.Y.H., & Davidson, D.H. (1989). Preschool in three cultures: japan, China and the United States. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Todd, E. (1983). La troisieme planete. Paris: Editions du Seuil. Triandis, H.C. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw- Hill. Triandis, H.C. (1995). Individualism and collectivism. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Triandis, H.C., & Vassiliou, V. (1967). Frequency of contact and stereotyping.journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 7, 316-328. Turner,j.C., Hogg, M.A., Oakes, P. et al. (1987). Rediscovering the social group: A self categorization theory. Oxford: Blackwell. Zipf, G.K. (1949) Human behavior and the principle of least effort. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Part I THE MOTIVATION CONTEXT

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CHAPTER 2

BEYOND DICHOTOMOUS CHARACTERIZATIONS OF STUDENT LEARNING: NEW DIRECTIONS IN ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION RESEARCH Janine Bempechat and Beth A. Boulay I'm bad at math, not that I don't know how to do it, but since I don't like it, it has a bearing on it ... One has a certain amount of ability to a point, but working with the ability, one can excel. Like I had trouble but now I can do it because I kept trying. Teacher support is very important. The person cannot learn alone, because it is easier to learn from examples. It's better when they explain it to you piece by piece, one on one. .. so there no limit on math.

s

-Monica, 17 years old

INTRODUCTION

Like most students, Monica speaks about her perceived ability in mathematics in a varied and complex way. She expresses the belief that she is not good at math, and acknowledges that not liking the subject has an influence on her performance. At the same time, Monica asserts that effort can definitely make a difference in her learning, especially when she has a good teacher. Most interesting is her view that effort can maximize her ability in mathematics.

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Researchers have known for more than twenty-five years that students' achievement beliefs, such as those expressed by Monica, have a powerful influence on their learning behavior (e.g., Bempechat, London, & Dweck, 1991; Nicholls, Cheung, Lauer, & Patachnick, 1989; Weiner, Russell, & Lerman, 1979a). Regrettably, however, none of the traditional methods for assessing students' beliefs about their abilities is capable of capturing the richness of Monica's convictions. Why is this? Along with many researchers in achievement motivation, we have relied too heavily on experimental or survey-based methods. In so doing, we have come to characterize children and their understandings of academic achievement as dichotomies. Researchers have introduced us to children who are either: (1) "Entity" or "Incremental" theorists, (2) "performance" or "learning" oriented, (3) "task-involved" or "ego-involved," and (4) "effort" or "ability" oriented (see Bempechat et al., 1991; Nicholls, 1984a; Stevenson & Stigler, 1992). With this theoretical orientation as our paradigm, we cannot possibly do justice to the beliefs of a student like Monica. She is an Entity theorist, in that she believes she is not good at math. Yet she is also an Incremental theorist, since she states that, ultimately, there is no limit on how smart one can become in math. By the same token, she is both ability and effort oriented. But what of her views about the importance of liking the subject and having a good teacher? These are not easily incorporated into the theoretical frameworks within which we have been working. Indeed, the dichotomous distinctions upon which we have been relying speak to theoretical children, and are limited in the degree to which they allow us to understand the daily contexts in which achievement takes place. Our teachers do not educate theoretical children; they teach real children in real classrooms, and we believe that we have an obligation to provide them with information that can have authentic applicability in their classrooms. We have at our disposal methods that most of us have long ignored, methods that are qualitative in nature, that can provide the kinds of theoretical and practical insights that can deepen our understandings of children's motivation to succeed in school. In this chapter, we will argue that our field needs to do more to embrace methods of inquiry that are qualitatively based. In so doing, we will emerge with a much greater understanding of achievement in context. We begin by describing what research has revealed about the influence of beliefs and attitudes on children's motivation to learn, and outline the implications this work has had for classroom instruction and individual intervention. We will demonstrate the ways in which our ability to be helpful to teachers and effective in the classroom has been limited by the methods of inquiry we have chosen to employ. Further, we will present findings from our qualitative work that contradict existing experimental research, and show how reliance on decontextualized methods may be steering our intervention efforts in the wrong direction. Finally, we will suggest new ave-

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nues for future research that can help us bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry.

THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF MEDIATED COGNITIONS

Our understanding of children's motivation to learn has come a long way from the period in which we relied on drive theories for understanding the factors that motivate individuals to achieve (e.g., Atkinson, 1964; McClelland & Winter, 1969). Largely due to the efforts of Bernard Weiner (Weiner, 1985, 1994; Weiner, Russell, & Lerman, 1979b), we now understand that the relationship between Need for Achievement and actual achievement behavior is mediated by achievement cognitions, including attributions for success and failure, beliefs about effort and ability, confidence, and expectancies for performance. This knowledge does not mean that children's need to achieve, be it high or low or in-between, is irrelevant. Rather, it recognizes that children (and adults) differentially interpret their achievement experiences, and these differential interpretations have critical implications for their subsequent behavior in achievement settings. In his seminal work, Weiner documented that the achievement behavior of primary through college-aged students is reliably predicted by the affective reactions that result from their reasoning about the causes of their successes and failures. Weiner has argued that prior experiences with success, failure, and teacher and parent feedback constitute antecedent conditions that lead students to ascribe success and failure to a variety of causes. Broadly speaking, he has shown that students tend to attribute success and failure to four major causes-ability (or lack of ability), effort (or lack of effort), task ease (or difficulty), and other external factors, such as being liked or disliked by the teacher. According to Wiener, ability is internal, stable, and uncontrollable, while effort is internal, unstable, and controllable; external factors are external, unstable, and uncontrollable. These dimensions of various reasons for success and failure have implications for how students' respond affectively to their performance in school, , and it is a student's affect that actually predicts subsequent achievement behavior (Weiner et al., 1979a). For example, if a student attributes failure on a math test to lack of ability (viewed as internal, stable, and uncontrollable), he is likely to feel incompetent. This feeling will lead him to disengage from the task of studying when the next test comes along. Mter all, there is nothing he can do about what he may perceive to be an appalling lack of ability. If he does not have what it takes to well in math, what is the point in trying? In contrast, if a student believes she failed because she did not spend enough time preparing for the test (interna~ unstable, and controllable), she is likely to feel ashamed and perhaps angry at herself. These emotions will lead her to redouble her efforts in preparation for the next test.

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From a pragmatic perspective, the most interesting aspect of Weiner's work has to do with the ways in which students as young as five years of age are able to infer a teacher's belief about the cause of failure from her affect. Using hypothetical scenarios, Weiner has demonstrated that when a teacher displays anger over a student's performance, children infer that she believes the student did not try hard enough. When she displays pity or sympathy over a student's poor grade, children infer that the teacher believes that the student lacks the ability to do well. The implication is that teachers may unwittingly convey to some children that they do not have the necessary ability to do well in a particular subject. Weiner's work raised an important question for educational researchers: Is there but one way to conceive of intelligence-as a stable aspect of personality over which one has no control? Or, is it possible to view intelligence as a malleable quality that grows as a result of effort? If so, how might this change the ways in which students interpret the causes of success and failure? In fact, John Nicholls (1984b) and Carol Dweck (1999) documented that children tend to think about their intelligence in one of two ways. Children who tend to be "Ego-Involved" (Nicholls) or adhere to "Entity Theory" (Dweck) tend to believe that intelligence is relatively fixed, an aspect of the self that is both limited and limiting. Children who adhere to this view tend to be overly concerned about looking smart and avoiding looking "dumb." As such, they tend to be very sensitive to their standing in the classroom relative to that of their peers. They tend to be oriented toward avoiding difficult or challenging tasks, and define intelligent peers in static, trait-like terms ("She's smart because she has a big brain." "He's smart because he always gets A's") (Bempechat et al., 1991). Not surprisingly, they tend to succumb to learned-helplessness in the face of difficulty or challenge. They themselves report feeling smart when the work is easy, when they have done better than their peers, or when they have been able to avoid hard work altogether (Nicholls, 1989). Taken together, children who embrace this viewpoint appear to be focused on the outcome or product of learning. In contrast, children who tend to be "Task-Involved" (Nicholls) or subscribe to an "Incremental Theory" of intelligence (Dweck), are committed to increasing their skills and knowledge, even if this means they may make mistakes or look "dumb" at times. They tend to believe that disciplined effort can indeed make them smarter, and are more likely than not to display mastery-oriented behavior when they encounter difficulty. These children tend to embrace academic challenge, and describe intelligent peers in action-oriented ways ("He's smart because he tries hard." "She's smart because she always does her homework.") (Bempechat et al., 1991). Overall, these are students who seem to be focused on the process of learning. How do students' ideas about intelligence develop over time? In a seminal paper, Nicholls (Nicholls, 1978) found that from about preschool

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through kindergarten, all children believe that intelligence is malleable. They tend to endorse statements such as "The harder I try, the smarter I'll get." By the end of the first or the beginning of the second grade, however, children's beliefs begin to shift. They begin to see the relationship between effort and ability as compensatory, and endorse statements such as, "The harder I have to try, the dumber I must be." It is no surprise that we see this change in beliefs at this time. By the end of first grade, most children have experiences with report cards, grades, and the like. As Stipek has noted (Stipek & Gralinski, 1991), this serves to heighten social comparison in the classroom, and children become very savvy about where each member of the class falls on the continuum of intelligence. What is the origin of children's ideas about effort, ability, and the relationship between the two? Clearly, these notions do not evolve in a vacuum, but rather in school and home contexts that foster differential beliefs. As we mentioned above, the culture of testing and grading makes all students acutely aware of where they stand in the intellectual food chain that is their classroom. Yet as Nicholls (Nicholls, 1989) has shown, the structure of the classroom can change to foster a more democratic climate of learning for all students. Teachers who structure their classrooms around task, rather than ego involvement, tend to minimize students' concerns over their abilities and maximize their interest in learning for learning's sake. These are classrooms in which cooperative learning takes precedence over competitive study. This is not to say that children become completely unaware of their relative standing in the classroom, but rather that it takes on less importance. All students know that they are learning, albeit some at a slower and some at a faster pace than others; the relative pace, as well as the outcomes of learning, though, matter less than the actual process of learning that is going on in the classroom. Furthermore, students' approaches to learning are qualitatively different in classrooms that encourage children to become task-, rather than ego-involved in their work. For example, Nicholls and his colleagues (Nicholls, Cobb, Yackel, Wood, & Weatley, 1991) have shown that in taskoriented mathematics classrooms, students report that they feel smart when (1) the work is hard, (2) they need to collaborate with others in order to solve a problem, (3) they discover a solution after spending some time struggling with a problem, and (4) they realize that there can be more than one solution to a given problem. In contrast, students in ego-oriented classrooms report feeling smart when (1) the work is easy, (2) they are the only ones to know the correct answer on a given problem, (3) they do not make mistakes, and (4) they complete their work before anyone else in the classroom. In short, orienting students toward task-involvement appears to foster challenge-seeking, cooperative learning, and an appreciation for deep conceptual understanding. Orienting students toward ego-involvement seems to encourage task-avoidance, social comparison, and a preference for easy tasks that can be solved with little or no struggle.

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Carol Ames' experimental studies confirm Nicholls' surveys (Ames & Ames, 1984). She has demonstrated that competitively structured experimental situations tend to foster concern over intellectual abilities, making children worry about how well they are doing relative to others, wary of making mistakes for fear of appearing dumb, and singularly concerned about the end product of learning-the grade-rather than the process involved in learning. As might well be expected, these kinds of concerns have a causal influence on children's achievement behavior, in the sense that they tend to orient children toward tasks that are either too easy or too difficult. In the first case, this strategy allows them to ensure success, while in the second, it lets them save face by having virtuously attempted an arduous problem. In both cases, children learn little, but they are able to protect their academic self-esteem.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF CURRENT RESEARCH

The survey and experimental research of the past quarter century has done much to illuminate the reasons that can underlie children's behavior in the classroom. Consider, for example, ten-year-old Alex who, enjoys learning, is relatively well behaved, and makes reasonable choices about the activities in which he is involved. To the consternation of his parents and teachers alike, however, he completes his math homework about 50% of the time. As it turns out, Alex is rather good in math, and has been on the receiving end of much praise for his math ability. This makes his behavior all the more puzzling, and where his parents are concerned, quite maddening. No amount of cajoling, discipline, or other manner of entreaties seems to make a dent in what appears to be completely irrational behavior. Imagine, however, that instead of believing he is smart in math, this boy is convinced that his performance to date has been due entirely to luck. He feels that he has no control over any of the successes he has accumulated over time. Of course he knows he should do his math homework regularly, but he does not want to take the chance of undermining what has so far been a winning record. In fact, he would prefer to suffer the wrath of his parents and teachers than the embarrassment that would follow from a failed math assignment. Thus, from this boy's perspective, his behavior is completely rational. Our increased appreciation for the power of individual beliefs most definitely helps us understand Alex's reasoning in ways that we may not have been able to several decades ago. A child such as Alex may very well have been dismissed as lazy or irresponsible, or both. Today, however, more time may be taken by Alex's teachers to understand what he is thinking about his performance in math. Yet, despite the advantages our recent knowledge affords us, the truth is that it is impossible to ferret out Alex's beliefs

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using the survey and experimental methods that have so dominated the research literature. What is more important, these methods cannot uncover the origins of Alex's motivational beliefs. Did Alex always harbor these complex beliefs about what it takes to do well in math? If not, when and how did they begin to change? Does he have a sibling who has always excelled in math, and if so, does he feel pressured to follow in his sibling's footsteps, at least where math is concerned? Has he been pushed into an accelerated math class by teachers who have recognized his intelligence and want the best for him? Clearly, neither a survey administered at one point in time, nor an experimental study can reveal these essential elements of motivation-the ontology of a student's beliefs, their consistency over time, and the sociocontextual factors that influence each student's beliefs about intelligence. And so, using the well-known and respected instruments at our disposal, we might discover that Alex is an entity theorist, that he has an ego-orientation toward learning, that he prefers to sacrifice an opportunity to learn something new so that he can show an experimenter what he can do, or that he prefers an easy to a challenging math test, except when his confidence is high. Without Alex's own richly detailed explanation of his reasoning, however, his teachers would still be at a loss for what to do and how to help him. In other words, we have barely begun to explore the vast continuum that lies between "entity" and "incremental" beliefs/ ego- and task-involvement, and effort and ability orientations to learning. As illuminating as these concepts have been, there is a way in which they make little sense to teachers who work with students every day. A good teacher would have many questions for a child who would be classified as an "entity" theorist. Indeed, any teacher knows that there is more to this child's understandings about learning than the ideas represented in one, rather simplistic belief that intelligence is limited. For example, the prototypical "incremental" theorist believes that intelligence is unlimited, loves to learn for learning's sake and is deeply committed to expanding her skills and knowledge, even if this means risking failure. The model of the "entity" theorist is one who views intelligence as both limited and limiting, fears mistakes, and sacrifices opportunities to learn new skills if the probability of success seems remote. In the daily world of classroom learning, however, students who believe that intelligence is malleable cannot possibly be indifferent to their grades. There are a great many students who love to learn, and who do well in school, all the while being very mindful of their academic record. Of course, this becomes increasingly the case as they get older and become subject to more rigorous "high stakes" standardized testing, such as that represented by the SAT's for entrance to college and the GRE's for entrance into graduate school in the arts and sciences.

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Similarly, students who are terribly concerned about their grades cannot possibly be utterly disinterested in expanding their skills and knowledge-this simply goes against the grain of what and how children learn. Furthermore, these "entity" oriented students will reach a point in their schooling where they will have no choice but to enroll in courses they may dread, simply because they have requirements to fulfill for their postsecondary education. To be sure, none of the scholars who has documented these different beliefs and approaches to learning ever meant to imply that students think about their education in a polarized fashion. Yet, as we stated at the outset, there is a way in which both the theories that have guided our investigations and the methods we have used to test our theories have, by definition, limited our understandings of the ways in which students come to make meaning of their educational experiences. The existing research is largely devoid of the contexts and cultures in which beliefs about intelligence and learning take place. As Bronfenbrenner (1979) arld Vygotsky (1978) have argued, it is virtually impossible to separate a student from the context in which she is growing. For example, while Weiner's work assesses whether students attribute their performance to effort, ability, or external factors, it does not consider how students might interpret what it takes for them to succeed. Individual meaning making is necessarily influenced by both narrow and broad sociocultural elements-the student's classroom, peers, school, family, community, the larger society and the norms and values for academic achievement held by the influential individuals and institutions in the student's sociocultural circle. A student who attributes failure to lack of ability can come to feel quite incompetent. If she also attributes success to effort, this too can further her feeling of intellectual inadequacy. This is not, however, how Emily, a 10th grader, has resolved her feelings of low perceived ability in mathematics: I realized early in the game that I was not nearly as smart in math as a lot of my friends. It seemed I had to work so much longer and harder to understand the homework and prepare for tests. I can tell you it's no fun-I have spent years looking on in amazement as others, especially my best friend Molly, pick up new concepts like it's nothing. But here's the thing-you would never know any of this from looking at my grades. I do extremely well in math, even though I hate it until I finally understand it. By the time I started 6th grade, I said to myself, "OK, I'm not smart in math. If I want to do well, if I have to do well, I'll just have to work harder, go in for extra help, ask Molly to help me out-whatever it takes. I'll never be as smart as Molly is in math, but that's not going to stop me from doing well."

It is very important to realize that once we classify children into groups that we (the researchers) have defined, we rob ourselves of the opportunity to understand any differences that might exist between children who are classified in the same way. Students who are "ego-involved" in their learn-

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ing may indeed share some beliefs about, say, the importance of innate ability in school outcomes. Clearly, though, on an individual level, differences exist in what these students understand "ego-involvement" to mean for them. It is important to understand how variations in students' understanding of a given concept influence the ways in which they approach learning. For reasons we would need to uncover, doing well in math was important and relevant for Emily, so much so that, by her own admission, she struggled as a child and continues to struggle in her professional life. Yet all of us who teach have worked with students who believe that they are intelligent in math and can do well, but do not, because they find the domain personally irrelevant. The sociocultural perspective, then, is critical for our understanding of achievement beliefs and behaviors. This issue becomes all the more critical when we bring culture and ethnicity into the discussion. The great interest in cross-national differences in academic achievement has resulted in a rather large body of literature on the motivational factors that may underlie differential achievement across cultures and ethnic groups (Bempechat, Nakkula, Wu, & Ginsburg, 1996; Hess & Azuma, 1991; Holloway, 1988; Stevenson, Chen, & Lee, 1993). In the face of the higher achievement of Asian as compared to American students, many have argued that Western systems of education should take on some of the cultural aspects of learning that seem to foster a commitment to scholarship in Japan, Taiwan, and China. Most visible of these cultural aspects is the apparently greater emphasis on effort that Asian students have been shown to endorse. However, as Holloway (1988) has eloquently noted, terms such as effort and ability have very different meanings in Japan than they do in the United States. Putting forth one's maximum effort is seen as a moral and social obligation in Japanese culture. Students are said to work hard as a way of upholding their family's honor-it is the right thing to do. In the United States, in contrast, we try to convey to children that effort "pays off"-that trying hard in school will allow them to fulfill their individual goals. Simply put, it is inappropriate to overlay one culture's educational views and values onto another's (Bempechat & Drago-Severson, 1999). This is a critical issue that has long been understood by researchers in psychological anthropology and cultural psychology (see, Bempechat,Jimenez, & Boulay, 2001; Harkness & Super, 1992; LeVine, Miller, & West, 1988; Shweder, 1990). According to Bruner (1990, 1996), culture is firmly rooted in psychology because we all develop our world views within the culture in which we grow and live. The meanings we develop are both shared and negotiated within our own culture. At the same time, however, culture and context exert their unique influence on individuals, such that a great deal of variation in beliefs exists within a culture and its subcultures. This issue has been eloquently argued by Susan Holloway (2000), who has documented that preschool directors

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inJapan share similar beliefs about the goals of early childhood education, yet go about fulfilling these goals in very different ways. Regrettably, in the field of achievement motivation in particular, there is relatively little integration of important aspects of psychological anthropology and cultural psychology. Furthermore, as we stated earlier, the theories and methods that have driven research in the field have precluded the study of variation within groups. We need to move away from eticaUy derived quantitative models of exploration to ones that embrace both quantitative and emically driven qualitative methods of inquiry. More specifically, we need to build a grounded theory of how individuals construct meaning about their educational experiences. For example, this means that, rather than asking students to choose one statement from among many that most closely describes their beliefs about intelligence, we would engage students in a completely open-ended discussion about what intelligence, learning, and knowledge 'fIUJan to them. In other words, as interviewers, we would enter into these discussions with no preconceived notions of what students might say. Our goal would be to document the words and phrases that each student chooses to describe their educational beliefs and experiences. Shweder (1997) has referred to this endeavor as the "process of discovery" that is ethnographic research. It is time, therefore, to move toward developing a richer understanding of the complexities of students' beliefs about their own learning and schooling. In the following section, we present findings from two investigations in which we focused on students' own understandings of their educational experiences, and the meanings they attached to their understandings. As we will show, traditional methods of inquiry would have never uncovered the nuances and intricacies of thought expressed by the students we interviewed.

STUDENTS' CLASSIFICATIONS AND STUDENTS' ARTICULATIONS: CONTRADICTIONS IN THOUGHT?

In our first investigation, we sought to understand how students' classifications as "entity" or "incremental" theorists are related to their own thinking about intelligence (Quihuis, Bempechat, Jimenez, & Boulay, 2002). We were most intrigued to find that both "Entity" and "Incremental" theorists, when given the opportunity to express their views, spoke about and understood their abilities in ways that were unequivocally malleable. We assessed students' classifications as "entity" or "incremental" theorists, and examined these in the context of how students, when given the opportunity, speak about and understand their conceptions of ability across academic domains (General Ability, Mathematics, Science, and English). Clearly, for example, some students may express entity-like beliefs in mathematics, but articulate incremental-like understandings in

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language arts. We chose to examine these understandings in a group of low income Mexican-American adolescents, a population thus far neglected in the research literature. We administered Dweck's Theories of Intelligence questionnaire to 57 English-proficient, low income first generation Mexican-American 10th through 12th graders (6 females, 7 males), all of whom were enrolled in a public high school in Southern California, and were bilingual in English and Spanish. Of the 57 students, 4 endorsed an "entity" theory in the four domains ("Entity-All"), 37 endorsed an "incremental" theory in the four domains ("Incremenal-AlI"), and the remaining 16 endorsed different theories in different domains ("Mixed"). In order to probe students' understanding of their theory choices, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 students-the four "EntityAU," the three Incremental-All with the highest incremental scores in each domain, and six Mixed students who represented different combinations of theories across the domains. Extensive notes were taken throughout the interviews, which lasted approximately 90 minutes. The goal of the interview was to examine the ways in which students constructed meaning in their day-to-day school experiences. The major research question that guided the analysis of this interview was, ''What do these students think about the relative malleability of their abilities, and how do they speak about it?" Data analysis was guided by the search for emergent emic concepts. Coding was done to produce "concepts that fit the data" (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Strauss, 1987). Words that the participants used frequently and spontaneously were used as native concepts to analyze the interviews. Codes (i.e., malleable, fixed, combination) were generated inductively and emerged from the adolescents' descriptions of their academic abilities in their school context. The three "Incremental-All" students expressed beliefs that unequivocally reflected a malleable view of ability in each domain. For example, Ruben, a sophomore, believed effort and desire made a crucial difference in learning. He saw no limits to intelligence, and he felt it was not a fixed quality. He attributed failure in learning to a lack of effort and interest, or to negative experiences, but not to a lack of intelligence. He believed intelligence was a developmental quality that increased with learning, as expressed below: I don't think there is a limit. I think the person, if he really motivates himself and wants to learn, he can learn many things ... because there have been things that I have said that I thought I would not be able to learn, but I did. So, the lazy person who does not want to or does not put effort into it, then there the person places a limit on himself. But, the person who wants to do it puts effort into it. There is no limit in intelligence. Intelligence involves all

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J. BEMPECHAT AND B. A. BOULAY subjects and if there is no limit in intelligence, then there is no limit in the rest of the subjects.

Ruben acknowledged that even though some things may be difficult to learn initially, a person can learn provided that enough effort is put forth. He also believed that the difference between those who achieve academically and those who do not lies in the desire to do so and the willingness to invest effort in a task. The four "Entity-All" students initially spoke of their abilities in each domain as being unequivocally immutable. With some elaboration, however, this view gave way to beliefs that were wholly malleable. The students attributed any limits in learning to factors other than intellectual ability, including: loss of motivation, effort, or desire to learn; laziness; previous negative educational experiences, and; incompetent teachers. For example, Rubi, a junior, offered what appears to be a classic definition of an entity view of intelligence-a quality that is both limited and limiting, as follows: I think that intelligence, you have to be born with it. It's something that. .. I don't know. How can I explain it? I don't believe it's something that you learn through your environment, you know? You can't develop it. You are actually born with it.

However, Rubi later acknowledged that intelligence is a quality that grows, as illustrated by the following exchange about geometry, a course in which she was experiencing difficulty: I tried, I liked geometry and then the teacher I had, I went after school but I did not learn and that's why I think I did not like geometry 'cuz I did not understand it. I think I could [go on to more advanced levels of math and understand them], depending on the teacher, and get tutoring ... Yes ... Just like in science-if I really needed it to go off to college or needed it for my career, I would break my head for it.

We observed no clear pattern in the theory choices of the six "Mixed" students. For example, as a group, they did not articulate fixed beliefs in mathematics and science, and malleable beliefs in English. Most interestingly, however, irrespective of domain, students who spoke of their ability as changeable were unwavering in their beliefs that intelligence is a malleable quality. However, those who initially spoke of intelligence in fixed terms soon elaborated views that very much reflected notions of intelligence as a flexible quality. In a sense, the term intelligence was used by the students in two ways: (1) as a proxy for brain-this is seen as fixed and limited, even though we may not know the limits, and, (2) as a proxy for ability, which is housed in the brain and is malleable up to its unknowable limits. These findings challenge current theory by showing that carefully constructed interviews, designed to elicit the meanings students attach to their

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academic abilities, yield far richer and more complex understandings of theories of intelligence than that which can be garnered from decontextualized experimental settings. Since there is no such thing as a context-free, meaning-free environment (Haste, 1994; Rogoff, 1990; Shweder, 1990), responding to interview questions most likely allowed these students to place their beliefs in the context of day-to-day learning in which a variety of social (i.e., teacher expectancies, peer influence), structural (i.e., tracking) , and internal (i.e., value placed on a given subject) factors are likely to playa role in their achievement views.

UNDERSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT BELIEFS IN POSTAPARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

In the early 1990s, Salie Abrahams conducted a major qualitative study of the ways in which a group of South Mrican adolescents conceptualized justice and morality under apartheid (Abrahams, 1995). These 11 th and 12th graders had witnessed first hand the consequences of institutionalized racism on themselves, their family members, their school, and the community in which they lived. These young women and men were part of the first generation of Blacks who had grown up under apartheid and witnessed the liberation of Nelson Mandela and the official dismantling of institutionally sanctioned racism. Three separate semi-structured interviews were conducted with each of the 11 students. The interviews were designed to tap meaning making around the three major dimensions of individual understanding, as conceptualized by Vygotsky (1978) and expanded upon by Haste (1994). In addition, we sought to integrate the social-cognitive approach to achievement motivation with cultural psychology, thus enabling us to examine students' achievement beliefs in cultural context. The first interview elicited experiences students had had on an individual level, which represented the intrapersonal aspects of their lives. We were interested in understanding how these students, as individuals, would think and speak about their educational experiences in the context of their lives. The second interview tapped the students' interactions with the peers and adults in their lives, and thus represented the interpersonal dimension of their lives. Specifically, we wanted to understand how the students negotiated meaning about education, achievement, and opportunity among their peers, parents, and teachers. The third interview examined the ways in which the cultural context in which these students lived influenced their meaning making. In other words, how did their culture and the social setting in which they were developing influence the meanings they brought to education, achievement, and opportunity in post-apartheid society? Our analysis of the interviews showed that the students spoke recurrently about three m;:yor themes related to their schooling: education, oppor-

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tunity, and the future. These words were not imposed by us as we analyzed the interviews. Rather, they emerged as emic concepts, in the sense that they were derived from the students' own words and phrases in responses to our questions. Had we adhered to achievement motivation theory as conceptualized by Western researchers, we would have expected these students to express disillusionment, anger, lack of confidence, and lowexpectations for their futures, feelings all born of a lifetime of the most severe types of educational racism. For example, overlaying Weiner's attribution theory onto these students' context, we might have predicted that they see no point investing effort in their learning, since, by their own admission, educational and social conditions had yet to change for the better. In other words, academic achievement, educational opportunity, and social mobility, from the perspective of attribution theory, would be perceived as the result of external factors and thus uncontrollable, no matter the amount of effort exerted. Instead, we found students who were deeply committed to their education, determined to get ahead in the "new South Mrica," and intent on making the most of the opportunities they perceived were now available under the first government headed by a black South Mrican, Nelson Mandela. Caroline expressed her beliefs in this way: Finally a black man could go so far to become the president of this country, our president ... It means that the blacks and all the oppressed now also have a chance to do the things that only whites could do. Now we can also get real jobs, get opportunities, study and go overseas ... We were talking the other day about all the new opportunities that we have now and how we need to make sure that we are ready for the new society.

We saw no evidence of learned helplessness, or other learning tendencies that might have held these students back, if not in their minds, then in their academic progress. Consider Ylandi's perspective, which is rife with feelings of individual control and personal responsibility that foster high achievement: ... it's up to me to make decisions ... Like when it was during the exams a couple of my friends wanted me to go out with them, but I said to them that I had to study. I had made up my mind to study, even though my mom said I could go. I do this because I have a goal. I want to get somewhere in life. Especially now that the future looks better and there are more opportunities economically ... there are more job opportunities, at least now ... The time of sitting on your head is over ... I also have dignity ... there were the days when we had the boycotts, so we missed a lot of school, but it did not influence us to fail ... We are not like victims ... A victim is somebody who loses. We did not lose, we won the struggle.

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Finally, the students revealed to us the sense of obligation they felt to those who had come before them and sacrificed so much in the pursuit of freedom, as expressed by Kingsley, andJerome: No, our struggle is still ahead. We now need to show the people who made the sacrifices that we can do it. That we can take up the opportunities and study hard and work hard to be what we want to be. That is what we owe to those who were in the struggle, those who sacrificed their lives for us so we could enjoy all the changes. I feel responsible for uplifting my parents. Everybody thinks so. At the moment, my mother is the only one who is working ... So I think if I could make it better for my parents, I will. So the only way that I can do that is not just dropping out of school, get a job, low payment job. It is not worth it. So just study for that aim of uplifting your parents. Even for ten years, put your mind to it. Then you can make it better for your parents and make it better for yourself ... You must budget to provide for them [one's parents]. Always put something aside for your mother. Create money for your mother. It is important, they provided for you ...

In this study, our theoretical approach and methods of inquiry allowed us to paint rich portraits of the nonobvious ways in which these students maintained a fierce determination to succeed and get ahead in the new South Mrica, despite the obstacles that were yet to be overcome. A reliance on traditional questionnaires and experimental studies would have surely provided us with interesting information about their theories of intelligence, for example. Yet the reader can observe how the convergence of theoretical models served to open up areas of inquiry that are not available in classic achievement motivation research. The resulting insights into the meanings of education, opportunity, and the future revealed multiple layers of understanding and meaning making. The results of this study do not imply that the Western frameworks used to understand motivation, such as attribution theory, are irrelevant in this particular sociocultural context. To the extent that individuals from varied cultures seek to interpret the reasons why they succeed or fail, attribution theory is a reasonable guide for researchers who seek to understand how students conceptualize their performance. In its present form, however, attribution theory is limited, in that it confines the dimensions to which attributions can be classified. For example, the dimension of controllability may not be as salient in cultures where individuals believe strongly in the notion that a higher power guides their lives. However, attribution theory makes no allowance for alternate pathways to achievement motivation. The underlying assumption of Weiner's theory is that individuals are motivated to understand the ''Why" question-"Why did I succeed?" "Why did I fail?" Recent research has documented other salient, or hyper-cognized (Levy, 1973) mechanisms of achievement that

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may have little relevance for Western culture. For example, the South Mrican students quoted above seem to be motivated to promote the social mobility of their race, now that apartheid has been dismantled. In this context, evaluations of individual success and failure become less relevant. Irrespective of students' answers to the "Why" question, they will continue to be motivated to advance the standard of living for themselves and their families.

NEW DIRECTIONS FOR ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION RESEARCH

With this chapter, we are at the same time, looking back at a quarter century of ground-breaking research, and looking forward to the insights we have yet to gain in the next quarter century. We believe that the quantitative and experimental methods that dominated the first twenty-five years of research should now be complimented by carefully designed, in-depth qualitative methods of inquiry. If our ultimate goal is to provide teachers with information that help them make a difference in their children's learning, we need to be able to describe to them how children come to understand their educational experiences. This is not a trivial task, and the challenge before educational researchers is complex. At the same time, we need to challenge the theoretical perspectives that have guided our research to date. Theories of motivation that pay better attention to the range of sociocultural forces influencing students are likely to be of more value than theories (Le., such as attribution theory, goal theory) that largely ignore these sociocultural elements. Socioculturally based theories, by their nature, will also necessarily lead to methodologies that are more open to explore the complexity of students' motivation to learn. Educational researchers have worked hard to develop and contribute to a data base of students' responses to questionnaires about educational beliefs and attitudes. Our scholarship extends to a good understanding of how these beliefs and attitudes can change as a function of experimental manipulations. Now is the time to augment our knowledge with the voices of the very children whose behavior in the classroom we have worked so hard to understand. The goals of a qualitative research agenda are twofold. In order to attain this goal, we need to: • Build a data base of students' own idiosyncratic, emie concepts of learning and intelligence. • Examine variation in the ways students describe how they are motivated. • Investigate between and within group differences in the dimensions students use to conceptualize reasons for success and failure.

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• Focus attention on underrepresented groups within cultures, including racial/ethnic minorities and low income students. • Probe students' perceptions of the influence that parents', peers, and teachers have on their achievement beliefs. It is unclear to us how more research of an etic nature can fulfill what we believe to be the most important benefit of educational studies-their practical applicability in the classroom. To the extent that survey and experimental research conceptualize a priori, the questions that are asked, and limit the responses that students are able to give, they impose an etic perspective on all participants. In order for an investigator to elicit an emic perspective, students' own words and phrases must be allowed to emerge. We have an obligation to teachers to provide them with information that they can actually use in their classrooms. This information should now come from qualitative investigations of how children and youth understand and make meaning of their learning experiences. This is not to say that survey and experimental research should never again be conducted. Regrettably, very few researchers who study the factors that foster or inhibit motivation have actually spent time talking with children about what they think about how they learn and how they are taught. In moving toward qualitative research, we must avoid the major weakness of much of the existing literature, which lies in its tendency to focus on differences between groups at the expense of understanding differences within groups. For example, while it is helpful to know that Indochinese students, on average, tend to outperform other ethnic groups in the United States in mathematics, it would be equally, if not more interesting, to know more about those Indochinese students who do not fit the stereotype of the "model minority myth." How do these students perceive their educational experiences? In this vein, it is critical that we expand the slowly growing literature on achievement and motivation in poor students, as well as students of color. Far too much of our knowledge stems from research that has been conducted on white, middle class, suburban students, whose experiences are altogether different from that of their lower income urban ethnic minority peers. In many industrialized nations that have experienced recent waves of immigration, ethnic minority children represent the fastest growing segment of the childhood population. We have an urgent need, therefore, to understand the unique influences that culture exerts on the socialization of academic achievement. Future research should supplement in-depth interviews with actual performance data (i.e., school grades) in order to gain a deeper understanding of students' emic concepts of intelligence and their influence on achievement behavior. Further, we must enrich our knowledge of meaning-making around issues of ability by paying increased attention to the rich variation that exists in each student's conceptions ofleaming and achievement.

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Finally, at a time when educational reforms are in progress virtually around the globe, we are witnessing the birth of a variety of school types, including charter schools, voucher programs, controlled choice programs, and home schooling. Considered in the greater scheme of schooling options, including private secular and parochial schools, increasing numbers of students will be exposed to varied educational communities. Educational researchers should devote time to understanding the differential influence of school types on the development of their beliefs and attitudes about schooling and learning. Overall, our message is clear. The time is long overdue for carefully constructed qualitative studies of students' meaning making in educational contexts. We need to develop portraits of students whose learning experiences are rich and complex, whose understandings do not lie at either end of a given continuum, but rather over the entire scope of their own educationallandscapes.

REFERENCES Abrahams, S. (1995). Moral reasoning in context: The construction of the adolescent moral world under apartheid. Unpublished dissertation, Harvard University. Ames, R., & Ames, C. (Eds.). (1984). Student motivation (Vol. 1). New York: Academic Press. Atkinson,j. W. (1964). An introduction to motivation. Princeton, Nj: Van Nostrand. Bempechat, j., & Drago-Severson, E. (1999). Cross-national differences in academic achievement: Beyond etic conceptions of children's understandings. Review ofEducational Research, 69,287-314. Bempechat,j.,jimenez, N., & Boulay, B. (2001). Cultural-cognitive issues in academic achievement: New directions for cross-national research. Prepared for the Board on International Comparative Studies in Education (BICSE), National Academy of Science, National Research Council. Bempechat,j., London, P., & Dweck, C.S. (1991). Children's conceptions of ability in major domains: an interview and experimental study. Child Study Journal, 21(1),11-35. Bempechat,j., Nakkula, M., Wu,j., & Ginsburg, H. (1996). Attributions as predictors of math achievement: A comparative study. Journal of Research and Develo~ ment in Education, 29,53-59. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bruner,j. (1990). Acts of meaning. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Bruner,j. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Dweck, C. (1999). Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality and development. New York: The Psychology Press. Harkness, S., & Super, C. (1992). Parental ethnotheories in action. In A. Sigel,j. McGillicuddy-DeLisi, & GJ. (Eds.), Parental belief systems: The psychological consequencesforchildren (2nd ed., pp. 373-391). Hillsdale, Nj: Erlbaum. Haste, H. (1994). The sexual metaphor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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Hess, R, & Azuma, H. (1991). Cultural support for learning. Educational Researcher, 20(6),2-8. Holloway, S. (1988). Concepts of ability and effort in Japan and the United States. Review ofEducational Research, 58, 327-345. Holloway, S. D. (2000). Contested childhood: Diversity and change in Japanese preschools. London: Routledge. Levy, R (1973). Tahitians: Mind and experience in the Society Islands. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. LeVine, R, Miller, P., & West, M. (Eds.). (1988). Parental behavior in diverse societies. (Vol. 40). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. McClelland, D.C., & Winter, D.G. (1969). Motivating economic achievement. New York: Free Press. Miles, M., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). London: Sage. Nicholls, ].G. (1978). The development of the concepts of effort and ability, perception of own attainment, and the understanding that difficult tasks require more ability. Child Development, 49,800-814. Nicholls, ].G. (1984a). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review, 91(3), 328346. Nicholls,].G. (1984b). Conceptions of ability and achievement motivation. In RE. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.) , Research on Motivation in Education. Vol. 1, Student Motivation . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Nicholls,J.G. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Nicholls,].G., Cheung, P.C., Lauer,]., & Patachnick, M. (1989). Individual differences in academic motivation: Perceived ability, goals, beliefs, and values. Learning and Individual Differences, 1, 63-84. Nicholls,].G., Cobb, P., Yackel, E., Wood, T., & Weatley, G. (1991). Students' theories about mathematics and their mathematical knowledge: Multiple dimensions of assessment. In G. Kulm (Ed.), Assessing higher order thinking in mathematics. Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science. Quihuis, G., Bempechat,]., Jimenez, N.V., & Boulay, BA. (2002). Identifying students' implicit theories of intelligence: A study of meaning making in context. In J. Bempechat & J. Elliott (Eds.), Achievement motivation in culture and context: Understanding children's learning experiences. (Vol. 96). San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass. Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in a social context. New York: Oxford University Press. Shweder, R (1990). Cultural psychology-What is it? In]. Stigler, R Shweder, & G. Herdt (Eds.), Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development (pp. 1-43). New York: Cambridge University Press. Shweder, R (1997). The surprise of ethnography. Ethos, 25, 1522-163. Stevenson, H., Chen, C., & Lee, S. (1993). Mathematics achievement of Chinese, Japanese, and American children: Ten years later. Science, 259, 53-58. Stevenson, H., & Stigler,]. (1992). The learning gap. New York: Simon and Schuster. Stipek, DJ., & Gralinski, J.H. (1991). Gender differences in children's achievement-related beliefs and emotional responses to success and failure in mathematics. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 83, 361-371.

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Strauss, A (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vygotsky, L. (Ed.). (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92,548-573. Weiner, B. (1994). Integrating social and personal theories of achievement strivings. Review of Educational Research, 64(4),557-573. Weiner, B., Russell, D., & Lerman, D. (1979a). The cognition-emotion process in achievement-related contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1211-1220. Weiner, B., Russell, D., & Lerman, D. (1979b). The emotion-cognition process in achievement-related contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1211-1220.

CHAPTER 3

A COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING ORIENTATIONS ACROSS ETHNIC GROUPS Tim Urdan and Carol Giancarlo

INTRODUCTION Two of the fundamental aims of education are to motivate students to learn and to help students develop the skills and proclivities needed for engaging in critical thinking. Because these are such widely shared goals among educators and educational researchers, there is a considerable amount of research that has been conducted in both the motivation and critical thinking areas. Much of the research examining student motivation-and ways to enhance it-has suggested that when students are optimally motivated in school, they are more willing to engage in the types of behaviors generally considered to represent critical thinking. For example, intrinsically or mastery-goal motivated students are generally more likely to attempt challenging tasks, to apply deep cognitive strategies, and to persist at challenging tasks (e.g., Ames, 1992; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Graham & Golan, 1991). Similarly, proponents of efforts to increase the focus on critical thinking in schools and researchers who examine critical thinking tendencies among students suggest that tasks and

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situations that require critical thinking generate enthusiasm and interest among students (Costa & Lowery, 1989; Sternberg, 1996). Despite the alleged association between critical thinking tendencies and motivation, there has been very little research explicitly examining motivation and critical thinking simultaneously (Hickey, 1997). There is also very little research that has examined differences in either the motivation or critical thinking orientations of students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, let alone potential ethnic and cultural differences in the association between motivation and critical thinking. In this chapter, we describe an ongoing longitudinal study in which we examine the motivational orientations and critical thinking skills and dispositions of Latino, Vietnamese American, Caucasian, and Filipino American students. We begin with a review of research on students' motivation from an achievement goal theory perspective and a review of research on critical thinking skills and dispositions. Next, we describe the study we are currently conducting with a sample of approximately 1,000 high school students and present preliminary evidence from the first year of the two-year study. We conclude the chapter with a consideration of the implications of this research for future research and practice.

REVIEW OF ACHIEVEMENT GOAL THEORY RESEARCH

Defining Achievement Goals Achievement goal theory, as articulated by a number of researchers (Ames, 1984; Covington, 1984; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Maehr, 1984; Nicholls, 1984, 1989), is a broad theory of motivation that encompasses elements of several other theories, and has emerged as one of the preeminent theories of motivation (Weiner, 1990). Unlike theories that conceptualize motivation in terms of quantity (e.g., McClelland, 1961), achievement goal theory defines motivation in terms of quality. For example, two students may have the same amount of motivation to achieve (quantity), but their reasons for striving to achieve may be different, leading to different behaviors, reactions to success or failure, and cognitions about their abilities and the value of the task (quality). These different perceived purposes of achievement are referred to as goals by achievement goal theorists. Goals are generally described as overarching frameworks, or cognitive schemas, through which individuals perceive academic tasks and achievement situations, interpret success and failure, and think about and behave in the achievement situation (Dweck, 1992). Which goals students pursue in a given situation depends in part on the relatively stable achievement goal orientations that they bring to the situation and in part on cues in the achievement context that make certain goals salient (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, 1989; Urdan, 1997a).

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Two different types of goals have been described most often in achievement goal theory research: Mastery and performance goals. l Mastery goals represent a concern with developing ability by learning new information and skills, improving over time, and trying to thoroughly understand new information. Performance goals involve a concern with demonstrating ability to others. This type of goal includes a focus on the self, often in relation to others. Recently, in keeping with traditional theories of motivation that included both approach and avoidance elements (e.g., Atkinson, 1957), several researchers have divided performance goals into two separate constructs, one a performance-approach goal orientation and the other a performance-avoid goal orientation (Elliot & Harackeiwicz, 1996; Middleton & Midgley, 1996; Skaalvik, 1996).2 Performance-approach goals involve striving to demonstrate ability whereas performance-avoid goals involve a desire to avoid appearing academically unable, or as lacking in ability.

Correlates of Achievement Goals For the most part, examinations of mastery goals have yielded consistent results. Briefly, when oriented toward mastery goals, students tend to attribute failure to lack of effort, persist in difficult situations, choose moderately challenging tasks, have relatively positive feelings about school and school work, use deep processing cognitive strategies, use more self-regulating strategies, and are more intrinsically motivated than when oriented toward performance goals (see Ames, 1992; Anderman & Maehr, 1994; Meece, 1991; Pintrich & Schunk, 1996 for reviews). A mastery goal orientation has also been positively correlated with students' beliefs that the purposes of school are to help students understand the world, develop a commitment to society, and prepare them for jobs where they can continue to learn new things (Nicholls, Patashnick, & Nolen, 1985). For the most part, mastery goals have been associated with a constellation of cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes that should facilitate learning. Therefore, a mastery goal orientation has sometimes been referred to as an "adaptive" motivational orientation (Dweck, 1986). For performance goals, in contrast, the picture is much less clear. When performance goal oriented, students are often more likely to attribute failure to ability, prefer less challenging tasks, use more surface and less deep processing learning strategies, give up when faced with difficulty, and have more negative affect about school than when mastery goal oriented (see Ames, 1992; Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Midgley, 1993 for reviews). Accordingly, some have labeled a performance goal orientation "maladaptive" (Ames, 1992; Dweck & Leggett, 1988). However, there is also evidence that a performance goal orientation is not necessarily maladaptive for all students all of the time. For example, in several studies a positive correlation has been found between performance goals and mastery goals, the latter goal orienta-

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tion often referred to as an adaptive motivational orientation (Meece et al., 1988; Nicholls et al., 1985; Nolen & Haladyna, 1990; Roeser, Midgley, & Urdan, 1996). Performance goals have also been found to correlate positively with other positive educational outcomes, such as active engagement in science class (Meece et al., 1988), positive attitudes about the value of school (Midgley et al., 1996), academic self-efficacy and grade point average (Roeser et al., 1996), appropriate strategy use following failure (Ames & Archer, 1988), and self-regulation (Woiters, Yu, & Pintrich, 1996). One plausible explanation for the inconsistent findings regarding the correlates of performance goals is that performance goals are multidimensional. Recently, a number of researchers have tried to examine the approach and avoidance components of performance goals separately (Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996; Middleton & Midgley, 1996; Skaalvik, 1996). These examinations have revealed important differences between performance-approach and performance-avoid goals, generally demonstrating a more negative pattern of outcomes associated with the avoidance goals. A second possible explanation for the inconsistent correlations between performance goals and outcomes is that performance goals operate differently depending on student characteristics such as developmental level, achievement motivation, gender, and culture/ ethnicity. Research has demonstrated that the relations between performance goals and a variety of outcomes sometimes differ by gender (Urdan, 1997b), ethnicity (Midgley et al., 1996), level of achievement motivation3 (Elliot & Harackeiwicz, 1996), perceptions of competence or ability (Dweck & Leggett, 1988), and developmental level (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, 1990).

The Classroom Context and its Effects on Goals and Behaviors Research conducted both in the laboratory and in the classroom has demonstrated that the goals students pursue in achievement situations are affected by cues in th~ environment. For example, when ability differences between students are made salient or when students are told that their performance will be evaluated against the performance of their peers, students often adopt a performance goal orientation. Similarly, when the message from the teacher or experimenter is that the purpose of a task or lesson is to develop understanding and skills, students are more inclined to adopt a mastery goal orientation (see Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Nicholls, 1989; U rdan, 1997a for reviews). The emphasis on mastery or performance goals in the classroom creates "goal structures" (Ames, 1992; Urdan, Midgley & Anderman, 1998). Students' perceptions of these goal structures are related to both their personal goal orientations as well as their behaviors in the classroom. For example, Urdan, Midgley, and Anderman (1998) found that students in classrooms that had a greater emphasis on performance

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

41

goals were more likely to use self-handicapping strategies (designed to deflect attention away from their lack of ability in case they failed) than were students in classrooms with a weaker emphasis on performance goals. Students' perceptions of the performance goal structure in the classroom and teacher reports of their use of instructional practices that create performance goal structures both predicted students' use of self-handicapping strategies. Additional research by Ryan, Gheen, and Midgley (1997) has shown that students' reports of a mastery goal structure in the classroom were associated with a decrease in the level of help-avoidance, whereas students' reports of a performance goal structure were associated with an increase in the level of help avoidance. Although recent research has successfully separated the approach and avoidance components of performance goals, no research has yet examined separate approach and avoidance performance goal structures. It may be the case that the same instructional practices that make relative ability a salient feature of the classroom affect different students in different ways. For example, some students who perceive an emphasis on comparison and competition among students (a performance goal structure) may adopt a performance-approach goal orientation, if they feel confident in their abilities or have a strong achievement motive. Other students who perceive an emphasis on comparison and competition in the classroom may be more likely to adopt a performance-avoid goal orientation if they doubt their abilities or have a strong fear of failure (Elliott & Church, 1997). Similarly, students who endorse a wider cultural value on competition may adopt a performance-approach goal orientation in classrooms that promote competition among students, whereas students from cultures with a greater emphasis on group cohesion or an emphasis on not shaming the family by underperforming may perceive relative ability cues in the classroom as threatening, thereby leading to a more defensive performance-avoid goal orientation.

Ethnic and Cultural Differences in Motivation Until recently, research examining students' achievement goals, like most motivation research, had been conducted primarily with middle class, Caucasian samples (Graham, 1992). There is reason to suspect, however, that students of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds will differ in their motivational orientations, including their achievement goals. In fact, there is a limited body of research that has examined ethnic differences in achievement goal orientations and their effects. For example, Midgley and her colleagues found that among a sample of 8th grade students, the relationship between performance goals and the use of self-handicapping strategies was positive for Mrican American students but orthogonal for European American students (Midgley, Arunkumar, & Urdan, 1996).

42

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

Maehr and Fyans (1989) found differences among high school students of various ethnicities in the percentage of variance in their personal motivational orientations that was explained by perceptions of the goals emphasized by their schools. Specifically, Maehr and Fyans found that students' perceptions of the school goal structures explained a greater proportion of the variance in personal motivational orientations for Latino and Asian American students than for Mrican American or White students. In addition to the research examining ethnic and cultural differences in goal orientations and their effects, there is research that has explored ethnic and cultural variations in motivation and achievement. This research suggests that culture and ethnicity may be important variables to consider when trying to understand student motivation and achievement. For example, Steele and his colleagues (Steele, 1997; Steele & Aronson, 1995) have found that many Mrican American students experience stereotype threat in academic achievement situations. Stereotype threat involves the fear and anxiety produced when one feels she/he is in danger of fulfilling a negative stereotype about one's group, such as an Mrican American student performing badly on an academic task. This threat produces anxiety and, over time, may lead to a devaluing of academic achievement. Similarly, a number of scholars have supplied evidence that Asian American students differ from White students in important ways. For example, Eaton and Dembo (1997) found that fear of failure better predicted performance on a reading task for Asian American students than it did for White students and that the Asian American students had lower self-efficacy beliefs than did White students despite actually performing better on the task. Goyette and Xie (1999) found that Asian Americans had higher educational expectations than did White students, a difference that was largely explained by the high parental expectations of the Asian American parents. Keith and Benson (1992) found that whereas the relationship between motivation and achievement was primarily a direct one for White students, for Asian American students the motivation-achievement association was mediated by how much time they spent doing homework. In addition to research comparing White and non-White students, there have been a small number of studies comparing the motivational orientations of different ethnic minority groups. In a comparison of the attributional patterns of different Asian American ethnic subgroups, Mizokawa and Ryckman (1990) found that Vietnamese American students made more ability and fewer effort attributions than did Filipino Americans. Park (1997) found that Vietnamese American students prefer working in groups more than other ethnic samples and that Filipino Americans identifY themselves as preferring visual modes of learning more than do other Asian American subgroups. A variety of mechanisms have been suggested to explain differences in the motivational orientations of various ethnic groups. Cross-cultural research examining how members of different cultures define the self in

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

43

relation to others suggests that there are important differences in these definitions, differences that have direct implications for motivation theory in general and achievement goal theory in particular (e.g., Markus & Kitayama, 1991; Triandis, 1989). According to this view, in some cultures an individualistic definition of self prevails. An individualistic sense of self involves viewing the self as distinct from others, placing an emphasis on individuation and separation from others as well as striving for personal accomplishment that distinguishes the individual from others. The collectivist4 definition of self involves a strong sense that one is defined as a member of a larger in-group. With this sense of self, behavior is motivated by a desire to maintain one's membership in the group and achievement is defined as that which brings recognition, honor, or benefit to the in-group. Because different definitions of self produce such different goals and definitions of success (Le., as distinguishing oneself from others vs. striving for group solidarity and recognition), it is likely that achievement goals, particularly performance goals, may operate differently for students with different definitions of self. Some have argued that these differences in the definition of self can be found between different ethnic and cultural groups within the United States (Landrine, 1992; Triandis, Leung, Villareal, & Clack, 1985). Research conducted by Fuligni and his colleagues support these assertions. They have found that among students from Latino/Hispanic and Asian cultures, there is a greater sense of family obligation, which may have roots in a collectivist sense of self (Fuligni, Tseng & Lam, 1999; Fuligni & Tseng, 1999). It has been suggested that Latino students, due to the collectivist orientation of their culture, may prefer collaborative classroom activities and dislike the competition inherent to American classrooms (Garcia, 1992; Vasquez, 1990). It is important to note that there is wide variation within a specific population or cultural/ethnic group. One potential source of within-group variation is the degree to which members of the group have assimilated into mainstream American culture. The connection to traditional cultural values, such as a collectivist sense of self or a sense of obligation to the family, may gradually weaken the longer it has been since the family immigrated to the United States (Fuligni & Tseng, 1999).

REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON CRITICAL THINKING

The emphasis on thinking reflected in current approaches to education can be traced back to the philosopher John Dewey who wrote on the centrality of reflective thinking in the educational process (Dewey, 1933). Almost seven decades ago Dewey presented an argument that educators should view the nurturing of the scientific attitude of mind at the core of their endeavors when teaching children (Dewey, 1933). Though the terminology has changed slightly over the years, developing students' critical thinking remains a central goal of the educational process.

44

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

Definition of Critical Thinking Efforts to define, teach, and measure CT have intensified throughout the last quarter of a century (Jones, 1993; Kurfiss, 1988; Norris & Ennis, 1989). In 1990, under the sponsorship of the American Philosophical Association, a cross-disciplinary panel completed a two-year Delphi project which yielded a robust conceptualization of CT understood as an outcome of college level education (APA, 1990). Before the Delphi Project there was no clear consensus definition of critical thinking, although the concepts advanced by Ennis, Paul, Meyer, Lipman, Norris, Swartz, Beyer, Siegal, and Sternberg, among others, were prominent and influential (see Colucciello, 1997 for a review). Broadly conceived, CT was characterized as purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, a human cognitive process. As a result of this nonlinear, recursive process a person forms a judgment about what to believe or what to do in a given context. In so doing, a person engaged in CT uses a core set of cognitive skills-analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, evaluation, and self-regulation-to form that judgment and to monitor and improve the quality of that judgment. CT is nonlinear and recursive to the extent that in thinking critically a person is able to apply CT skills to each other as well as to the problem at hand. For example, one is able to explain one's analysis, analyze one's interpretation, or evaluate one's inference (APA,1990). The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking Any conceptualization of critical thinking that focuses exclusively on cognitive skills is incomplete. A more comprehensive view of CT must include the acknowledgment of a characterological component, often referred to as a disposition, to describe a person's inclination to use critical thinking when faced with problems to solve, ideas to evaluate, or decisions to make. Attitudes, values, and inclinations are dimensions of personality that influence human behavior. The disposition toward critical thinking, as a dimension of personality, refers to the likelihood that one will approach problem framing or problem solving by using reasoning. Thus, the disposition toward critical thinking is the consistent internal motivation to engage problems and make decisions by using thinking (Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo, 1998). With increasing regularity, CT researchers and theoreticians are acknowledging the importance of the dispositional dimension of the critical thinking construct (see Facione, Facione, & Giancarlo, 2000 for a review). The consensus definition of CT attained by the scholars and teachers who participated in the American Philosophical Association's Delphi project was augmented by an articulation of a description of the ideal critical thinker. Characteristics of this individual included being inquisitive, fair-minded, flexible, diligent, and focused in inquiry (Facione, 1990). It was from the description of the ideal critical thinker that the California

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

45

Critical Thinking Disposition emerged and was subsequently validated (CCTDI; Facione & Facione, 1992; Giancarlo, 1993). Even today the most widely known and widely used measures of critical thinking are skills' tests (Norris & Ennis, 1989; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Pendarvis, 1996). It was not until the publication of the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) in 1992 that researchers and educators had a valid and reliable measure by which to profile a person's CT dispositions (Facione & Facione, 1992). The dimensions assessed by the CCTDI include Truthseeking, Openmindedness, Analyticity, Systematicity, CT Self-Confidence, Inquisitiveness and Maturity ofJudgment. Like with CT skills, the majority of research with CT dispositions has been conducted at the college level. While there is agreement that fostering critical thinking among K-12 student populations is a worthwhile national endeavor (see U.S. Department of Education, 1990), little is known about the critical thinking dispositions among these younger student populations and about high school students in particular.

Cultural and Ethnic Differences Most conceptualizations of critical thinking do not directly address the importance of culture. It can be argued however that the concern for nurturing critical thinking must take into account the full range of student diversity that today's high school classrooms present (Woolfolk, 1995). The degree to which critical thinking is impacted by culture and ethnicity is not yet well understood, however, there are some who have begun to examine this question. Delgado-Gaitan (1994) investigated whether the Latino cultural importance of showing respect for one's elders would interfere with critical thought, questioning and expressing opinions in the classroom. Delgado-Gaitan found that of significant import was the generational cohort of the students and their parents. Those families who had more exposure to the American school system engaged in more questions and answers and open conversing about opinions, thus patterning their home interactions around educational topics using an interactional pattern more like that which is experienced in the school context. In a study examining CT dispositions among high school students, Giancarlo (1996) used a modified version of the CCTDI with 365 Latino adolescents from southern California. This modified CCTDI was found to correlate positively with measures of biculturalism, and was negatively correlated with male students' level of traditional sex-role beliefs (Giancarlo, 1996). In this same study of Latino high school students, the disposition toward critical thinking was positively correlated with mathematical, verbal and written achievement, as well as the level of high school math course attained (Giancarlo, 1996).

46

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

The shortened version of the CCTDI was subsequently refined and expanded. In addition to removing or rewriting items to make the content more congruent with the lives of adolescents, the construct of critical thinking dispositions was expanded to incorporate aspects of the disposition toward critical thinking thus far not specifically captured by tools such as the CCTDI. Content domains added to the new tool included the concepts of creative and innovative problem solving, attention to detail, perceived ability to remain on task, and the desire to seek challenging intellectual pursuits. The new tool is currently known as the California Measure of Mental Motivation (CM3; Giancarlo & Facione, 1999). The California Measure of Mental Motivation measures the degree to which an individual is cognitively engaged and mentally motivated toward intellectual activities that involve reasoning. The CM3 targets dispositional aspects of critical thinking as well as creative problem solving and the commitment to learning. The CM3 is not a direct measure of a person's critical thinking skills or creative ability. Rather, it serves as a self-report indicator of the individual's willingness and inclination to use those thinking and creative abilities. The conceptualization of critical thinking from which the CM3 was developed is one that recognizes a set of general, discipline-neutral cognitive processes that can be used to describe thinking, problem-solving and judgment (APA, 1990). By extension, the dispositional domains measured by the CM3 are not linked with any particular curricular area. The CM3 consists of four scales: Mental Focus, Learning, Creative Problem Solving and Cognitive Integrity. These scales are described below. The person scoring high in Mental Focus is diligent, focused, systematic, task-oriented, organized and clearheaded. While engaging in mental activity, he/she tends to be focused in their attention, persistent, and comfortable with the problem solving process. Those persons scoring low on this scale show a compromised ability to regulate their attention and a tendency toward disorganization and procrastination. These individuals may also express frustration with their ability to approach solving problems. The person scoring high in Learning is motivated by a desire to increase their knowledge and skill base. The individual values learning for learning's sake and expresses an eagerness to engage in the learning process. These individuals express an interest for engaging in challenging activities, and endorse information seeking as a personal strategy when problem solving. Those individuals scoring low on Learning tend to have a muted desire to learn about new or challenging topics. They express a lack of willingness to explore or research an issue. These individuals may even purposefully avoid opportunities to learn and understand. These individuals will attempt to answer questions with the information they have at hand rather than seeking out new information. Persons scoring high on Creative Problem Solving have a tendency to approach problem solving with innovative or original ideas and solutions.

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

47

They pride themselves on their creative nature, and this creativity is likely to manifest itself by a desire to engage in challenging activities such as puzzles, games of strategy, and understanding the underlying function of objects. For these individuals, there is a stronger sense of personal satisfaction from engaging in complex or challenging activities than from participating in activities perceived to be easy. A low score on Creative Problem Solving reflects the absence of feelings of personal imaginativeness or originality. This manifests itself by the tendency for these individuals to avoid challenging activities. They will choose easier activities over challenging ones. Individuals scoring high on Cognitive Integrity are motivated to use their thinking skills in a fair-minded fashion. They are positively disposed toward seeking the truth and being open-minded. These individuals are comfortable with complexity, and they enjoy thinking about and interacting with others with potentially varying viewpoints in the search for truth or the best decision. These individuals scoring low on this scale express a viewpoint that is best characterized as cognitive resistance. They are hasty, indecisive, uncomfortable with complexity and change, and are likely to be anxious and close-minded. A validation study of the scales of the CM3 was conducted in 1999. The sample consisted of ethnically diverse male and female ninth and eleventh graders from a public high school in Northern California. The CM3 was investigated in relation to self-efficacy and self-handicapping, two psychological constructs frequently examined in the educational literature. Significant positive correlations were found among all four scales of the CM3 and self-efficacy. All scales with the exception of Creative Problem Solving resulted in significant negative correlations with self-handicapping. These results are in line with what would be predicted, that the disposition toward critical thinking, learning and creativity would be positively related to a strong sense of self-worth and academic ability, whereas they would be related inversely with the intentional endeavor to sabotage one's own academic performance. The findings from this validation work are reported in greater detail in a forthcoming manuscript. This validation study served as the foundation for the larger longitudinal study being described here. Links Between Achievement Goals and Engagement/Thinking There has been little research directly examining the relationship between achievement goals and critical thinking skills or disposition. However, there has been some research that has examined the relations between goals and cognitive strategy use and task engagement. This research has generally found that mastery goals are positively related to the use of deep cognitive strategies (Dweck & Leggett, 1988; Graham & Golan, 1991; Nolen, 1988; Pintrich & De Groot, 1990) and engagement in science activities (Meece et al., 1988). In addition, Ames and Archer (1988) found that perceiving an emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom was positively related to learning strategies. For performance goals the results were

48

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

mixed. Elliott and Dweck (1988) found that performance goals were positively related to improvement over several trials in the use of hypothesis testing strategies for students with high perceptions of their ability but deteriorated for those students with low perceptions of ability. Some research suggests that performance goals are positively related to both superficial and active engagement with academic work (Meece et al., 1988; Nolen & Haladyna, 1990), whereas other research has revealed a null relationship between performance goals and cognitive strategy use (e.g., Ames & Archer, 1988; Nolen, 1988). There is also limited evidence that when students perceived that their teachers emphasized mastery goals and critical thinking in the classroom they were more likely to adopt mastery goal orientations and use cognitive strategies (Nolen & Haladyna, 1990).

DESCRIPTION OF THE MOTIVATION AND CRITICAL THINKING PROJECT

With funding from the W. T. Grant Foundation, we began a study during the 1999-2000 academic year. There are three central aims of the study. First, we want to examine whether there is an association between motivation (Le., achievement goal orientations) and critical thinking (skills and dispositions) among high school students. Second, we want to know whether students of various cultural and ethnic backgrounds differ in their achievement goal orientations and critical thinking skills and dispositions. Third, we are exploring patterns of change in the motivation, critical thinking, and association between the two for various ethnic groups across the four years of high school. We believe that critical thinking and motivation are linked. Specifically, we believe that critical thinking skills and disposition are positively associated with mastery goals and with a perceived emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom. Similarly, we hypothesize that performance-avoidance goals are negatively correlated with critical thinking, regardless of students' culture, achievement level, or grade level. The association between critical thinking and performance-approach goals, however, may be more complicated. One possibility, as depicted in Figure 1, is that a number of factors mediate the association between a classroom emphasis on performance goals and critical thinking. For example, students may interpret and respond to classroom performance goal structures differently depending on whether they have high or low perceptions of competence and whether they are high or low in their fear of failure. For those students who adopt a performance-approach goal orientation, the correlation between performance-approach goals and critical thinking may be stronger among students from cultures that value competition and individual achievement. Those with a stronger sense of family obligation, particularly students whose families have been in the United States for a relatively short period

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

49

(i.e., first or second generation immigrants), there may be a weaker, or even negative, association between performance-approach goals and critical thinking. When the study is completed, we will be able to test these hypotheses. In the first year of the study, we collected two waves of data from approximately 1,000 high school students in California. The participants in the first year of the study included 9th and 11 th graders, and we will follow these students as they enter the 10th and 12th grades during the second year of the study. Because we are still entering and cleaning the data collected at the end of the academic year from school records (which includes the information about students' ethnicity), we do not yet know precisely how many students of each ethnicity are in our sample. However, a preliminary summary of the ethnic breakdown is as follows: 264 Latino, 128 Caucasian, 190 Filipino American, 173 Vietnamese American, and 209 students of other ethnic backgrounds (Mrican American and Chinese American are the largest subgroup within the "other" category with 63 and 88 members, respectively). In the first wave of data collection, participants completed paper-andpencil surveys that included items assessing their mastery, performanceapproach, and performance-avoid goal orientations, self-efficacy, valuing of schoolwork, fear of failure, academic self-handicapping, and perceptions of the mastery and performance goal structures in their English classrooms. 5 Students also completed items assessing three of the four dimensions of critical thinking disposition (Learning, Creative Problem Solving, and Cognitive Integrity), as well as a measure of students' perceived opportunities for critical thinking afforded by their teachers in their

r·····································';

i

i

CulturelEthnicity

I::~::~

Perfonnance Goal Structure

,•

................................. ..,

Perfonnance-Approach k"'''' Goal Orientation ~

•i

Critical Thinking Disposition

~

I

.,. ). .....................................i

~ Critical

Skills

t

~,'l

~i

... ~'::!.:~~~~~.~~~~~~!~~.... j

/ Perfonnance-Avoid Goal Orientation

+

Critical Opportunities

Figure 1.

General theoretical model, performance goals.

+

50

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

English classes. In addition, students completed the Naglieri Noverbal Abilities Test (NNAT; Naglieri, 1996). This nonverbal test provides a measure of students' critical thinking skills. For a summary of each of these constructs, see Table 1. Table 1.

Constructs and Descriptions of Constructs Measured in the First Wave of the Study

Constructs

Description

Mastery goals

Personal mastery goal orientation. "I like class work that I'll learn from even if I make a lot of mistakes."

Performance-approach goals

Personal performance-approach goal orientation. "I want to do better than other students in this class."

Performance-avoidance goals

Personal performance-avoidance goal orientation. "One of my goals is to keep others from thinking I'm not smart in English."

Self-efficacy

Perceived ability to successfully complete class work. "I can do even the hardest work in this class if I try. "

Value

Valuing of academic work in English. "The information we learn about in this class is important."

Fear of failure

A generalized fear of failing. "I often avoid a task because I am afraid that I will make mistakes."

Self-Handicapping

Withdrawal of effort to avoid attributions to lack of ability. "Some students put off doing their school work until the last minute so that if they don't do well on their work they can say that is the reason. How true is this of you?"

Class Mastery Goal Structure

Perceived emphasis on mastery goals in the classroom. "In this class students really want to learn the material."

Class Performance Goal Structure

Perceived emphasis on performance goals in the classroom. "In this class, there is a lot of competition among students."

CM3-Learning

A disposition toward learning new information. "I love learning new things."

CM3-Creative Problem Solving

A disposition toward working on challenging and creative problems. "Complicated problems are fun to try to figure out."

CM3-Cognitive Integrity

A disposition away from considering various perspectives. "Thinking about other points of view is a waste of time."

NNATScore

Sum of correct answers (out of a possible 39) on the NNAT.

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

51

For the second wave of data collection, participants completed a survey only. This survey contained many of the same items and scales, with some notable exceptions. Because fear of failure is believed to be a stable trait, we did not need to measure it again in the second wave of the study. We replaced those items with a scale assessing students' reported use of selfregulation strategies. In addition, we created a new set of items designed to assess a type of social goal that we call Family Obligation. This scale was added because one dimension along which cultures vary is a sense of connection and obligation to family members (Fuligni et al., 1999), so we believe family obligation may be an important mediator of the association between motivation, critical thinking, and achievement. Some of the items in this scale include "An important reason that I try to do well in school is to please my parents/guardians" and "I want to do well in school so that I can be better prepared to take care of my family." Information about students' age, gender, parental occupation, and the how many generations the family has lived in the United States (i.e., parents and student born in the United States, parents immigrated but student born in the United States, and parents and student immigrated) were reported on the survey by participants. Participants' grades and standardized achievement test scores were collected from school records. Preliminary Results Although data from the second wave of data collection (i.e., surveys administered in the second semester as well as students' grades and standardized test scores) are still being cleaned, we have been able to conduct some preliminary analyses from the first wave of surveys and the critical thinking skills test. We briefly present some of them here. Because the theme of this book series is sociocultural influences on motivation and achievement, in this chapter we focus our attention on comparisons of the four largest ethnic groups in our sample: Latino Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, and Whites. In our first set of analyses, we examined whether students of various ethnicities differed in their motivational orientations, perceptions of the goal structures in their English classrooms, critical thinking dispositions, and overall critical thinking skills as assessed by the NNAT. The means and standard deviations on each of these constructs are presented separately for each of the four largest ethnic groups in the study in Table 2. In this table, we have also indicated which groups are significantly different from each other on each variable. Because the motivational and critical thinking dispositions of students may differ depending on their generational status, and because the different ethnic groups in our study differ in generational status, we conducted all of the intergroup comparisons using generational status as a covariate.

52

T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO

Table 2.

Scale Means, Standard Deviations, and Group Comparisons by Ethnic Group Filipino

Latino

Vietnamese

White

N=167

N=230

N=145

N=108

.63

3.82a .69

4.05 b .65

3.81a .79

Performance-Approach Goals

3.08 .90

2.86 .89

3.14 .95

2.83 .99

Performance-Avoid Goals

2.41 .96

2.23 .84

2.39 .94

2.14 .85

Self-Efficacy

4.00 .74

3.98 .79

4.13

.71

4.17 .75

Value

3.73 .89

3.73 .88

3.68 .85

3.67 .92

Fear of Failure

2.89a .63

2.82a .65

2.79a,b .64

2.62b .68

Self-Handicapping

2.37a .96

2.21 a,b .95

2.18a,b 1.00

1.93b .73

Class Mastery Goal Structure

3.66

.71

3.54 .76

3.66 .67

3.55 .81

2.94 .70

2.78 .74

2.87 .78

2.72 .81

CM3-Learning

35.26b ,c 7.99

33.26a,b 8.43

36.63c 7.91

32.70a 9.29

CM3-Creative Problem Solving

28.37a,b 7.91

26.82a 8.16

29.00a,b 7.81

30.22b 8.92

CM3-Cognitive Integrity

33.39a 6.94

33.49a 7.74

34.40a 6.19

36.52b 7.22

NNATScore

23.82a 6.83

21.34b 7.51

25.19a 7.20

24.44a 8.62

Scale

Mastery Goals

Class Performance Goal Structure

4.00a,b

a The CM3 scales were measured using a 1-4 scale and responses to the items in each scale were summed. Scores on the Naglieri test were number of correct answers out of a possible 39. All other scales measured on a 1-5 scale and the responses to the items in each scale were averaged. Means with different superscripts indicate group differences at the p < .05 level using Tukey HSD tests.

b

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

53

The results in Table 2 reveal that, when controlling for how many generations each student's family has lived in the United States (i.e., generational status), Latino and White students were less mastery goal oriented than Vietnamese American students. Filipino American students were similar to Vietnamese American students in their endorsement of mastery goals, but did not differ significantly from any other ethnic group. There were no differences between ethnic groups in their endorsement of either type of performance goal orientation. Contrary to other studies that have found lower self-efficacy perceptions among Asian students, we found no differences among the four ethnic groups on this variable. Interestingly, White students reported the lowest fear of failure and reported being least likely to use self-handicapping strategies, differing significantly from Filipino Americans on both constructs. There were no differences between these ethnic groups in their perceptions of the classroom goal structures. White students tended to differ from the other ethnic groups in their critical thinking dispositions, scoring the lowest on the Learning disposition and highest on the cognitive integrity scale. Our second research question was whether the relationship between motivational orientations and critical thinking dispositions differed for students from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. To examine this issue, we conducted a series of multiple regression analyses. In these analyses, we regressed the three types of critical thinking dispositions (toward Learning, Creative Problem Solving, and Cognitive Integrity), as well as the total score from the NNAT, on various motivational variables, including personal goal orientations (mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance) and self-efficacy, while controlling for generational status. These analyses were conducted separately for each ethnic group. The results of these analyses, including the betas and f{f values, are presented in Table 3. The results presented in Table 3 suggest that there are many similarities in the associations between motivation and critical thinking variables among the different ethnic groups. For example, the percentage of variance explained in each of the critical thinking disposition variables is similar across ethnicities. Similarly, for each group self-efficacy judgments are the strongest predictors of the disposition toward creative problem solving. Table 2 also contains a number of results suggesting important differences in the link between motivation and critical thinking across ethnic groups. For example, there was no significant association between either type of performance goal and any of the critical thinking variables among White participants in our study, whereas both performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals emerged as significant predictors of at least one type of critical thinking disposition for each of the other ethnic groups in our study. Most notably, performance-avoidance goals were negatively related to cognitive integrity for Latino, Vietnamese, and Filipino American students in our sample, but not for White students. For the White students

54 T. URDAN AND C. GIANCARLO Table 3.

Betas and liZ Values for Critical Thinking Variables Regressed on Motivation Variables Separately by Race White Creative Problem Solving

Cognitive Learning Integrity .53***

Mastery

Filipino

.22*

Creative Problem Solving .19*

Cognitive Learning Integrity .55***

Performance-approach

.27**

Performance-avoidance

-.29***

-.45*** .21**

Self-efficacy

.44***

.31 ***

.23*

.30***

.29

.53

.17

.24

Generational status Adjusted

Ji2

Latino Creative Problem Solving .26**

.59***

Performance-approach

.18*

.20**

Performance-avoidance Self-efficacy

.27**

Ji2

Cognitive Learning Integrity

.21*

.42***

.18*

.32***

.22*

.25*

.34***

.22**

-.52***

-.20*

Generational status Adjusted

.15*

Creative Problem Solving

-.24*** .31 ***

.26

.46

.22

Vietnamese

Cognitive Learning Integrity

Mastery

.39

.21

.16* .31

.41

.21

Notes: Only statistically significant betas are shown. * indicates p < .05, ** P< .01, *** P< .001

in our study, critical thinking dispositions were only predicted by mastery goals and self-efficacy judgments. In addition, mastery and performanceapproach goals were significantly predictive of the orientation toward creative problem solving for all ethnic groups except White students. There are a number of additional interesting differences between the ethnic groups. For example, performance-approach goals are not predictive of any of the critical thinking dispositions for White students and only of the learning disposition for Filipino students, but were predictive of at least two of the three critical thinking dispositions between Latino and Vietnamese American students. We are particularly intrigued by the (sometimes strong) relationship between performance-avoidance goals and the disposition toward cognitive integrity among all but the White students. Overall, the results of our study suggest that high school students from various ethnic groups differ in the motivational orientations, critical thinking dispositions, and the relations among the two. Although we are only

COMPARISON OF MOTIVATIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING OPERATIONS

55

beginning to examine these differences, we believe that if they are valid they have important implications for both research and practice. These implications are discussed next.

IMPLICATIONS

In this chapter, we described an ongoing project designed, in part, to examine cultural and ethnic differences in the motivation and critical thinking dispositions of American high school students and presented some preliminary results from the first of four waves of data collection. These results, combined with the results of previous research that has examined differences across cultures and between ethnic groups, suggest that there may be important mean-level differences between ethnic groups in motivation and critical thinking tendencies. Perhaps more important, the association between motivation and critical thinking variables may differ for various cultural and ethnic populations. One important implication of these results for future research on motivation, critical thinking, and the relation between the two is that such research may not generalize beyond the populations represented in any particular study. As Graham (1992) and others have cautioned, research on motivation has primarily been conducted with White, middle-class samples. Our research suggests that results garnered from studies that include only White samples may not be replicated with non-White samples. If the goal is to understand the motivational and critical thinking dispositions of students, and to apply these understandings to practice, more research including samples from various ethnicities is needed. Our research also suggests the need to find the mechanisms that drive cultural and ethnic differences in motivation and critical thinking. Degree of assimilation into mainstream American culture, socioeconomic status, beliefs about the value of education, and differences in the definition of successful academic achievement caused by different conceptions of self have all been proposed as possible explanations for cultural and ethnic variation. In our research, we are examining a number of these variables, including generational status, socioeconomic status, and a measure of family relatedness. We suspect that the source of ethnic and cultural differences in motivation and critical thinking dispositions is actually a complex combination of several factors. Future research designed to uncover the mechanisms, rather than just mean-level differences between ethnic groups, will provide information that is both interesting and useful to educators. Finally, we believe that the results of our research, as well as the research of others in this area, have important implications for practice. Perhaps most important, our results suggest that the association between achievement goals and critical thinking dispositions is moderated by the ethnic background of students. Efforts to reform education in ways that promote

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critical thinking and facilitative motivational profiles may need to attend to these differences before the benefits of such reforms can reach all students.

NOTES 1. These goals have also been called task and ego (Nicholls, 1989) and learning and performance (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). 2. These two components of performance goals have been referred to as selfenhancing and self-defeating ego orientations (Skaalvik, 1996). 3. It is important to note the distinction between achievement goals and achievement motivation. Although both constructs are related to motivation, they have very different meanings in the literature. Achievement motivation refers to a stable trait believed to be part of the personality of individuals. Some individuals are believed to have "more" of the achievement motive than others. Those with a stronger achievement motive are believed to be more motivated to achieve in whatever endeavor or activity they undertake, so it is a generalized form of motivation. Achievement goals, in contrast, are cognitively based and are more susceptible to environmental influences, such as contextual cues, than is achievement motivation. Whereas achievement motivation theory is concerned with the amount, or quantity of motivation, achievement goal theory is concerned with people's perceptions about the purposes of achieving and how these perceptions guide one's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors regarding specific activities (Le., the quality of one's motivation). 4. Individualism and collectivism have also been called indexical and referential (Landrine, 1992), allocentric and ideocentric (Triandis et aI., 1985), and independent vs. interdependent (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). 5. All motivation items were specific to the domain of English. English was chosen because it is the only subject required of students during all four years of high schools.

REFERENCES American Philosophical Association. (1990). Critical thinking: A statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction. The Delphi Report Executive Summary: Research findings and recommendations prepared for the committee on pre-college philosophy. ERIC Doc. No. ED 315-423.

Ames, CA. (1984). Competitive, cooperative, and individualistic goal structures: A motivational analysis. In R.E. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education (Vol. 1, pp. 177-207). New York: Academic Press. Ames, CA. (1992). Classrooms: Goals, structures, and student motivation. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 84,261-271. Ames, C., & Archer,j. (1988). Achievement goals in the classroom: Students' learning strategies and motivation processes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 260-267. Anderman, E.A, & Maehr, M.L. (1994). Motivation and schooling in the middle grades. Review ofEducational Research, 64,287-310. Atkinson,j.W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64, 359-372.

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Colucciello, M.L. (1997). Critical thinking skills and dispositions of baccaulareate nursing students-A conceptual model for evaluation. Journal of Professional Nursing, 13(4), 236-245. Costa, AL., & Lowery, L.F. (1989). Techniques far teaching thinking. Pacific Grove, CA: Critical Thinking Books and Software. Covington, M.V. (1984). The self-worth theory of achievement motivation: Findings and implications. The Elementary SchoolJournal, 85,5-20. Deci, E., & Ryan, R (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum. Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1994). Socializing young children in Mexican-American families: An intergenerational perspective. In Greenfield & Cocking (Eds.), Crosscultural roots of minority child development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum (pp. 55-86). Dewey,J. (1933). Why reflective thinking must be an educational aim. How we think. Boston: Heath. Dweck, C.S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41, 1040-1048. Dweck, C.S. (1992). The study of goals in human behavior. Psychological Science, 3, 165-167. Dweck, C.S.. & Leggett, E.L.. (1988). A social-cognitive approach to motivation and personality. Psychological Review, 95, 256-273. Eaton, MJ., & Dembo, M.H. (1997). Differences in the motivational beliefs of Asian American and non-Asian students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 433-440. Elliot, AJ., & Church, M.A (1997). A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 218--232. Elliot, AJ., & Harackiewicz, J.M. (1996). Approach and avoidance achievement goals and intrinsic motivation: A mediational analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 968--980. Elliott, E.S., & Dweck, C.S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement.JournalofPersonality and Social Psychology, 54, 5-12. Facione, PA. (1990). California Critical Thinking Skills Test ManuaL Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press. Facione, PA., & Facione, N.C. (1992). The California critical thinking disposition inventory. Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press. Facione, PA., Facione, N.C., & Giancarlo, CA. (1998). The California critical thinking disposition inventory test manual (rev.). Millbrae, CA: California Academic Press. Facione, P.A, Facione, N.F., Giancarlo, C.A, (2000). The practical and theoretical relationship of critical thinking skills and the disposition toward critical thinking. Journal of Informal Logic 20( 1). Fuligni, AJ., & Tseng, V. (1999). Family obligation and the academic motivation of adolescents from immigrant and American-born families. In T. Urdan (Ed.) Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 11, pp. 159-183). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Fuligni, AJ., Tseng, v., & Lam, M. (1999). Attitudes toward family obligations among American adolescents with Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 70, 1030-1044. Garcia, E.E. (1992). "Hispanic" children: Theoretical, empirical, and related policy issues. Educational Psychology Review, 4, 69-94.

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Giancarlo, C.A. (1993). An exploration of cognitive strategies and dispositions in relation to ego-resiliency. Unpublished master's thesis, University of California, Riverside. Giancarlo, CA. (1996). Critical thinking, culture, and personality: Predictors of Latinos' academic success. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California. Giancarlo, CA., & Facione, PA. (1999). The California Measure of Mental Motivation Test ManuaL Millbrae, CA: The California Academic Press. Goyette, K, & Xie, Y. (1999). Educational expectations of Asian American youths: Determinants and ethnic differences. Sociology of Education, 72, 22-36. Graham, S. (1992). Most of the subjects were white and middle class: Trends in published research on Mrican Americans in selected APA journals, 1970-1989. American Psychologist, 47,629-639. Graham, S., & Golan, S. (1991). Motivational influences on cognition: Task involvement, ego involvement, and depth of information processing. Journal ofEducationalPsychology, 83, 187-194. Hickey, D.T. (1997). Motivation and contemporary socio-constructivist instructional perspectives. Educational Psychologist, 32, 175-193. Jones, E.A. (1993). Critical thinking literature review. University Park, PA: National Center for Post-Secondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, The Pennsylvania State University. Keith, T.Z., & Benson, MJ. (1992). Effects of manipulable influences on high school grades across five ethnic groups. Journal ofEducational Research, 86, 85-93. Kurfiss, J. (1988). Critical thinking: Theory, research, practice, and possibilities. ASHEERIC Higher Education Report No.2. Washington, DC: Association for the Study of Higher Education. Landrine, H. (1992). Clinical implications of cultural differences: The referential versus the indexical self. Clinical Psychology Review, 12,4-1-415. Maehr, M.L. (1974). Culture and achievement motivation. American Psychologist, 29, 887-896. Maehr, M.L. (1984). Meaning and motivation: Toward a theory of personal investment. In RE. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.) Research on motivation in education (Vol. 1, pp. 115-144). New York: Academic Press. Maehr, M.L., & Fyans, LJ.,Jr.(1989). School culture, motivation and achievement. In M.L.. Maehr & C. Ames (Eds.) , Advances in motivation and achievement, Vol. 6: Motivation enhancing environments (pp. 215-247). Greenwich, CT:JAl Press. Markus, H.R, & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253. McClelland, D.C. (1961). The achieving society. New York: The Free Press. Meece, J.L. (1991). The classroom context and students' motivational goals. In M.L. Maehr & P.R Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement, Vol. 7: Goals and self-regulatory processes (pp. 261-285). Greenwich, CT:JAl Press. Meece, J.L., Blumenfeld, P.C., & Hoyle, RH. (1988). Students' goal orientations and cognitive engagement in classroom activities. Journal ofEducationalPsychology, 80,514-523. Middleton, M., & Midgley, C. (1996). Avoiding the demonstration oflack of ability: An under-explored aspect of goal theory. Journal ofEducational Psychology. Midgley, C. (1993). Motivation and middle level schools. Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 8, pp. 217-274). Greenwich, CT:JAl Press.

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Mizokawa, D.T., & Ryckman, D.B. (1990). Attributions of academic success and failure: A comparison of six Asian-American ethnic groups. Journal of Crvss-CulturalPsychology, 21,434-451. Naglieri, (1996). The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt Brace. Nicholls, J.G. (1984). Conceptions of ability and achievement motivation. In R Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Research on motivation in education: Vol. 1, Student motivation (pp. 39-73). New York: Academic Press. Nicholls,J.G. (1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Nicholls,J.G. (1990). What is ability and why are we mindful of it? A developmental perspective. In R Sternberg &J. Kolligian (Eds.), Competence considered (pp. 1140). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Nicholls,J.G., Patashnick, M., & Nolen, S. B. (1985). Adolescents' theories of education. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 77, 683-692. Nolen, S.B. (1988). Reasons for studying: Motivational orientations and study strategies. Cognition and Instruction, 5, 269-287. Nolen, S.B., & Haladyna, T.M. (1990). Motivation and studying in high school science.Journal of research in science teaching, 27, 115-126. Norris, S., & Ennis, R (1989). Evaluating critical thinking. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications. Park, C.C. (1997). Learning style preferences of Asian American (Chineses, Filipino, Korean, and Vietnamese) students in secondary schools. Equity & Excellence in Education, 30, 68-77. Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affect students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco: J ossey-Bass. Pendarvis, F. (1996). Critical thinking assessment: Measuring a moving target. Rock Hill: The South Carolina Higher Education Assessment Network. Pintrich, P.R, & De Groot, E.v, (1990). Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33-40. Pintrich, P.R, & Schunk, D.H. (1996). Motivation in education: theory, research, and applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Roeser, RW., Midgley, C., & Urdan, T. (1996). Perceptions of the school psychological environment and early adolescents' self appraisals and academic engagement: The mediating role of goals and belonging. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 408-422. Ryan, AM., Gheen, M.H., & Midgley, C. (1997). Why do some students avoid asking for help?: An examination of the interplay among students' academic efficacy, teachers' social-emotional role, and the classroom goal structure. Journal ofEducational Psychology. Skaalvik, E.M. (1996). Self-enhancing and self-defeating ego orientation: Relations with task and avoidance orientation, achievement, self-perceptions, and anxiety. Journal ofEducational Psychology. Steele, C. (1997). A threat in the air. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629. Steele, C.M., & Aronson,J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of Mrican Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 797-811.

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Sternberg, RJ. (1996). Investing in creativity: Many happy returns. Educational Leadership, 80-84. Triandis, H.C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing social contexts. Psychological Review, 96, 506-520. Triandis, H.C., Leung, K., Villareal, MJ., & Clack, F.L. (1985). Allocentric versus idiocentric tendencies: Convergent and discriminant validation. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 395-415. Urdan, T. (1997a). Achievement goal theory: Past results, future directions. In M.L. Maehr & P.R Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vo!. 10, pp. 99-141). Greenwich, CT:JAI Press. Urdan, T. (1997b). Achievement goals and the orientation offriends toward school in early adolescence. Journal of Contemporary Educational Psychology, 22, 165-191. Urdan, T., Midgley, C., & Anderman, E. (1998). The role of classroom goal structure in students' use of self-handicapping strategies. American Educational ResearchJournal,35,101-122. U.S. Department of Education. (1990). National goals for education. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Vasquez, (1990). Teaching to the distinctive traits of minority students. The Clearing House, 63,299-304. Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 82, 616-622. Woolfolk, A.E. (1995). Educational psychology (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

CHAPTER 4

THE CONTEXTS OF INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATIONAL CHANGE Judith MacCallum

INTRODUCTION

A few years ago I interviewed students in their last year of primary school. In a few months they would be attending the same local secondary school. Although they all shared some apprehension and excitement about their forthcoming transition to secondary school, they spoke very differently about school and their expectations, what made them feel successful at school and what motivated them to learn. Marnie, Shane, and Paul were three of those students. Marnie was a high achieving student. In primary school she was very well regarded by students and staff and liked being important and special. This made her feel very successful. Near the end of her last year in primary school Mamie wasn't looking forward to going to secondary school as she was concerned about going from the top of one school to being the youngest in secondary school. Shane came from the same primary school as Marnie, and the principal's comment to me about the two students "I see you've selected [students at] the extremes" suggested the principal believed Shane and Marnie had very different approaches to school. In talking with Shane, I found that he thought there was little to make him feel successful at school, except easy work. He expected everything to be different in secondary school and was cautiously looking forward to it.

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Paul's views differed from both Marnie and Shane. He believed success came from hard work and felt successful when he had worked hard to achieve his best. Paul was looking forward to secondary school, in fact he couldn't wait to get there. He expected the work to be more interesting and the teachers to explain things better.

SCHOOL TRANSITION: HOW DID MARNIE, SHANE AND PAUL RESPOND? School transitions have been widely acknowledged as a time of change for students. The period surrounding the transition to high school or middle school has been found to result in changes in students' motivation and achievement (Eccles, Wigfield, Midgley et al., 1993; Harter, Whitesell, & Kowalski, 1992; Nottelmann, 1987). It is also a time of both sociocultural and natural upheaval (Simmons & Blyth, 1987). A mcyority of the longitudinal research addressing this time of transition have reported change that characterizes students as a group, that is, in the same transition context, students' attitudes or motivation change in similar ways (Eccles, Wigfield, Midgley et al., 1993; Jennings & Hargreaves, 1981; Nottlemann, 1987; Power, 1981; Rogers, Galloway, Armstrong, Jackson, & Leo, 1994). Where the context is specified, it is in terms of the time of school year, the school type or transition, or the classroom structure. Studies that have considered students differentially have focused on a narrow range of variables, such as intrinsic motivation as a function of change in general perceived competence (Harter et al., 1992), gender differences in subject specific self-concept of ability and social-ability perceptions (Wigfield, Eccles, Mac Iver, Reuman, & Midgley, 1991), entity versus incremental theory of intelligence (Henderson & Dweck, 1990), or differential patterns of adjustment related to ability (Youngman, 1978). Mamie, Shane and Paul responded to the transition in different ways that touched on a wide range of motivation variables. After the transition Marnie found being the youngest wasn't as bad as she had expected and the older students were "quite nice" to her, but she was still hesitant about secondary school. The extension program for which she had been accepted hadn't lived up to her expectations. The teachers weren't the "best" and she was surprised how similar the work was to that in other classes in the year. So, for Marnie secondary school was not great, it was '~ust OK." Once in secondary school Shane, like Marnie, was very conscious of the streaming of some classes, but felt most comfortable in the "regular" classes. Shane didn't want to be put in a position where he might display low ability. Paul had found he needed to be more independent in secondary school and rely on himself more. He was enjoying mathematics more than in primary school because it was "more enjoyable learning different things." Although he found it hard at first Paul was pleased with the transition to secondary school.

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Mamie, Shane, and Paul clearly had different expectations and experiences in the transition from primary school to secondary school, many of which could change the way they were motivated to learn in the new context of secondary school. We can all think of students like Mamie, Shane, and Paul, and little incidents that suggest they are motivated to learn in differing ways. In my various roles as student, teacher of secondary school and tertiary students and parent of children in primary and secondary school, I have come face to face with students who appear to adopt vastly different motivational orientations. Like many teachers, I have grappled with how individual students with different motivational orientations can be optimally motivated in and by their learning.

RESEARCHING MOTIVATIONAL CHANGE: HOW CAN WE EXPLORE THE TRANSITION STORIES OF MARNIE, SHANE AND PAUL?

Although motivation research has conceptualized different ways of being motivated [e.g., high and low need for achievement (Atkinson, 1964); extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Harter, 1981); task and ego orientation (Nicholls, 1989)], it has rarely considered motivational change in conceptually different ways. In part this oversight can be explained by the methods used to research motivational change, and in the way context has been considered. When investigating change, motivation research typically has adopted a dimension focus using a limited range of motivation variables and engaged with narrow and often not clearly defined aspects of change (MacCallum, 2000). Large scale cross-sectional studies have quantitatively examined change across age or grade (e.g., Galloway, Leo, Rogers, & Armstrong, 1995; Harter, 1981), and longitudinal studies have usually examined mean level change in motivation variables and longitudinal stability (e.g. Nottelmann, 1987; Wigfield et al., 1991). The studies that have incorporated different contexts, such as school contexts before and after a transition or different subject areas, have shown the importance of these dimensions of contexts in change in motivation variables such as self-concept and achievement value (Eccles et al., 1989; Nottelmann, 1987; Simmons & Blyth, 1987). None of these studies would have enabled the transition stories of Mamie, Shane, and Paul to be told. I have argued elsewhere (MacCallum, 1997), that goal theory (Ames & Archer, 1988; Nicholls, 1989) provides a useful organizing framework for beginning a study of motivation and motivational change due to the different aspects of motivation that goal theorists bring together, and to distinctions made possible by the consideration of different goals. Goal theory contends that students differ with respect to their personal goals for learning (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, 1989), and that students' perceptions of the world around them, including the salience of the psychological dimen-

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sions of the classroom (Ames & Ames, 1984; Ames & Archer, 1988), and the climate of the school (Maehr & Midgley, 1991) are seen in relation to their goals. Further, in ecological terms goal theory allows for a mutuality between student and context, each influencing the other. It brings together achievement motivation research that has focused on the person or the context. Some researchers have focused on the person in context and found individual differences in goals and beliefs (Dweck, 1986; Nicholls, Cheung, Lauer, & Patashnick, 1989). Others have focused on the context of the person and have found environmental influences on goals and beliefs (Ames, 1984; Deci & Ryan, 1985; Eccles et al., 1983; Elliott & Dweck, 1988; Nicholls, Cobb, Yackel, Wood, & Wheatley, 1990). These findings can be interpreted as suggesting that efforts to enhance motivation (Le., change motivation in a particular way) could focus on individuals, such as challenging students' beliefs (Nicholls et al., 1989), or on changing the environment (Ames, 1991; deCharms, 1976; Deci & Ryan, 1992). Yet, they also point to the importance of person factors which have a relationship to context, contexts that can enhance or undermine academic motivation, thus the need to consider the mutuality and reciprocity of the individual and the context. Even from our brief encounter with the stories of Mamie, Shane, and Paul, it is evident that the contexts within which change occurs for individuals are multidimensional and need to be more clearly specified and described in motivation research. They need to include not only the normal points of transition, such as from primary school to secondary school, but also the social contexts of the school and classroom, which include interactions with teachers and peers. In this way the sociocultural contexts in which students' motivation is situated can be more fully incorporated into conceptualizations of motivational change. This requires research methods that allow for in-depth exploration. In order to remedy the limited perspective presented in the motivation literature, this chapter addresses the issue of the sociocultural contexts of individual change and explores in more depth aspects of motivation over the transition from primary school to secondary school taking a more holistic perspective of the individual-in-context. This individual-in-context view of change is one of the four views of change examined in a larger research project of motivational change in mathematics and English (MacCallum, 2001). The larger project involved all students in two consecutive year cohorts attending the primary schools feeding an Australian urban secondary school. The in-depth study utilized quantitative and qualitative data from survey questionnaires, collected in the larger study, as well as verbal protocols from a small group of ten selected students, collected through semistructured individual interviews and teachers' comments from informal interviews. Two research questions guided the in-depth study: How do students explain their experiences of changing context and changing motivation or

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65

the possibility of change in their motivation? What dimensions of school contexts and activities do students perceive as enhancing student motivation? The approach taken allowed students to tell their own transition stories, explain their specific concerns and experiences, as well as allow me, as researcher, to explore their understandings of their survey questionnaire responses.

EXPLORING MOTIVATION IN TRANSITION The Students I selected Mamie, Shane, Paul and seven of their peers for the in-depth study on the basis of their responses to the Motivation Orientation Scales (see Appendix) included in the survey questionnaire. l This particular scale used Nicholls' (1989) approach to goals, focusing on the person in context. Nicholls describes three personal motivational orientations: a task orientation, implying the goal is to increase one's understanding, to accomplish something one had not previously done, or to improve performance; an ego orientation, implying the goal is to establish superiority of one's ability relative to that of others, and a work avoidance orientation, implying the goal is to do as little as possible. Previously (Nicholls, Patashnick, & Nolen, 1985), Nicholls had included a social element in the ego orientation but it was removed from the recommended version of the scale. Thus, the questionnaire did not provide students with the opportunity to indicate their personal feelings of success in terms of a social orientation. This was to become an important issue in the qualitative analysis. According to research using a goal theory approach, a task orientation or mastery focus is most adaptive for long-term learning (Ames & Archer, 1988; Nicholls et al., 1990; Nolen, 1988; Nolen & Haladyna, 1990a, 1990b; Thorkildsen, 1988). Conceptually, then, students expressing low Task Orientation would be expected to be at risk with respect to motivation. As the main aim was to examine students' perceptions of how motivation can be enhanced and hence the contexts of motivational change, students with initially low Task Orientation scores were chosen for the in-depth study.2 Thus the main criterion for selection was a low Task orientation score in one or both of writing and mathematics and a second criterion was that students intended to proceed to the secondary school in the study.3 This does not mean that these students had "low" motivation, but that in at least one of the subject areas, their motivation in terms of Task Orientation was low relative to their peers. Students' Ego Orientation and Work Avoidance scores ranged from very high to low. For instance Mamie expressed high Ego Orientation. The students like Paul, who had a low Task score in only one subject tended to have different motivational patterns in the two subject areas, allowing exploration of reasons for the differences.

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The students were at least average with respect to their schoolwork as rated by their primary school teachers, and six of the ten students had attended some courses in an extension and challenge program for high ability primary school students (PEAC). These six students had experienced the type of program considered in the literature to promote task involvement (Ames, 1992).

The Interviews I first interviewed Mamie, Shane and their peers in December near the end of Year 7 (the last year of primary school) and again inJuly the following year (midway through the first year of secondary school Year 8).4 These times were chosen as being relevant to the students' perceptions of the transition. The first interview occurred in the weeks in which students were being farewelled by their primary schools and prepared for secondary school, and at the time of the second interview they had just completed a full semester in their new school and received their first secondary school report. The times were also two months after the students and their year cohort had completed the survey questionnaires. On each occasion I interviewed each of the students individually at their school in a quiet room or section of the library. The interviews were tape recorded and later transcribed, and the details of the context and interview were recorded for each interview. The context of the interview meant that the students were recounting experiences that had occurred in past days, weeks or months and were significant in some way for them. The main themes of the interviews were: 1.

2.

3.

students' perceptions of the differences between primary school and secondary school; each student's story of his or her own motivational change, and their perceptions of the possibility of change and what would have to happen, either personally or in the environment, for change in their motivation to occur; and students' perceptions of the reasons for differences or similarities in their goals, beliefs and perceptions across subject areas.

The Analysis Although the students chosen had low Task orientation scores in at least one subject area relative to the other students in their year group, examination of their scores in all three motivational orientations revealed they were not a homogeneous group. It is often assumed in the literature that students are oriented in one way or another, but the orientations are con-

CONTEXTS OF INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATIONAL CHANGE

67

ceptually and empirically independent and thus students may express multiple goals. Taking account of all three goals revealed several different patterns of goals. For each student, some goal or goals predominated. From this multiple goal perspective the students could be arranged into three groups based on the pattern of their initial motivational goals, as shown in Figure 1. Other researchers (Ainley, 1993; Meece & Holt, 1993) have achieved a similar kind of grouping of large numbers of students through cluster analysis. Mamie, Kim, and Anna had predominantly Ego goals; Elise, Paul, Andrew, and Brad had combinations of Ego and Task goals (usually with higher Task or Ego goals in one subject area); while Work Avoidance goals predominated for Shari and Shane, and for Mia in mathematics. A fourth group, "no goals,» could have been formed of the students whose scores on each goal were low (i.e., did not endorse the goal) as well as low relative to their peers. Andrew and Brad fitted this pattern in writing, but were included in the Task and Ego combination group as they expressed a similar but stronger pattern in mathematics. The students' transition stories were analyzed in three stages. Firstly, students' responses to the interview questions were systematically compared with their goal emphases obtained from the questionnaire data. In this way, students' different combinations of goals could be related to their theories

Primary School (Thno 1) SIOIy Writins

Sceonduy School (Tame 3)

Mathematics

SIOIy Writins

Malhematics

Mamie

Marnie

Kim

Anna

Anna

Blise

Elise

Paul

Paul

Andrew

Andrew

8mJ

Children

Scale

Mean

Standard Deviation

Communication

2.71

.41

2.71

Time

2.88

.44

Teaching

2.83

.41

Mean

o

Standard Deviation

~

Vl

F Ratio

F Probability

.54

0.01

.905

o

2.91

.43

1.73

.189

:u

2.63

.65

43.10

Vl

-i

:>J

~

.000***

Vl

-i

:>J

o

Frustration

2.85

.48

3.02

.59

31.32

.000***

-~

Satisfaction

2.98

.45

2.88

.60

11.89

.001***

!'

Infonnation Needs

2.09

.67

2.63

.76

168.90

.000***

l>

Total

2.72

.27

2.80

.33

16.36

.000***

Z

*** Significance level .001

~ A

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z :< o

~

o :>J Vi I

~

l>

PERCEIVED PARENTING SUCCESS OF MOTHERS IN JAPAN

173

(M = 2.09) which received a slightly unfavorable rating. Adolescents reported slightly favorable (2.5 to 3.0) ratings for their mothers on every scale except Frustration (M = 3.02) which was seen as highly favorable. Slightly favorable overall ratings of mothers were given by the adults (M = 2.72) and adolescents (M = 2.80). Table 2 also identifies the four scales (Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction, and Information Needs) on which significantly different perceptions were reported by mothers and children. These discrepancies signal realms of behavior for which intervention may be warranted. However, more specific information is needed to detect particular topics which deserve attention in planning a suitable curriculum. To gain this insight, it is necessary to take a closer look at individual items. Analysis of variance revealed that the generations reported significantly different responses for 51 of the 60 Parent Success Indicator items. This data is too extensive for tabular presentation but the outcomes which appear most salient will be described. Japanese adolescents (M = 2.41, SD = .91) perceived their mothers as being less willing to learn from them than was reported by parents (M = 2.69, SD = .67). Support for the notion of adults learning from children will be difficult to establish because there is no historical precedent to view youngsters as vital sources of information. Some adults expressed fear the concept of reciprocal learning could undermine the Japanese hierarchical pattern used for guiding communication and allocating status within the family (Beasley, 1999). The transmission of values has always been seen as unidirectional, handed down from older to younger generations. The idea that some values of adolescents would be appropriate for adoption by adults has been largely overlooked (Ibe, 1995; Kaplan, Kusano, Tsuji, & Hisamichi, 1998). Nevertheless, for mothers to offer children advice that is relevant, they must first become aware of the current problems associated with growing up. The most credible sources of this information are daughters and sons. Consequently, listening and disclosing personal feelings is essential. In this context, mothers gave themselves unfavorable ratings on all ten of the items in the Information Needs scale. Adolescents put friendship and dating atop their list of concerns (Cobb, 1998). These social skills should be acquired well before the time the lessons provided for children shift to focus on safe sexual practices. Mothers are expected to address child concerns about dating which begin at an earlier age than in the past (Iwao, 1995). However, it seems such conversations do not occur or they are superficial. Mothers recognized their lack of knowledge in this area and gave themselves an unfavorable rating (M = 2.32, SD = .80) for discussing adolescent concerns about dating. Similarly, adolescents assigned their mothers a highly unfavorable rating (M = 1.52, SD= .86), the lowest score of all 60 items on the instrument. It is noted that parents and adolescents from the United States also identity this particular item about dating as a limitation in contemporary family guidance (Strom, Beckert, Strom, Moore, Strom, & Griswold, 2000).

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We speculate that the media and peer pressures to rush intimate relationships for adolescents along with fears about AIDS may be distracting many parents from giving the timely attention and instruction which is needed to support the normal sequence of sexual socialization. Children saw mothers as ineffective in teaching them to cope with stress. In fact, most of the anecdotal remarks that augmented the survey identified mothers as the main source of stress: "She doesn't allow me to have any free time." "She orders me to study morning until night, even on days when I don't have to go to thejuku." "I am getting tired ofthejuken senso" (examination war). "She annoys me by asking about my study all the time. She asks me immediately after I wake up in the morning and when I come home from school in the afternoon. I don't want her to place so much stress on me all the time. I want her to understand my feelings." "I cannot forgive her saying that I don't study. I am studying hard even though she doesn't realize it." Mothers are also discontent with the task of pressuring their children. ''When I was in junior high school, I was offended by my mother's demanding. Now I seem to be doing the same thing to my own child. I am afraid she is offended by my demands and does not understand me." At the end of the survey, both generations were asked to identify ways they spent time together on weekends. Mothers (80%) and children (75%) both reported that watching television was the activity they most often engaged in together. Yet mothers received an unfavorable rating from children (M = 2.41, SD = .99) for their readiness to discuss programs observed together. The children (M = 2.14, SD = 1.05) also gave mothers an unfavorable rating for being able to establish time limits for the amount of televiewing. It appears that mothers overestimate their ability to make use of television as a means to facilitate family conversation and mutual learning. The exposure of Japanese children to a growing number of choices requires that they establish some of their own goals and have opportunities to explore careers. This experience departs from the tradition in which all children had the same single goal, to perform well on examinations so they could qualify for higher learning. However, to compete in the emerging global marketplace, modern societies must make technical training and college available to a larger proportion of people (Drucker & Nakauchi, 1997). The future that parents want for their children is more likely to eventuate if adolescents are given chances to make decisions, amend goals, and pursue their personal ambitions (Toffler & Toffler, 2000). The mothers assigned themselves unfavorable ratings for their knowledge about how to help children set personal goals (M = 1.91, SD = .81) and explore careers (M = 1.96, SD = .81 ). These two items were among the lowest self-ratings given by the parents. Several items identified a need for greater support of creative thinking. This broad goal has been assigned the highest educational priority by the government for the new millennium (Drucker & Nakauchi, 1997; Hirshberg, 1998). Creative people are more adaptable, able to adjust to role

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changes more easily, and can maintain their enthusiasm and zest for life (Torrance, 1995). Parents (M = 2.46, SD = .70) and children (M = 2.31, SD = .93) both reported unfavorable ratings of mothers for their ability to encourage imagination and creativity. Mothers also assigned themselves (M = 2.30, SD = 1.00) an unfavorable rating on arranging sufficient time for their child to be alone. One of the common retrospective conditions reported by highly creative adults is ample opportunity to spend time alone during the growing up years. The age group that seeks privacy most are early adolescents, from 10 to 15 years old. Ways must be found to enable boys and girls living in a fast-paced and crowded environment to spend more time participating in solitary pursuits and creative activities (Hirschberg, 1998). Family disagreements become more frequent in adolescence (Makino, 1998, 1999; Steinberg & Steinberg, 1994; Steinberg & Levine, 1997). Selfdisclosure of feelings and opinions can be mutually valuable since this enables parents to learn how their daughters and sons interpret events. At the same time, mothers can often provide critical feedback about the thinking processes of adolescents which differs from the feedback youngsters get from peers. Nevertheless, in Japan, the custom is to discourage all forms of conflict and to subordinate individuality for the sake of group harmony (Benjamin, 1997; Rohlen & LeTendre, 1996). More than most other cultures, the Japanese go to great lengths to preserve peaceful relationships and are globally respected for this ability (Drucker & Nakauchi, 1997). Still, knowing how to accept and express differences of opinion seems essential for authentic family dialogue in the emerging society. Parents should help children to acquire and practice at home the conflict resolution skills that were not taught to themselves at the same age. Mothers (M = 2.04, SD = .83) gave themselves unfavorable ratings for their ability to provide children with up-to-date advice about dealing with conflict.

Main Effects of Independent Variables Generation Table 3 presents a summary of MANOVA findings for the mothers and children showing how each variable influenced performance ratings of mothers on the PSI. Univariate tests detected significant differences on Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction and Information Needs scales. Mothers saw themselves as more effective teachers and experiencing greater satisfaction than was reported by children. The children perceived mothers as more able to cope with frustration and acquire the information needed to be sources of guidance than was reported by mothers. Means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for the self-impressions of mothers were Teaching 2.83 (0.41), Frustration 2.85 (0.48), Satisfaction 2.98 (0.45), and Information Needs 2.09 (0.67). Means for the child's rat-

Table 3.

-...J

en

Analysis of Variance and Independent Variables for 1235 Mothers and Children in Japan

Source

Multivariate F

Communication

Time

Teaching

Univariate F Frustration

?J Satisfaction

Information

Vl

-i

:>J

Generation

36.49***

O.oI

1.73

43.10***

Child Gender

8.18***

21.33***

2.17

5.32*

Child Age

4.16***

7.49***

1.21

12.89***

20.83***

School Grades

12.50***

31.32***

11.89***

168.97***

2.76

26.07***

1.22

12.10***

3.53**

12.74***

5.24***

11.03***

1.91

54.27***

8.53***

o

~

Vl Vl

-i

:>J

o

~

:u Mother Age

3.80***

0.78

Adult Home

10.55***

6.20*

Time Together

11.92***

48.30***

0.79

12.40***

1.21

5.13*

11.56***

54.07***

6.06*

0.59

6.41*

0.58

15.19***

43.41 ***

2.26

40.08***

3.22*

Vl

-i

:>J

o

-~ !' ~

Notes: * Significance level .05 ** Significance level .01 *** Significance level .001

l> A

Z

P l>

z :< o

~

o :>J Vi I

~

l>

PERCEIVED PARENTING SUCCESS OF MOTHERS IN JAPAN

177

ings of mothers were Teaching 2.63 (0.65), Frustration 3.02 (0.59), Satisfaction 2.88 (0.60), and Information Needs 2.63 (0.76). Child Gender ANOVA detected that daughters assigned significantly higher ratings to mothers than were given by sons on the Communication, Teaching, and Satisfaction scales. The scale means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for girls ratings of mothers were Communication 2.82 (0.51), Teaching 2.70 (0.62), and Satisfaction 3.00 (0.58); for boys the scale means were Communication 2.61 (0.55), Teaching 2.56 (0.67), and Satisfaction 2.77 (0.61). Child Age Significant differences for child age were detected on the scales of Communication, Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction and Information Needs. Scheffe t-tests using the full range of ages revealed that mothers felt 13 year olds were the group they communicated with best and most efficiently taught while they reported doing least well with 14 year olds. Mothers reported that 10 year olds were the most frustrating but also provided the greatest satisfaction. As children grew older, from ages 10 to 14, they gave progressively lower ratings to their mothers. The scale means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for the combined generational impressions (2 levels after collapse) of mothers of children ages 10 to 12 were Communication 2.76 (0.47), Teaching 2.81 (0.53), Frustration 2.97 (0.55), Satisfaction 3.01 (0.54), and Information Needs 2.36 ( 0.80). Scale means for combined generational impressions of mothers with children ages 13 to 14 were Communication 2.63 (0.48), Teaching 2.61 (0.56), Frustration 2.91 (0.54), Satisfaction 2.81 (0.52), and Information Needs 2.39 (0.73). Child School Grades Student achievement was found to influence perceptions of mother success on Communication, Time, Teaching, Satisfaction and Information Needs scales. Mothers of children with above average school grades compared to mothers with below average students saw themselves as more able to communicate, manage time, provide instruction, find satisfaction, and remain well informed about their child. Scale means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for the combined generational impressions for mothers of children with above average school grades were Communication 2.77 (0.45), Use of Time 2.97 (0.43), Teaching 2.78 (0.54), Satisfaction 3.08 (0.52) and Information Needs 2.48 (0.81). Scale means for mothers of children with below average school grades were Communication 2.52 (0.54), Use of Time 2.79 (0.44), Teaching 2.57 (0.59), Satisfaction 2.62 (0.53), and Information Needs 2.42 (0.77).

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Mother Age Univariate tests detennined that mother age had a significant effect on perceptions of Teaching, Satisfaction and Infonnation Needs. Children of mothers age 39 or younger saw their mothers as better informed than mothers in this age group viewed themselves. Mothers age 40 or older felt they were better informed about their children, more effective teachers, and more satisfied with their role than was perceived by children with mothers in this age group. Scale means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for combined generational impressions for mothers age 39 or younger were Teaching 2.80 (0.56), Satisfaction 2.97 (0.54), and Infonnation Needs 2.28 (0.79). Scale means for mothers age 40 and older were Teaching 2.68 (0.55), Satisfaction 2.90 (0.54), and Infonnation Needs 2.43 (0.75). Adult at Home after School Univariate tests detected differences on the scales of Communication, Time, Teaching and Satisfaction. In families where the children were always or often met by an adult when they came home from school, mothers received higher ratings from both generations on all scales than did mothers of children who were seldom or never met by an adult at home after school. New workplace policies are needed to allow this possibility for more families. Scale means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for combined generational impressions when there was an adult at home always or often as children returned from school were Communication 2.73 (0.46), Use of Time 2.94 (0.43), Teaching 2.75 (0.53), and Satisfaction 2.95 (0.53). Scale means when there was an adult at home seldom or never as children returned from school were Communication 2.65 (0.53), Use of Time 2.73 (0.42), Teaching 2.65 (0.62), and Satisfaction 2.85 (0.56). Time spent Together The amount of time mother and child spent together each week had a significant effect on Communication, Use of Time, Teaching, Satisfaction and Infonnation Needs. For each of these scales, mothers who spent five or more hours a week interacting with their children were rated by both generations as performing better than mothers who spent less than five hours a week. Further, mothers who spent ten hours or more a week interacting with their child were assigned the highest ratings by both generations on every scale. Means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for combined ratings of children and self impressions of mothers who spent five or more hours per week together were Communication 2.81 (0.44), Use of Time 2.95 (0.42), Teaching 2.83 (0.51), Satisfaction 3.03 (0.51), and Infonnation Needs 2.38 (0.77). Means for combined ratings of children and self impressions of mothers who spent less than five hours each week together were

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179

Communication 2.53 (0.49), Use of Time 2.80 (0.44), Teaching 2.55 (0.58), Satisfaction 2.74 (0.55), and Information Needs 2.37 (0.75)

Implications for Education Guiding adolescents is a complicated task that requires knowledge and skills beyond what is needed to offer adequate direction for younger age children. The purpose of this study was to identify parent strengths and detect learning needs ofJapanese mothers of adolescents so that an educational program could be prepared for them. The data outcomes used to identify suitable topics for curriculum included mother self-defined impressions, adolescent observations of mother behavior, realms of disagreement between generations, low ratings, demographic variable effects, and anecdotal information provided by parents and children. The following outline based on the combined generational perceptions takes into consideration adolescent experiences, mother experiences, and dynamics of the mother-adolescent relationship. The thematic content identified for emphases in an intervention program to meet the needs of mothers from these families are: EXPERIENCE OF ADOLESCENTS Choosing goals and exploring careers Helping adolescents to define success Guidance about friendships and dating Sharing anxieties, fears, and worries EXPERIENCE OF MOTHERS Growing up in a time of cultural change Providing support for creative thinking Reciprocal learning of parent and child Reflections about priorities in the family EXPERIENCE OF MOTHER-ADOLESCENT RELATIONSHIPS Emotional resilience and managing stress Expressing disagreement within the family Gender roles and achievement expectations Critical thinking and watching television

CONCLUSION

The parenting performance of Japanese mothers was viewed positively by mothers and adolescents. Highly favorable ratings were assigned to mothers for liking to be with their child, willingness to spend time together, allowing time for their child to be with friends, teaching a sense of right and wrong,

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liking how the child gets along with peers, liking the way the child relates to family members, teaching that effort is the key to success, accepting the child's choices of clothes, music and movies, accepting the child's use of the phone, and liking the effort a child makes to help others. In addition, children gave highly favorable ratings to mothers for accepting adolescent moodiness, being a good listener, showing trust, and looking for the optimistic side of situations. The elements of a curriculum for improving the performance of mothers was also identified by both generations. The motivation of Japanese mothers to do their best in a very demanding role is a strong impetus for society to provide them with practical programs for guiding adolescents. This survey focused on perceptions of parent effectiveness is part of a comprehensive investigation which includes separate gender populations drawn from culturally diverse groups within the United States and other nations. The next step in the project is to build a curriculum that meets the identified family education needs of Japanese mothers.

AUTHOR NOTE

First published in the Journal of Family Studies, 6(1), 25-45 (reprinted with permission).

NOTE 1. This investigation was supported by the Hitachi Foundation in Tokyo, Japan.

REFERENCES Amaha, E. (1999,July 1). Blazing a trail. Far Eastern Economic Review, 24-36. Beasley, W. (1999). japanese experience. Berkeley: University of California Press. Benjamin, G. (1997).japanese lessons. New York: New York University Press. Cobb, N. (1998). Adolescence. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. Dolly, J. (1993). The impact of Juku on Japanese students. journal of Instructional Psychology, 20(4), 277-285. Drucker, P., & Nakauchi, I. (1997). Drucker on Asia: A dialogue between Peter Drucker and Isao Nakauchi. Newton, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Edelstein, L (1999). The art of midlife: Courage and creative livingforwomen. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Elkind, D. (1994). Ties that stress. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Fuligni, A., & Eccles,J. (1993). Perceived parent-child relationships and early adolescents' orientation to peers. DevelopmentalPsychology, 29,622-632.

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Giannetti, C., & Sagarese, M. (1997). The roller-coaster years: A guide for parents of 10 to 15 year olds. New York: Broadway Books. Hamner, T., & Turner, P. (1996). Parenting in contemporary society. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Harris, J. (1998). The nurture assumption. New York: The Free Press. Hendry,]. (1996). UnderstandingJapanese society. New York: Routledge. Hirshberg,]. (1998). Creative priority: Driving innovative business in the real world. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. Hirschfeld, T., & Hirschfeld,]. (1999) Business dad. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Co. Ibe, H. (1995). A comparative study of values and value transmission between Japan and the United States. Tokyo: International Longevity Center. Imamura, A. (Ed.). (1996). Re-imagingJapanese women. Berkeley: University of California Press. Ishii-Kuntz, M., Makino, K., Kato, K., & Tsuchiya, M. (1999). Japanese fathers and their involvement in child care. Presented at the Annual Conference of the National Council on Family Relations, Irvine, CA. Iwao, S. (1995). The Japanese woman: Traditional image and changing reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kageyama, Y. (1999, April 24). Opposition to government father campaign. Asahi, p. l. Kaplan, M., Kusano, A., Tsuji, I., & Hisamichi, S. (1998). Intergenerational programs: Support for children, youth, and elders in Japan. Albany: SUNY Press. Kroger,]. (2000). Identity development: Adolescence through adulthood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Kumagai, F. (1996). UnmaskingJapan today: The impact of traditional values on modern Japanese society. Westport, CT: Praeger. Lebra, T. (1990). Japanese women: Constraint and fulfillment. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. Makino, K. (1998). Families as places where children learn human relations. In Contemporary education series, Vol. 7: Swayingfamilies and communities (pp. 75-96). Tokyo: Iwanami Publishing Company. Makino, K. (1999). The fathers' and mothers' life and their children: Contemporary families as a child's socialization environment. In T. Sodei, S. Ito, & K. Makino (Eds.), Changing families: Children, gender, and the elderly (pp.41-56). Tokyo: Kenpakusya Publishing Company. Makino, K., Shimizu, H., Sugiyama, M., Hara, H., & Watanabe,J. (Eds.). (1995). International comparative research on home education: Survey on children and family life. Tokyo: Japan Association for Women's Education. Matsuoka, M. (1999). Thefatherhood campaign. Tokyo: National Ministry of Health. Rohlen, T., & LeTendre, G. (Eds.). (1996). Teaching and learninginJapan. New York: Cambridge University Press. Shellenberger, S. (1999). Wotk andfamily. New York: Ballantine Books. Silverberg, S. (1997). Parents' well-being at their children's transition to adolescence. In C. Ryff & M. Seltzer (Eds.), The parental experience at midlife (pp. 215254). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Steinberg, L., & Levine, A. (1997). You and your adolescent. New York: Harper. Steinberg, L., & Steinberg, W. (1994). Crossing paths. New York: Simon & Schuster. Stevenson, H., & Stigler,J. (1994). The learning gap. New York: Simon & Schuster. Strom, R (1996). Establishing new traditions for a longevity society: Japan and the United States. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 23, 1-13.

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Strom, R (1999). Lifelong learning for grandparents: Cultural considerations in Taiwan and the United States. Journal of Family Studies, 5(2), 157-179. Strom, R, Beckert, T., Strom, S., Moore, E., Strom, P., & Griswold, D. (2000). Adolescent and parent perceptions of father success. InternationaLJournal of Experimental Research in Education, 36(1), 1-21. Strom, R, & Strom, S. (1997). Building a theory of grandparent development. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 44(4), 255-286. Strom, R, & Strom, S. (1998). Parent success indicator. Bensenville, IL: Scholastic Testing Service. Strom, R, Strom, S., Collinsworth, P., & Strom, P. (1998). Evaluating parent success in guiding adolescents. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 25(4), 242-249. Strom, R, Strom, S., Collinsworth, P., Sato, S., Makino, K., Sasaki, Y., Sasaki, H., & Nishio, N. (1995). Grandparents injapan: A three generational study. International Journal ofAging and Human Development, 40(3), 209-226. Sugawara, M. (1987). The age of the new family. Tokyo: Chuko Shinsho. Toffler, A., & Toffler, H. (2000, February/March). What next? Civilization, 51-54. Torrance, E. (1995). lWly fly? A philosophy of creativity. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. White, M. (1994). The material child: Coming of age in Japan and America. Berkeley: University of California Press.

CHAPTER 9

FATHERS' ROLE IN THE SCHOOL SUCCESS OF ADOLESCENTS: A SINGAPORE STUDY Ong Ai Choo and Esther Tan

INTRODUCTION Academic achievement is highly valued in many Confucian-based Asian societies where education is seen as an extremely important means of personal development and career advancement (Chen & Utal, 1988). This emphasis on academic success may have its roots in the ancient Chinese imperial system, which used national examinations as the sole basis for selection of officials to the coveted elite Chinese civil service. In general, educators and researchers agree that the family climate and home environment are among the most significant factors that may influence the educational outcomes of youth. Family-related experiences that are associated with school success include interactions between parents (Steinberg, Mounts, Lamborn, & Dornbush, 1991), adolescents' perceptions of the amount of support they receive from their family members (Dubow & Tisak, 1989) and the extent of autonomy and control that characterize parenting styles (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Robert, & Fraleigh, 1987). Studies investigating the relationship between parenting and academic achievement have indicated that childrearing practices directly impact school grades and indirectly influence via children's emotional adjustment and cognitive self-worth (Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994; Wentzel, Feldman, & Weinberger, 1991). 183

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Much of the extant socialization research has been conducted using Western samples. The focus of this research has been on the mothers' roles and influences on the development and adjustment of their children. Father, as the peripheral parent, has been largely neglected. There have been some cross-cultural studies on parenting styles and academic competence on Asian samples in Western contexts (e.g., Chao, 1994; Lin & Fu, 1990; Steinberg et al., 1991), but very few that are based on Asian samples in Eastern contexts. In addition, for the Western Asian sample studies, the outcomes have been contradictory with Eastern Asian interpretations. For example, the findings that Asian children were academically achieving even though they were raised in authoritarian home contexts appeared to contradict findings on Western samples. While there have been attempts to explain the contradictions, the need remains to augment research on the role of Asian parenting behaviors in the school success of their children. The present study addresses some of these limitations by focusing on the father-adolescent relationship in the cross-cultural context of Singapore, a vibrant cosmopolitan Asian society that is caught in the flux of modernization. Singapore families are experiencing the throes of transfonnation with accompanying challenges to the traditional family structure and parenting roles. This study attempts to examine adolescents' perceptions of their fathers' parenting behaviors and how these are related to their success in school. An overwhelming body of research has established the family and home environment as important factors that influence the educational outcomes of youth. Important differences in achievement levels are found to be significantly linked to the socioeconomic structure and resources (e.g., Elder & Caspi, 1988). However, these are considered to be relatively "distal" influences (McLloyd, 1990). More important are the interpersonal relationships that the adolescents' experiences in his or her immediate day-today interactions in the family contexts. Of the family-related experiences that have been found to be associated with academic achievement, the adolescent's relationship with the parents seems to be especially important. Significant predictors of school success are the adolescents' perceptions of their relationship with each parent (Fehnnann, Keith, & Reimers, 1987; Forehand, Long, Brody, & Fauber, 1986; Reynolds, 1989, Steinberg et al., 1991), the adolescents' perceptions of the extent of parental support (Dubow & Tisak, 1989) and autonomy support they received (Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991).

PARENTING DIMENSIONS In assessing the effects of parental practices on adolescents, Rohner and Rohner's (1986) extensive review has identified two major parenting dimensions, parental wannth and parental control, that are important factors in influencing a range of adjustment outcomes for children and ado-

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lescents. Parental wannth refers to the degree of responsivity and support parents provide to their children. It embraces components such as general support, physical affection, and companionship (Ellis, Thomas, & Rollins, 1976; Peterson, Rollins, & Thomas,1985). Parental control refers to degree and manner in which parental expectations of children's behaviors are enforced. Many researchers (e.g., Barker, Olsen, & Shagle, 1994; Rollins & Thomas, 1979) have argued against a unidimensional conceptualization of parental control. Lau and Cheung (1997), for example, made a differentiation between functional and dysfunctional control. In their study on Chinese students, they showed that functional control and not dysfunctional control was correlated positively with parental wannth. Different styles of control have opposite socialization consequences. For example, ineffective discipline was found to have a direct negative effect on academic engagement which in turn had a direct effect on academic achievement (DeBaryshe, Patterson, & Capaldi, 1993), while parental supervision was positively associated with school grades (Linver & Silverberg, 1997). Variations in configurations of the two wannth and control dimensions have led to the identification of patterns of parental styles. Baumrind (1966) identified three contrasting patterns of parenting-authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative-that are derived from various combinations of these two dimensions. Building on her framework, Maccoby and Martin (1983) described four prototypic patterns of parenting: authoritative style (high wannth and high behavioral demandingness); authoritarian style (low warmth and high demandingness); indulgent-permissive (high warmth and low demandingness) and rejecting-neglectful (low warmth and demandingness). Adolescents from authoritative homes show the most positive outcomes including better school grades (Dornbusch et al., 1987;johnson, Shulman, & Collins, 1991). In contrast, authoritarian parenting is often associated with lowered academic efficacy in math, social, and sports domains (Yee & Flanagan, 1985). Adolescents from rejecting, neglectful homes report low perceived academic competence and low school engagement, whereas adolescents from indulgent homes evidence a strong sense of self-confidence but report school misconduct and are less engaged in school (Lamborn, Mounts, Steinberg, & Dornbusch, 1991). Recently, some researchers have argued that in order to understand how parents influence the behavior of their children, one must differentiate between parenting styles and parenting practices (Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Parenting styles are constellations of distinct parenting practices and specific-parenting practices shared by different parenting styles (Steinberg, Elmen, & Mounts, 1989). For example, both authoritative and authoritarian styles of parenting styles encompass high levels of monitoring, while both authoritative and indulgent styles encompass high levels of warmth. Global parenting styles may not therefore be very useful in identifying which aspects of a style are associated with adolescent adjustments (e.g., Linver & Silverberg, 1997).

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The examination of individual parenting characteristics makes it possible to explore the relative and independent effects of these characteristics on child outcomes (Grolnick & Ryan, 1989). For example, several components have been found to be important in the socialization of adolescents, including the extent of supervision/ strictness and autonomy support, the manner in which parental expectations are enforced (Barnes & Farrell, 1992; Fuligni & Eccles, 1993; Linver & Silverberg, 1997). Steinberg et al. (1989) found that parental acceptance, behavioral control and psychological autonomy contributed positively to adolescent school grades, of which monitoring made the largest individual contribution to school grades and psychosocial maturity after controlling for the effects of the other two practices. The present study will extend the extant literature by exploring both the relationships of specific parenting behaviors as well as well as global parenting styles with adolescents' school acljustment in an Eastern Asian society.

ROLE OF FATHERS IN CHILDREN'S LIVES

Research that maps out the potency of parental involvement in predicting school achievement has narrowly focused on mother-child relationships. This is because mothers were traditionally viewed as the primary caregiver. Fathers were the hidden parent. They were assumed to be the breadwinner with a peripheral role in the child's personal well being and competence (Lamb, 1997). Recently, however, there has been an increased interest in research on the role of fathers (Marsiglio,1993). Studies on the salience of fathers to their children's lives have found that fathers are also important for children's development and well being (Forehand & Nousianine, 1993; Lamb, 1975; Phares & Compas, 1992). Although fathers may spend less time with their children as the children grow older, evidence suggests that the importance of fathers to children's development increases as children grow older (Thompson, 1986). In addition, fathers interact differently from mothers with their children (Parke, 1995; Lamb, 1981, 1997). Smaller scale and observational studies provide evidence that children and youth tend to rely upon their fathers to provide factual information whereas mothers are more involved in providing day-to-day care and emotional support and companionship (Ramey, 1996). The different manner ofinteractions is associated with differential outcomes for their children's social, emotional, and academic competence (Feldman & Wentzel, 1990). Research on parenting and the impact on children's school outcomes are summarized in Table 1. In view of these findings, one consideration for the present study is whether specific parenting practices of fathers make varying contributions to adolescents' school outcomes. Yet another hypothesis is that while the mother's involvement may be beneficial for the motivational aspects of school adjustment of adolescents, the father's involvement may be more important to academic achievement.

FATHER'S ROLE IN THE SCHOOL SUCCESS OF ADOLESCENTS

Table 1.

187

Parenting Behaviors and Children's Outcomes

Study

Parenting

Relationship to Child Outcomes

Maccoby & Martin (1983)

Four prototypic patterns of parenting: authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent-permissive and rejecting-neglectful parenting

Authoritative parenting associated with best school grades; rejecting-neglectful parenting the worst school outcomes

Darling & Steinberg (1993)

Differentiated between parenting styles and specific parenting behaviors

Independent effects of specific parenting characteristics on child outcomes

Steinberg et al. (1989)

Investigated contributions of parental acceptance, behavioral control and psychological autonomy

Monitoring made largest individual contribution to school grades

Lamb (1981)

Fathers spend less time than mothers with their children

Fathers are important to children's development

Parke (1995)

Fathers interact differently from mothers with their children

Different interactions associated with differential child outcomes

Feldman & Wentzel (1990)

CROSS-CULTURAL STUDIES

There is a dearth of studies on parent-child practices in non-Western contexts, resulting in limited knowledge about child-rearing values, attitudes and behaviors among Asian parents. There is some empirical evidence that Chinese parents are generally more authoritarian (Chao, 1994; Dornbusch et al., 1987; Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown, 1992) than European and American parents, and rejecting or hostile in their parenting (Kelley &

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Tseng, 1992; Vee & Flaganan, 1985). In their review of cross-cultural studies that compared Chinese and American child rearing practices, Lin and Fu (1990) reported that Chinese parents are more controlling than American parents, less expressive of their affection, less emotionally involved with their children, less likely to encourage independence, and more likely to emphasize academic achievement. Fathers, in particular, were perceived by their children to be more harsh, less concerned, less responsive and less demanding than mothers (Shek, 1998). Shek attributed this to the Chinese culture in which mothers were charged with basic socialization and care giving tasks, whereas fathers were regarded as being responsible for administering punishment. In general, the findings of cross-cultural studies were consistent with Western studies that reported that parental acceptance has positive influences on children's social and cognitive development (Wu, 1985). Paradoxically, however, a few studies have suggested that Asian Americans show higher grades in school than European Americans even though they reported their families higher on the authoritarian index when compared to the whites (Dornbusch et al., 1987; Sue & Okazaki, 1990). In attempting to explain the anomaly, researchers have emphasized the need to consider the cultural contexts. Steinberg et al. (1992) suggested that for Asian Americans, peer influence was more important than parental influence on school performance and may outweigh the negative effects of authoritarian parents. Chao (1994), however, argued that the Western concept of authoritarianism does not take into consideration the purpose of parental control in Chinese culture. The concept of "training" of their children is more relevant in understanding Chinese parenting than European American parenting. The emphasis on character development in the training concept, stems from the Confucian belief in human malleability and selfimprovement (Ho, 1981). Thus, Chinese mothers typically set high standards for their children out of parental care and concern for their children; this in turn, pushed them toward educational success. More recently, Leung, Lau, and Lam (1998) tried to explain the anomaly by differentiating between general authoritarianism (mostly concerned with controlling the behavior of their children and demanding their obedience) and academic authoritarianism (overdemanding with regard to school performance). They posited that in Chinese societies where filial piety (respect for parents and obedience toward parents) is widely endorsed, general authoritarianism is more acceptable and hence there would not be a negative relationship with academic achievement. Academic authoritarianism, which is associated with a controlling style, however, would be negatively related to achievement. Their hypothesis was supported in their cross-cultural study of adolescents in Hong Kong, the United States, and Australia, which found that academic achievement was positively related to authoritarianism in Hong Kong, but only among Asian children in the United States and Australia whose parents did not have any

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189

college education. Academic authoritarianism, on the other hand, was related to poor academic performance in all three cultures. Their study thus substantiated previous research that demonstrated that punitive control is linked to poor outcomes, although cultural values and emphasis on obedience may mitigate these adverse effects.

THE CASE OF SINGAPORE

Singapore provides an interesting cultural context to augment research on Asian societies. It is a vibrant Asian society that is caught in rapid transition from traditional Asian values that emphasize filial piety to modern cosmopolitan values that emphasize autonomy and independence. Its multiethnic population of 3 millions comprises 78% Chinese, 14% Malays and 7% Indians. Among the Chinese, there is a strong element of physical punishment in discipline in child-rearing practices, as fathers in traditional Chinese families are viewed as the authority wielder and expected to exercise discipline. Malays, however, tend to use a more love-oriented, democratic approach. Indian child-rearing practices are less well defined in that they tend to oscillate between strict and liberal approaches. Despite their heterogeneity, all three races share the maxim "older is wiser," resulting in greater respect being accorded to elders' views. Children are expected to reciprocate parents' love and efforts in bringing them up by according them respect, obedience and care in old age. However, this Asian emphasis on filial piety and absolute submission to the family's wishes is being challenged as utilitarian and material values increasingly govern human relations in Singapore. The erosion of traditional values is accelerated by the rapid pace of modernization and the accompanying transformation of the Singapore family structure from the traditional extended family system to a nuclear unit. The challenges of globalization have also resulted in a trend toward more mothers joining the workforce and child rearing responsibilities increasingly being delegated to childcare centers and foreign maids. The adverse impacts on the socialization of adolescent children are evident in the rise in juvenile crimes in recent years. Amidst all these changes, of pertinent interest is whether there has been a corresponding change in the father's role and the implications for adolescents' well being. The prevailing notion is that mothers playa very important role in the children's education as they are considered to be the primary caretakers. But are the recent changes in familial contexts accompanied by a shift in the role of father as the disciplinarian and mother as the nurturing caretaker, and if so, what are the implications for school adjustment outcomes in a society that is extremely concerned with the education of her youth? The present study seeks to augment existing research by answering the following questions: (1) How do Singapore adolescents perceive their

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fathers' parenting behaviors? (2) Is there a relationship between fathers' parenting characteristics and adolescents' school outcomes? These questions are consistent with Leung et al.'s (1998) study which concluded that negative parenting styles have a deleterious influence on adolescents' school outcomes which may only be ameliorated to a certain extent by cultural factors. Although information on the involvement of both fathers and mothers will be presented in this chapter, the primary focus will be on the parenting behaviors of fathers.

METHODS The Sample The sample was drawn from 748 postsecondary students who had completed the O-level school examination, which is the national school-leaving examination based on the UK Cambridge system. In the Singapore education system, all postsecondary students are channeled into one of three educational institutions: the Institute of Technical Education (IT), the polytechnics, and the junior colleges, depending on their O-level exam performance at the end of secondary school education. The institutions were selected rather than randomly sampled to give a broader representation of postsecondary students in terms of school types and curricula, with school types reflecting the range of academic standing and the socioeconomic status of the students. Male and females were equally represented in the sample, which ranged in age from 16 to 19 years, with a mean age of 17.8. Table 2 gives the demographic characteristics of the sample by school and gender. Table 2.

Demographic Characteristics of the Sample

School Type

Male

Female

Total

Percentage

Polytechnic

144

144

288

38.51

Institute of Technical Education

129

128

257

34.35

92

111

203

27.14

365

383

748

100.00

Junior College Total

FATHER'S ROLE IN THE SCHOOL SUCCESS OF ADOLESCENTS

191

Instruments Parenting Measure The Parenting scale has 40 items, which are completed once for each parent. The items were taken or adapted from existing measures (e.g., Schaefer's Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, 1956; the Child Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) , Rohner, 1984). Several items were also developed for the study. Items were selected or developed to approximate the warmth and control dimension suggested by Baumrind (1976) and Maccoby and Martin (1983). A third scale was developed to measure parent-child communication as previous research (Youniss & Ketterlinus, 1987) suggests that this dimension is particularly important in parent-adolescent relationship. In short, three parenting dimensions are measured (1) parental warmth, (2) parental control, (3) parental communication with adolescents. The Warmth scale was created by summing two measures, affection and support. The affection subscale indexes adolescents' perception of the extent to which they experience their parents as loving, intimate and expressive of affection in words and actions. It includes five items assessing whether their father (or mother) talks to them with a warm and friendly voice, demonstrate love through words and actions, say nice things about them, try to be understanding when they have problems, and understand what their needs and desires are. The parental support subscale comprises ten items assessing the extent to which the adolescents perceive their parents as providing emotional and resource support. The items assess both positive and negative aspects of parental support (reversed coding) in the following situations: showing an interest in the adolescent's everyday activities and school events; spending time doing things with the adolescent; providing advice and help when the adolescent has problems; encouraging the adolescent to do his or her best; being understanding and empathic about the adolescent's needs; showing an interest in their academic performance; and demonstrating care and concern for the adolescent. The Parental Control scales assess parental discipline. The strict control scale comprises six items assessing parental supervision and control versus lax discipline (e.g., "My father/mother has too many rules and restrictions around the house"; "My father/mother does not lay down rules for me to follow"; "My father/mother is always checking on my daily activities (where I go, what I do and whom I am with)"; "My mother does not know who I mix around with or what I do after school"; and "My mother lets me do just about anything I want." Coercive discipline scale measures the extent to which parents use power-assertive control methods to obtain compliance) (e.g., "My father/mother forces me to do what he/she thinks is right even when I disagree with him/her"; "My father/mother uses physical punishment on me when I disagree with him/her."

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The Communication scale measures the emotional tone of parent-adolescent interactions as well as the extent of openness or freedom to exchange ideas and information. Three items measure the extent of selfdisclosure: "I can talk with my father/mother about general things, for example, hobbies, movies, TV, school etc."; "When 1 am happy or unhappy about something, 1 can always share with my father/mother"; and "I am not comfortable to talk to my father/mother about personal things, for example, boy-girl relationship." The emotional tone in parent-child communication is measured by three other items: "My father/mother criticize me more often than 1 deserve," "I often end up arguing and disagreeing with my father/mother when 1 try to talk to him/her," "My father/mother does not get irritated or annoyed when we discuss things."

School Adjustment School Adjustment is measured by a composite scale assessing academic achievement, academic self-concept, and school motivation. Academic achievement was assessed based on self-report of 0 level results for the six best subjects. The aggregate points were categorized according to five categories with 5.0 representing the top category. The academic self-concept scale was derived from five items measuring feelings of competence with regard to schoolwork. They include satisfaction with school performance, ability to keep up with schoolwork; self-perception of own competence and perception of the teacher's evaluation. Five items assess the extent of engagement or disaffection with school (e.g., attitude toward school, involvement in class/school activities, involvement with classmates).

Procedure The instrument was piloted with a sample of 341 subjects, resulting in the removal and modification of items that were redundant or unclear. Data gathered from the pilot study were factor analyzed using Principal Components analysis followed by rotation to a simple structure using Varimax. With the exception of academic achievement in which the scores were converted in the standard 4.0 metric, all the items on parenting and school adjustment scales were scored on a four-point scale. The items were subjected to four rounds of factor analysis. The internal consistency reliabilities were computed using the Cronbach Alpha for each of the selected combinations of scales. The reliability coefficients for the parenting scales ranged from .62 to .88, while the reliability coefficients for the school adjustment scales were approximately.65. Data for the main study were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to several student samples in different schools. Care was taken

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193

to ensure equal numbers of students from the different academic disciplines. The subjects were told all the information would be kept confidential. A total of 1120 forms were collected. Those that had incomplete or missing data were discarded, resulting in a final sample of 748 respondents.

RESULTS

Differences in Parenting Behaviors Fathers and mothers were compared on their parenting behaviors using t-test analysis. The results are presented in Table 3. The results showed that fathers were significantly less warm than mothers in that they were less affectionate and provided less support and guidance to their adolescent children in their everyday lives. There was less open communication in the father-adolescent relationship. On control measures, fathers were significantly less strict in control but also less likely to use induction, than compared to mothers. To examine global parenting styles, the median split method was used to assign parents to one of four parenting styles to approximate Maccoby and Martin's typology (1983), that is, authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and neglectful parenting. Different parenting styles were identified by different combinations of the warmth and control dimensions. Parental warmth was

Table 3.

Fathers' and Mother's Parenting Behaviors (N = 748) Father Mean

Mother SD

Mean

SD

TValue

36.31

(7.74)

39.96

(4.88)

-13.35**

Affection

13.41

(3.13)

15.15

(2.73)

-14.11 **

Support

22.90

(5.11)

24.81

(3.14)

-10.02**

10.74

(2.96)

11.64

(2.78)

-8.14**

Coercive Control

3.52

(1.45)

3.45

(1.22)

1.33

Induction

5.16

(1.65)

5.48

(1.45)

-5.13**

14.81

(3.53)

16.05

(3.39)

-8.22**

Range

6.14

(2.00)

7.43

(2.13)

-13.90**

Affect

8.66

(2.02)

8.61

(1.92)

0.57

Warmth

Strict Control

Communication

Notes: * p < .05, ** P< .0

194 O.A. CHaO AND E. TAN

Table 4.

Parenting Styles of Fathers and Mothers Father

Parenting Style

Mother

%

N

N

%

Authoritative

106

22.9

92

22.1

Authoritarian

134

29.0

126

28.8

Indulgent

116

25.2

137

31.3

Neglectful

106

22.9

83

18.9

Total

462

100.0

438

100.0

based on the affection and support subscales; parental control was computed by taking the mean of scales measuring strict control and coercive control. Authoritative parenting was defined by high scores on warmth and strict control and low scores on negative control. Indulgent parenting was described by high scores on warmth and low scores on strict and coercive control. In contrast, authoritarian parenting was characterized by low scores on warmth and high scores on strict and coercive control, while neglectful parenting was described by low scores on warmth and strict and coercive control. School adjustment is derived by combining the scores for academic achievement, school orientation, and academic self-concept. The median split resulted in approximately 60% of fathers (n = 462) and mothers (n = 438) of the total sample (n = 748) being assigned to one of the four parenting styles (see Table 4). The remaining 40% had no clear-cut designation. The results showed that equal proportions of fathers and mothers used the authoritarian and authoritative approaches. More mothers were perceived as indulgent compared to fathers while more fathers adopted the neglectful style.

Relationship to School Adjustment The relationship between parenting behaviors and adolescent adjustment were investigated in two ways. First, correlations were computed between school adjustment and parenting behaviors, separately for mothers and fathers. Mother- and father-adolescent relationships were studied separately because previous research has shown that relationships with fathers and mothers were differentially associated with adolescent adjustment (Allen, Hauser, Bell, & Connor, 1994). Next, ANOVAs were used to examine the relations between adolescent adjustment and parenting styles. The results are presented in Table 5.

FATHER'S ROLE IN THE SCHOOL SUCCESS OF ADOLESCENTS

Table 5.

195

Correlations between Parenting Behaviors School Adjustment (N = 748)

Measures

Overall School Adjustment

Academic Achievement

Academic selfconcept

School Engagement

Father Warmth

.30**

.15**

.14**

.31**

Mother Warmth

.46**

.14**

.36**

.49**

Father Affection

.29**

.16**

.13**

.31**

Mother Affection

.20**

.10**

.09*

.22**

Father Support

.27**

.14**

.13**

.28**

Mother Support

.53**

.13**

.47**

.42**

Father Strict Control

-.05

-.02

-.03

-.03

Mother Strict Control

.06

.01

.03

.07

Father Coercive Control

.11**

-.03

-.08*

-.11**

Mother Coercive Control

.09*

.04

-.09*

-.10**

Father Induction

.21**

.11**

.12**

.21**

Mother Induction

.10**

.06

.02

.13**

Father Communication

.25**

.11**

.11**

.28**

Mother Communication

.20**

.05

.13**

.21**

Father Range

.19**

.11**

.06

.23**

Mother Range

.19**

.07

.14**

.18**

Father Affect

.22**

.07

.11**

.25**

Mother Affect

.15**

.02

.09*

.17**

Notes: * Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed)

School adjustment was significantly and positively correlated with father wannth, communication and use of induction. Father coercive control was linked to negative self-concept and school disengagement. There were no significant associations for father strict control. Generally, father characteristics were more strongly correlated with school engagement than with academic achievement or academic concept. Academic achievement was more strongly associated with father affection, communication and induction; there were no significant associations for mother communication and induction. However, academic self-concept and school engagement were more strongly associated with mother wannth than father warmth. On parenting styles, "indulgent fathers" was associated with the most positive school acljustment, while "authoritarian fathers" was associated with the poorest school adjustment (see Figure 1).

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O.A. CHaO AND E. TAN

Mean 33--------------------------------------~

32---31 30

29 28 27 26 __...J...-_ Authoritative Authoritarian

o Father

Neglectful

Parenting Styles

I!mI Mother

Figure 1.

Indulgent

Relationship between parenting styles and school adjustment.

Post hoc tests showed no significant differences between indulgent and authoritative fathers, indicating that fathers using these two styles were equally associated with positive school adjustment of the adolescents.

DISCUSSION Parenting Styles Contrary to prevailing notions that Asian fathers are more controlling than mothers (Berndt et al., 1993), fathers in Singapore in fact are perceived by their adolescent children as the less restrictive parent. They are considered to be not more coercive than mothers. This may be explained by the role of fathers as the main breadwinners, which leaves them with less time for and involvement in their children's lives. Hence they are less likely to make demands on their children. This is supported by the finding that a substantial proportion of fathers in the defined sample adopt the neglectful style of parenting. A separate study conducted by the Singapore National Youth Council in 1997 reported that most of the 600 adolescents surveyed viewed their fathers as cold and uninvolved (Ozawa & Loh, 2000). Only 8.8% indicated that they would seek their father's advice when troubled. In contrast, mothers are generally more involved in the day-to-day lives of their children and are likely to be more vigilant in their monitoring of their children's activities. Hence they are perceived as the stricter and more demanding parent who places more restrictions on their adolescents' activities.

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197

The results of the present study show that an equal proportion of mothers and fathers in Singapore use the authoritarian style, reflecting a trend away from the traditional stereotype of mother as the lenient and indulgent parent and father as the strict parent (Ho, 1973). One possible explanation is that as more Singapore mothers join the workforce, they may not be able to meet the expectations of the warm and nurturing parent. It may also reflect Chinese parents' tendency to be very lenient and affectionate toward infants and very young children until they reach "the age of understanding," and to impose strict discipline on the older children (Ho, 1989; Ho & Kang, 1984) who are expected to have more understanding. The findings of the present study suggest that older adolescent children are likely to receive less support and nurturing from both parents, which would have implications for their acljustment and well being.

Relationship to School Adjustment Authoritarianism is found to be associated with the most negative school adjustment outcomes. This finding does not support previous studies (Dornbusch et al., 1987; Steinberg et al., 1992) which found that in Chinese families which are controlling, academic achievement is high. It lends support to Leung et al.'s (1995) conclusion that authoritarianism has deleterious academic outcomes regardless of cultures. The erosion of traditional Asian values such as filial piety and the increased need for independence among Singapore youths is evidenced in the association between authoritarian fathers and school adjustment difficulties. In Singapore, paternal authority is still highly regarded because of the father's role in the family as the authority wielder. Hence a conflictual relationship with fathers is likely to influence academic achievement by generating high levels of emotional distress as well as more oppositional behaviors by adolescents (Yee & Flanagan, 1985) It is not surprising that authoritarian fathers are associated with more deleterious school outcomes when compared to neglectful fathers. In contrast, indulgent fathers are associated with the most positive outcomes, suggesting that high paternal warmth is a salient factor in adolescents' school performance. In light of the father's authority role, adolescents are likely to be more eager to obtain the approval of fathers. When fathers demonstrate their affection, it is likely to have greater impact on the school motivation of their adolescent children, and indirectly their academic achievement. Contrary to previous research (Steinberg et al., 1989) which found that parental supervision is linked to better school performance and promotes school engagement, results of this study did not reveal significant links with father strictness. They contradict those of another Singapore study which found that father's strict monitoring/supervision is positively associated

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O.A. CHaO AND E. TAN

with school achievement (Nelson, 2000). One explanation is in the age difference between the two samples. The subjects in the Nelson study were younger (mean age of 14.5 years), which would make them more responsive to parental supervision, whereas their older peers in the present study are likely to interpret strict parental control as conflicting with their maturity needs and to therefore view it more negatively. It is noteworthy that school success seems to be differentially associated with different interactions of fathers and mothers with their adolescent children. A possible explanation for stronger associations with father communication is implied by findings from a study on sex differences (Hauser et al., 1987) that revealed that fathers use more cognitive enabling speeches, such as problem solving and focusing, when speaking to adolescents, whereas mothers have more emotional content in their conversations. Collins and Russell (1991) have suggested father-child communication is more likely to emphasize achievement, mastery and skill development issues in adolescence. Thus fathers may playa more instrumental role in facilitating cognitive development, and school achievement, whereas the mother's role is more nurturing and tends to promote the motivational aspects of school adjustment. A cultural explanation is provided by Chen, Rubin, and Li (1997) who found that maternal acceptance and rejection did not predict academic adjustment. They postulated that fathers may playa more important role than mothers in the academic performance because in traditional Chinese culture, the belief is that the father, not the mother, is responsible for child training and education. While Singapore mothers are very much more involved in the school activities, there is anecdotal evidence that the father's role is significant in influencing the success of school intervention programs that aim at increasing the children's school engagement and motivation. In sum, the results of the present study indicate that differences between fathers and mothers did not appear to be as marked as most theories imply, and suggest a pattern of parenting that is undergoing changes which challenge the traditional notion of the father as the strict disciplinarian and mother as the more lenient parent. The study confirms the salience of the father's role in school success. As adolescents move to adulthood, fathers need to find ways to be involved with and be supportive of their children, as well as ways to engage open and positive communication and to avoid negative affect in father-child interactions. Schools should also seek to involve fathers in their effort to increase parental involvement in school programs. By focusing on fathers' parenting role rather than simply targeting mothers alone or parents in general, schools may be able to increase the academic achievement and motivation of students.

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199

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The study has contributed to the father parenting influence on adolescent school adjustment literature in several ways: (1) the results provide further evidence for the need to examine specific parenting practices individually rather than just global parenting styles; (2) it demonstrates the importance of certain parenting practices of fathers in the school success of adolescents; (3) the study has demonstrated the relevance of Baumrind's conceptualization of parenting to cross-cultural contexts outside North America. There were a few limitations of this study that should be noted: (1) this research was limited to adolescents from intact families-; and overrepresented by Chinese participants; (2) only quantitative data from adolescents were measured; (3) the nature and impact of parent-child relationships in adolescence has largely been inferred from correlations between childrearing practices and child outcomes, and does not make it possible to ascertain the direction of causality; (4) because of the cross-sectional nature of the data, it is impossible to say with any certainty that fathers' parenting practices have in fact caused or even preceded the outcomes assessed; (5) at least 40%of the adolescents in this study could not be defined by the fourfold parenting typology, indicating that a substantial number of adolescent were not subject to these types of parenting. Future studies should examine how mixed or inconsistent styles of parenting affect adolescents' educational outcomes. The limitations of the study suggest directions for future study. More exploration is needed to ascertain the relations among variables. It could be that competent adolescents elicit indulgence and authoritativeness from their parents, or that less well adjusted youth provoke parental neglect or authoritarian behaviors. We also recognize the importance of examining other variables that may impact adolescent academic performance, for example, fathers' educational levels and employment, peer relationships and school ethos. Our study focused on the role of fathers' parenting behaviors in relation to adolescent school adjustment. Subsequent research efforts should examine the role of other possible important variables. Parenting behaviors can vary as a function of ethnicity and sex of the child. Future studies will need to investigate these issues. There is also a need to explore the mechanisms by which specific practices, for example, open communication, influence the school success of their adolescents. What is the content of father communication vs. mother communication, and how is this linked to the adolescents' school success? Is the salience of fathers' communication linked to the father's educational level? Would fathers and mothers of similar educational levels have similar impact on school achievement? The findings of the present study are inferred from quantitative data. In future research, qualitative data obtained from interviews of both parents and adolescents would be desirable. Finally, it may be necessary to recognize the

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interactions among various variables and their impact on parental child-rearing practices and school adjustment outcomes.

REFERENCES Allen,J.P., Hauser, S.T., Bell, KL., & O'Connor, T.G. (1994). Longitudinal assessment of autonomy and relatedness in adolescent-family interactions as predictors of ego development and self-esteem. Child Development, 65( 1), 179-194. Barber, B.K, Olsen, J., & Shagle, S.C. (1994). Associations between parental psychological and behavioral control and youth internalized and externalized behaviors. Child Development, 65(4), 1120-1136. Barnes, G.M., & Farrell, M. (1992). Parental support and control as predictor of adolescent drinking, delinquency, and related problem behaviors. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54(4), 763-776 Baumrind, D. (1966). Effects of authoritative parental control on child behavior. Child Development, 37(2), 887-907. Baumrind, D. (1976). Authoritarian vs authoritative parental control. In]J. Conger (Ed). Contemporary issues in adolescent development (pp. 136-146). New York: Harper & Row. Berndt, TJ., Cheung, P.C., Lau, S., Hau, K, & Lew, J.F. (1993). Perceptions of parenting in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: Sex differences and societal differences. DevelopmentalPsychology, 29(1), 156-165. Chao, RK (1994). Beyond parental control and authoritarian parenting style: Understanding Chinese parenting through the cultural notion of training. Child Development, 65 (4),111-1119. Chen, X., Rubin, KH., & Li, B. (1997). Maternal acceptance and social and school adjustment in Chinese children: A four-year longitudinal study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 43(4),663-681. Chen, C., & Utal, D.H. (1988). Cultural values, parents' beliefs, and children's achievement in the United States and China. Human Development, 31, 351-358. Collins, W., & Russell, G. (1991). Mother-child and father-child relationships in middle childhood and adolescence: A developmental analysis. Developmental Review, 11, 99-1356 Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting styles as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487-496. DeBaryshe, B.D., Patterson, G.R, & Capaldi, D.M. (1993). A performance model for academic achievement in early adolescent boys. Developmental Psychology, 29(5),795-804. Dornbusch, S.M., Ritter, P.L., Leiderman, P.H., Roberts, D.F., & Fraleigh, MJ. (1987). The relation of parenting style to adolescent school performance. Child Development, 58(6),1244-1257. Dubow, E.F., & Tisak, J. (1989). The relation between stressful life events and adjustment in elementary school children: The role of social support and social problem-solving skills. ChildDeveiopment, 60, 1412-1423. Elder, G.H.]r., & Caspi, A.. (1988). Economic stress in our lives: Developmental perspectives. Journal of Social Issues, 44, 25-45.

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Ellis, GJ., Thomas, D.L., & Rollins, B.C. (1976). Measuring parental support: The inter-relationship of three measures. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38(4), 713-722. Fehrmann, P.G., Keith,T.Z., & Reimers, T.M. (1987). Home influence on school learning: Direct and indirect effects of parent involvement on high school grades. Journal ofEducational Research, 80, 103-113. Feldman, S.S., & Wentzel, K.R (1990). The relationship between family interaction patterns, classroom self-restraint, and academic achievement. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 82,813-819. Forehand, R, Long, N., Brody, G., & Fauber, R (1986). Home predictors of young adolescents' adjustment at school. Child Development, 57,1528-1533. Forehand, R, & Nousiainen, S. (1993). Maternal and paternal parenting: Critical dimensions in adolescent functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 7(2), 213221. Fulgini, AJ., & Eccles, J.S. (1993). Perceived parent-child relationships and early adolescents' orientation toward peers. Developmental Psychology, 29 (4), 622632. Grolnick, W.S., & Ryan, RM. (1989). Parent styles associated with children's selfregulation and competence in school. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 81, 143154. Grolnick, W.S., Ryan, RM., & Deci. E.I., (1991). The inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children's perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 508-517. Grolnick, W.S., & Slowiaczek, M.L. (1994). Parents' involvement in children's schooling: A multidimensional conceptualization and motivational model. Child Development, 65, 237-252. Hauser, S.T., Powers, S.I., Noam, G.G.,Jacobson, A.M., Weis, B., & Follansbee, DJ. (1984). Family contexts of adolescent ego development. Child Development, 55(1) 195-213. Ho, D.Y.F. (1973). Changing interpersonal relations in Chinese families. In H.E. White (Ed.), An anthology of seminar papers: The changing family, east and west (pp. 103-118). Hong Kong: Baptist College. Ho, D.Y. F. (1981). Traditional patterns of socialisation in Chinese society. Acta Psychologica Taiwanica, 23,81-95. Ho, D.Y. F. (1989). Continuity and variation in Chinese patterns of socialization. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 149-163. Ho, D.Y. F., & Kang, T.K. (1984). Intergenerational comparisons of child-rearing attitudes and practices in Hong Kong. Developmental Psychology, 20[, 1004-1016. Johnson, B.M., Shulman, S., & Collins, W.A (1991). Systemic patterns of parenting as reported by adolescents: Developmental differences and implications for psychosocial outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Research, 6, 235-252. Kelley, M.L., & Tseng, H.M. (1992). Cultural differences in child rearing. A comparison of immigrant Chinese and Caucasian American mothers. Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 23, 444-455. Lamb, M.E. (1975). Fathers: Forgotten contributors to child development. Human Development, 18,245-266. Lamb, M.E. (1997). The role of the father in child development (3rd ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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Lamborn, S.D., Mounts, N.S., Steinberg, L., & Dornbusch, M. (1991). Patterns of competence and adjustment among adolescents from authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and neglectful families. Child Development, 62(4), 1049-1065. Lau, S., & Cheung, P.C. (1987). Relations between Chinese adolescents' perception of parental control and organization and their perception of parental warmth. DevelopmentalPsychology, 23,726-729. Leung, K, Lau, S., & Lam, W.L. (1998). Parenting styles and academic achievement: A cross-cultural study. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 44(1), 157-172. Lin, C.YC., & Fu, V.R (1990). A comparison of child-rearing practices among Chinese, immigrant Chinese, and Caucasian-American parents. Child Development, 61(2),429-677. Linver, M.R, & Silverberg, S.B. (1997). Maternal predictors of early adolescent achievement-related outcomes: Adolescent gender as moderator. Journal of Early Adolescence, 17, 294-318. Litovsky, Y.C., & Dusek,J.B. (1985) .. Perceptions of child rearing and self-concept development during the early adolescent years. Journal of Youth and Adolescence,14(5),373-387. Maccoby, E.E., & Martin,JA. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In E.M. Hetherington (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 1-102). New York: Wiley & Sons. Marsiglio, W. (1993). Paternal engagement activities with minor children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53(4), 973-986. McLloyd, V.C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children psychological distress, parenting and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61(2),311-346. Nelson, L. (2000). Adolescents' perceptions of parenting styles. Unpublished Master of Arts Thesis, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Ozawa, J.P., & Loh, D. (2000). Wait till your father comes home! Ministry ofCommunity Digest (Singapore). Parke, RD. (1995). Fathers and families. In M.H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting (Vol. 3). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Phares, Y., & Com pas, B.E. (1992). The role offathers in child and adolescent psychopathology: Make room for daddy. Psychological Bulletin, 111 (3), 387-412. Peterson,C.W., Rollins, B.C., & Thomas, D.L. (1985). Parental influence and adolescent conformity: Compliance and internalization. Youth and Society, 16(3), 397-420. Quah, S. (1999). A study on the Singapore family (A publication by the Ministry of Community, Singapore). Ramdey, S. (1996,June 11 and 12). Fathers through the eyes of children, mothers, observers, and themselves. Presentation at the Conference on Developmental, Ethnographic, and Demographic Perspectives on Fatherhood, the National Institutes of Health, MD. Reynolds, AJ. (1989). A structural model of first-grade outcomes for an urban, low socioeconomic status, minority population. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 81, 594-603. Rohner, RP. (1984). Handbook for the study of parental acceptance and rejection (rev. ed.). Storrs: Center for the Study of Parental Acceptance and Rejection, University of Connecticut.

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Rollins, B.C., & Thomas, D.L. (1979). Parental support, power, and control techniques in the socialization of children. In W.R Burr, RHill, F.I. Nye, & I.L. Reiss (Eds.), Contemporary theories about the family: Research-based theories (Vol. 1, pp. 317-364). New York: Free Press. Schaefer, E.S. (1959). A configurational analysis of children's report of parents' behaviour. Journal of Consulting Psychiatry, 20, 552-557. Shek, D.T.L. (1998). Adolescents' perceptions of parental and maternal parenting styles in a Chinese context. TheJournalofPsychology, 132(5),527-537. Steinberg, L., Dornbusch, S., & Brown, B.(1992). Ethnic differences in adolescent achievement: An ecological perspective. American Psychologist, 47,723-729. Steinberg, L., Elmen, j., & Mounts, N. (1989). Authoritative parenting, psychosocial maturity, and academic success among adolescents. Child Development, 60(6),1424-1436. Steinberg, L., Mounts, N.S., Lamborn, S.D., & Dornbusch, S. (1991). Authoritative parenting and adolescent adjustment across varied ecological niches. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1 (1), 19-36. Sue, S., & Okazaki, S. (1990). Asian American educational achievements: A phenomenon in search of an explanation. American Psychologist, 45, 913-920. Thompson, RA (1986). Fathers and the child's best interests: Judicial decision making in custody dispute. In M.E. Lamb (Ed.), The father's role: Applied perspectives (ch. 3). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Walker, L.S., & Greene, j.W. (1986). The social context of adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15(4),315-321. Wentzel, K.R, Feldman, S.S., & Weinberger, D.A (1991). Parental child rearing and academic achievement in boys: The mediational role of social-emotional adjustment. Journal ofEarly Adolescence, 11, 321-339. Vee, D.K., & Flanagan, C. (1985). Family environments and self-consciousness in early adolescence, Journal ofEarly Adolescence, 5( 1), 59-68. Youniss, j., & Ketterlinus, RD. (1987). Communication and connectedness on mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationship. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16, 265-280.

CHAPTER 10

CORRELATES OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: A SOCIOCULTURAL STUDY Maher M. Abu-Hilal

INTRODUCTION

The duties of the faculty members at the United Arab Emirates University revolves around three cores: Teaching, research and community service. As a member in the faculty of education, I was asked to conduct some workshops and give talks on assessment as part my community service. My audiences were teachers, principals and supervisors. In these workshops and talks during the past thirteen years, I have learned a lot from my audiences. Every time I proposed a method of assessment, my audiences raised the issue of motivation. Teachers as well as principals complained that students, mainly boys and specifically national boys, lack interest and motivation to learn and take exams. I asked my audiences why they thought their students don't achieve as they should. Their responses pointed to the family, particularly motivation and intellectual abilities. Rarely, however, did teachers or principals mention school or teachers as reasons for students' academic weaknesses. Learning and achievement then became part of my major research interests. I started to visit schools and talk to teachers and some students while I made informal observations of teaching and learning processes. I observed interactions between teachers and students and students with stu205

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M.A. ABU-HILAL

dents. I also observed the facilities and settings. I was told and then found that the students, in general and national boys in particular, are weak in mathematics and Arabic. The gender issue was a research interest of mine before I came to the u.A.E. The study that I report in this chapter was designed to investigate the variables that were mentioned by teachers, principals, and supervisors. Over the past 13 years, I studied students' achievements and measured several variables that may be related to achievement in a pursuit to understand achievement behavior. The samples that I have used ranged from underachievers to gifted students. This chapter is based on observations and interactions with teachers and students as well as empirical data collected from a randomly stratified sample from the schools of the Al-Ain district.

RESEARCH ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Efforts to understand academic achievement are not new. A worldwide educational research community has devoted considerable effort to understanding academic achievement. Those efforts have provided considerable support for the view that academic outcomes are complexly determined. This rather complex determination can be conceptualized in terms of factors from three nested contexts that are known to affect children's academic performance, factors that have been examined in comparison to academic performance: (1) the psychological or individual; (2) the family; and (3) the school. Each of these factors will be addressed in turn, starting with the psychological or individual. The individual context refers to individual child-based variables and was presented in the present study by six variables: intelligence, anxiety and attitude toward mathematics, self-concept (verbal, math, and parents), motivation and effort exerted in studying; a brief review of the studies that reported correlations between achievement and each of these variables will now be discussed. It should be noted, however, that some of the studies treated achievement and the related variables as part of more comprehensive models, although I reported their results in a bivariate manner.

The Individual Context

InteUigence Most previous research, mainly in the West, indicated that intelligence is one of the important predictor variables of academic performance. It has been well documented that intelligence and academic achievement are moderately related with correlations ranging between .30 and .70 (see Jensen, 1980; Keith, Reiners, Fehrnam, Pottebaums, & Aubey, 1986; Kraft, 1991; Lavin, 1965; Tyler, 1965). Consistently with western researchers, Arab

CORRELATES OF ACHIEVEMENT IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

207

researchers found moderate correlations between intelligence and achievement with Arab samples (e.g., Abdel-Rahim, 1991; Naoom & Kanani, 1981; Tawab, 1990). Motivational and Personality Variables The other individual child-based variables can be classified into two closely related categories: the motivational variables and the personality variables. From the first category I used achievement motivation, anxiety and attitude toward mathematics and effort, and in the second category I used self-concept in three areas: math, verbal and parents. These variables have been used repeatedly in studies that attempted to predict achievement, particularly in mathematics. Achievement Motivation Research on the relationship between motivation and academic performance revealed that the two variables are positively correlated (e.g., AlOmran, 1995; Eccles, Adler, & Meece, 1984; Fortier, Vallerand, & Guy, 1995; Tawab, 1990). Abou-Allam (1994) found that academic motivation was a more important predictor variable of achievement than study styles or academic attitudes. Some studies have even shown that academic motivation predicts academic achievement over and above the effects of ability (e.g., Lloyd & Varemblatt, 1984). Some studies in the Arab world, however, have shown that the two variables are weakly related (e.g., Abdel-Rahim & Al-Khelaifi, 1992; Abu-Hilal & Dahri, 1991). It is interesting to explore if the relationship between motivation and achievement is contingent upon gender and culture.

Anxiety Toward Mathematics Anxiety is closely related to motivation when moderate anxiety is expressed. As such, anxiety should be correlated positively with achievement before a threshold point, then the relation becomes negative. As a domain specific, math anxiety, however, is known to be negatively related to achievement. Some studies have found significantly negative correlation between the two variables (Abu-Hilal, 1992, 2000; Bandalos, Yates, & Thorndike-Christ, 1995; Hadfield, Martin, & Wooden, 1992) while some others have found that correlation between the two variables is not significant (e.g., Meece, Wigfield, & Eccles, 1990; Skaalvik & Rankin, 1995). It is also interesting to investigate if gender or cultural group affects the relationship between the two variables. Mathematics Attitude Similar to the relation between anxiety and achievement, the relation between mathematics attitude and achievement is not conclusive. Schofield (1982) computed 140 correlation coefficients between attitude to, and achievement in, mathematics for samples of boys and girls in

208

M.A. ABU-HILAL

grades 3 through 6. Of those coefficients, 64 were found significant and 76 were found not significant. Some researchers have shown that the two variables are significantly correlated (e.g., Ethington, 1991; Marsh, 1989; Marsh & Yeung, 1998). Other researchers, however, have reported weak correlation between the two constructs (Abu-Hilal & Atkinson, 1990; AbuHilal, 1992,2000; Cheung, 1988).

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Mexico Mexico

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Mexico

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Gannent (piece work) Parking attendant

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Mexico Mexico Mexico

21 21

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Mexico Mexico

14

Garment (piece work)

3

Female

2nd (7)

Nuclear Mother Father

Mexico Mexico

18 20

Garment (piece work) Garment (piece work)

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El Salvador El Salvador

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244

R. RUEDA, L. MACGILLIVRAY, L. MONZ6, AND A. ARZUBIAGA

Data Sources Data on 21 children was collected during a three-year period through a variety of sources described below. Because of the mobility of this population, the measures below focused on 18 students and their families for whom data was complete.

Ethnographic Fieldnotes In order to look at the instructional contexts for the students in the study, observations were made in the classrooms and in an after-school program where many of the students spend time. Field notes were recorded throughout the first and parts of the second year of the study, focusing on language arts and reading. Observers (trained doctoral students) visited classrooms as often as 2-3 times a week (but more often once/week) during the months that school was in session and when no unusual activities were taking place (eg, school rally). Observations lasted an average of 30 min, and focused on instructional practices and activities surrounding literacy and reading. Research assistants took careful notes during observations and expanded upon them later. Initial analysis of the field notes focused on following a schema described in Turner (1995) that characterized classroom activities on a dimension she referred to as open/closed. Turner (1995) described open tasks as those in which students themselves could select relevant information and/or could decide how to use the information to solve a problem. Open tasks allowed children to frame the problem and design a solution such as students selecting their own books for free reading. Closed tasks were those in which either the task or the teacher indicated the information to be used as well as the expected solution (one right answer is expected). That is, students were directed to use specific information to come to a predetermined conclusion, offering students limited opportunities to make decisions, since tasks, operations, and outcomes were determined in advance. Automatic application of practiced skills was the goal of the activity, including things like practice activities and worksheet type exercises. We found several instances in the data where activities shared aspects of both codes. We therefore categorized these as "mixed." Home visits with ten families were also conducted. Most families were visited between five and ten times. Home visits averaged approximately three hours and included participant observation in family daily activities, including having dinner, doing homework, going shopping. Fieldnotes for home visits were written immediately after leaving the site. Interviews and Focus Groups Two focus groups with each student's classroom teacher, two focus groups with parents, and individual interviews with two teachers and the school principal also inform this paper. Interviews were semi-structured

ENGAGED READING

245

and covered factors that seemed to impact students' motivation to read and reading achievement, parental values for school, and home and school literacy activities. All were audio-recorded and transcribed. Reading Motivation Measures

Motivation assessments were administered to both the teachers and the students. The children's teachers completed the Teachers' Perceptions of Student Reading Motivation Questionnaire (Sweet, Guthrie, & Ng, 1998). The instrument consists of 31 items, which are rated on a 4-point scale. Some items were omitted from analysis in this study based on pilot testing and the aims of the study. (The items excluded were 2, 11, 13, 17, 20, 24, and 25.) The remaining 24 items on the questionnaire were grouped into six composite scores representing six separate constructs. The constructs were Activity, Autonomy, Socia~ Topic, Individu~ and Writing. The Activity composite consisted of the following items: Enjoys reading about a favorite activity, follows up reading by getting involved in a related activity, does better on reading and writing when they are related to activities he/she has participated in, and reads frequently about a specialized recreational or extracurricular activity. The Autonomy composite consisted of the following items: Is content to read books that are preselected by the teacher, prefers finding his/her own books to read, knows how to choose a book he/she would want to read, and does better work when allowed to choose books that interest him/her. The Social composite included the following items: Talks about his/her feelings related to a book or story, avoids participating in reading group activities, discussion with teachers and peers is complexincluding motivations, plot, and personal response, and does better in reading and writing activities when working with peers. The Topic composite includes the following items: Has definite preferences for favorite topics or authors, has no specialized reading interest, spends a long time reading about topics he/she likes, and chooses to read about favorite topics. The Individual composite includes the following items: Is easily distracted while reading, is a voracious reader, "hides" in books, is easily discouraged when he/she encounters difficult text, and is enthusiastic about reading. Finally, the Writing composite includes the following items: Writes personal responses in journal regularly and often, wants to write about what he/she reads, and writes incompletely or superficially in journal. Students were administered the Student Motivation to Read Profile (Gambrell, Palmer, Codling, & Mazzoni, 1996) which measures children's selfconcept as readers and their value for reading. The questionnaire consists of 20 items and uses a 4-point response scale. The survey assesses two specific dimensions of reading motivation: self-concept as a reader (10 items) and value of reading (10 items). The items that focus on self-concept as a reader obtains information about students' self-perceived competence in reading and self-perceived performance relative to peers. The value of

246

R. RUEDA, L. MACGILLIVRAY, L. MONZ6, AND A. ARZUBIAGA

reading items obtains information about the value student's place on reading tasks and activities. EFI (Ecocultural Family Interview) The EFI was used to unpackage family's daily routines with an ecocul-

tural lens. It encourages parents to talk about the dynamic balance between resources and constraints by blending multiple research traditions in a guided conversation and questionnaire format using both openended and direct, structured questions. The EFI interview comprises ten ecocultural domains defined theoretically (Weisner, 1984), operationalized for Euro-American families (Nihira, Weisner, & Bernheimer, 1994), and adapted for Latino Immigrants (EFI-LI) through extensive interviews with a random sample of 120 families (Arzubiaga et al., 2000; Coots & Arzubiaga, 1997; Weisner, Coots, Bernheimer, & Arzubiaga, 1997). Additional items were included based on both current literature and on our ethnographic data with this sample and included literacy and school related practices. The ecocultural factors considered were Immigration, Culture and Language, Instrumental Knowledge, Nurturance, and Workload. The Immigration factor contained items which addressed the effect of immigration on subsistence base, effect of maintaining a home in country of origin, acculturation of couple, effect of bringing up children in another country, as well as, family's views and goals for integration to another country. A high score on immigration indicates family is making changes to adapt to the host country and may hold positive views regarding their adaptations to the host country. The Culture and Language factor consisted of items addressing family's promotion of culture and language, specifically, family's encouragement of Spanish and English language and culture, religious literacy activities, use of media, and esteem of bilingualism. A high score indicates the family reports active pursuit of Spanish and English literacy and cultural activities. The Instrumental Knowledge factor included the family's access and knowledge about school, use of social services, and political involvement. A high score indicates the family has access and/or knowledge about institutions including schools. The Nurturance factor was defined by activities and time shared by family members, family's endeavors to provide an emotionally affective environment including the instillation of religious values, encouragement about school and an academic future. A high score indicates the family spends time together and views encouragement, and affective emotional support as important. The Workload factor was defined by the degree of complexity involved in childcare and domestic workload as well as the number of young children. A high score indicates a family has a complex and heavy domestic and childcare workload. It was hypothesized that ecocultural factors would relate to a child's motivation to read and reading achievement.

ENGAGED READING

247

Achievement Measures In addition, teachers were asked to assess individual children's reading on a five-point scale and their achievement on a three-point scale. In the following results section, we first examine organizational features in both the classroom and in an after school program and relate these to features of student engagement. Next, we analyze families' ecocultural features as they relate to children's reading engagement and present two case studies. The case studies serve to illustrate how reading motivation is embedded in daily practices and how cognitive accounts of reading motivation may miss the complexity of factors that are integral aspects of students' reading.

RESULTS The Role of the Instructional Social Context in Engagement In examining motivation and engagement in classroom contexts, we were particularly interested in the types of activities that children were asked to engage in and how these activities contributed to children's engagement. As discussed earlier motivation has been found by others to be particularly influenced by the task. Using Turner's (1995) coding scheme described earlier, we were able to identify 223 instances in our notes where activity settings were adequately described such that they could be coded. The results of the analysis are found in Figure 1. The figure indicates that children had access to more closed than open activity settings.

IfIiI Open Closed

Classroom (n=182)

After-School Program (n=37)

Setting Figure 1.

Percentage of activities by type (open, mixed, and closed) in two settings (classroom and after-school program).

248

R. RUEDA, L. MACGILLIVRAY, L. MONZ6, AND A. ARZUBIAGA

Although we initially had hypothesized that the after-school program would afford relatively more open than closed activities because it was not a formal learning setting, we found this was not the case. The program was structured in such a way that children worked on homework first, followed by various types of structured activities, followed by free play time. In Turner's (1995) original analysis, she compared whole language and basal reader instructional settings. She found that the whole language setting had a smaller percentage of closed activities (27%) than the basal reader setting (77%). The classrooms we observed were somewhere in the middle at 43% closed activities. The Mter School Program was more similar to the basal reader context studied by Turner (73% closed activities). As a next step, we reviewed notes to examine the issue of engagement. Level of engagement was coded as "engaged," "somewhat engaged," and "not engaged" for all instances categorized as open/closed. In coding for engagement, we looked for evidence of criteria specified by Turner (1995). Specifically, these included use of learning strategies, use of reading strategies, persistence, or volitional control. We hypothesized that engagement would be relatively higher in open rather than in closed activities. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the breakdown by setting. While levels of engagement were somewhat higher in open activities rather than in closed activities in the regular classroom, the difference was not great. Moreover, this pattern did not hold in the Mter School Program, where engagement was somewhat higher in the closed settings. With only a couple of exceptions, most of the teachers in whose rooms we observed were on emergency credentials. (In the state of California, the shortage of teachers, especially in some communities, has led to provisions

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Mixed (n=30)

Closed (n=102)

Type of Setting

Level of student engagement by type of activity (open, closed, mixed) in the classroom setting.

ENGAGED READING

249

100

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Level of engagement by type of activity in an after-school program.

for teachers to work without being fully credentialed, while they pursue further training). Overall, our observations suggested that although the teachers were hard working and committed, there were few activities that had any elements of authenticity. Much of the classroom work was characterized by drill and practice activities, worksheets, and teacher-directed work. As many authors have noted, such instruction often characterizes the education of students from low SES and non-English speaking backgrounds (Thompson et al., 1996). Children's engagement under these types of instructional conditions have important theoretical and practical implications, which will be explored later in the discussion section. We further explore the issue of reading motivation and its relationship to sociocultural factors in the following section. This section provides an analysis of the relationship of ecocultural factors, reading motivation, and achievement.

The Relation of Ecocultural Factors, Reading Motivation, and Achievement The ecocultural approach provided the framework to explore the relationship between ecocultural features of parents and children out of school lives, motivation to read, and reading achievement. As described earlier, interviews were conducted to assess the relationship between reading motivation and ecocultural family resources and constraints, values, and goals as well as family efforts to deal with daily routines and circumstances. The Means for the ecocultural factors (with standard deviations in parentheses) were as follows: immigration, 14.7 (4.34), nurturance, 25.89

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(5.37), instrumenta~ 16.17 (5.97), culture and language, 28.61 (6.73), and workload, 9.17 (3.87). As previously mentioned, children's reading motivation was assessed on the Gambrell et al. (1996) Reading Survey. The self-concept subscale scores were slightly lower than the value for reading subscales (M = 29, SD = 5.95, and M = 33.6, SD = 4.39 respectively, on a scale of lO-40). In addition, childrens' teachers responded to a questionnaire based on the Sweet et al. (1998) motivation to read assessment. The mean of the writing subscale score was slightly lower than the individual subscale score (M = 2.39, SD = .66, and M = 2.79, SD = .68 respectively, on a scale of 1-4). Achievement was assessed by collecting student grades in reading (on a 1 to 5, i.e., A to E, scale) and also by the teachers estimate of the child's achievement in reading (on a 1-3 scale). The Means (with standard deviations in parentheses) for these measures were 2.1 (.76) and 3.78 (1.31) respectively. Our study indicated that ecocultural factors related to children's perceptions of themselves as readers and how much they value reading (see Table 2). Culture and language was moderately related to children's self-concept as readers r= .5154, p < .05. The better the children thought of themselves as readers the more likely that their family reported active pursuit of Spanish and English literacy and cultural activities. Nurturance was moderately related to children's value of reading r= .5218, p < .05. Children who valued reading were more likely members of families who spent time together and viewed encouragement, and affective emotional support as important. Workload also related to value for reading, however, the relationship was inverse r = -.4769, P < .05. The higher the family workload the lower the value for reading. In addition, ecocultural factors related to teachers' perceptions of children's motivation to read (see Table 2). Ecocultural factor Immigration was related to a teacher's view of a child as writer r = .4839, P < .05. The higher the teacher's view of a child as writer the more likely that the family made changes to adapt and had a positive view about the changes and adaptations the family was making to live in the host country. Instrumental Knowledge related to the teacher's perception of a child as an individual reader r = .5886, P< .01. The more the teacher-viewed child as an individual reader the more likely the family has access and/or knowledge about institutions including schools. Also, Culture and Language related to the teacher's perception of a child as an individual reader r = .5216, P < .05. The higher the teacher's view of a child as an individual reader the more likely the family reported active pursuit of Spanish and English literacy and cultural activities. Ecocultural factors also related to children's reading achievement (see Table 2). Immigration was related to the teacher's perception of child reading achievement r= .5657, p < .01, and reading grade r= .5349, p < .05. The higher the reading achievement, and the reading grade the more likely that the family made changes to adapt and had a positive view about the

Table 2.

Ecocultural Factors and Measures of Achievement and Motivation

Children s Perceptions of their Motivation to Read Ecocultural Factors

Teacher Perceptions of Children s Motivation to Read

Children s Reading Achievement

Self Concept

Writing

Achievement level

Grade

Individual

Value reading

Immigration

.09

.48*

.57**

.53*

.16

.09

Nurturance

.36

.16

.32

.28

.09

.52*

Instrumental Knowledge

.22

.26

.54*

.68***

.59**

.02

Culture and language

.52*

.43

.57*

.67**

.52*

.32

.04

-.48*

Workload

-.07

-.09

-.13

-.07

Notes: *p < .05, **p < .01, **p < .005

m

Z

Gl

l>

Gl m

o

;;IJ

m

l>

o Z

Gl N I.J1

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R. RUEDA, L. MACGILLIVRAY, L. MONZ6, AND A. ARZUBIAGA

changes and adaptations the family was making to live in the host country. Instrumental Knowledge moderately related to the teacher's perception of child reading achievement r = .54, P < .05, and strongly related to reading grade r = .6823, P < .005. The higher the reading achievement, and the reading grade, the more likely the family has access and/or knowledge about institutions including schools. Finally, Culture and Language related to child reading achievement r= .5736 p < .05, and reading grade r= .6708, p < .01.The higher the reading achievement, and the reading grade, the more likely the family reported active pursuit of Spanish and English literacy and cultural activities. In summary, ecocultural factors related to children's perceptions of themselves as readers and their value of reading, related to teacher perceptions of children's motivation to read, and related to children's reading achievement.

The Interplay of the Planes of Development: A Contrast of Two Cases While virtually all of the students in our sample meet the criteria for "atrisk" status by almost any measure, we nevertheless have begun to see differences among them in ways that illustrate the complex interaction of the planes of development as they impact school success and engagement in particular. We present two cases here to illustrate these issues. The Case of Guadalupe Guadalupe is the 8-year-old daughter of Mexican immigrants who arrived in the United States approximately 20 years ago. Mother, father, and their two children live in a tiny one bedroom apartment where they have lived since their arrival. Both mother and father work in the garment industry earning minimum wage. The parents are permanent residents and are in the process of applying for citizenship. Guadalupe's primary language is Spanish since neither parent speaks English. The family faces many of the obstacles typically associated with low academic achievement, such as poverty and inner city residence. Although both parents are functionally literate, they each had less than six years of formal schooling in Mexico. Nevertheless, their children have been academically successful. Guadalupe's brother, now nineteen years old, attends a four-year state university and Guadalupe may be following in her brother's footsteps. Observations, conversations, teacher comments, and results from the motivational survey indicate that Guadalupe is doing well academically and is an avid and confident reader. She demonstrates an achievement orientation toward schooling and literacy, often choosing to read on her own time during recess in school as well as in the home.

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Numerous factors may be at play regarding the children's success. Despite her parents limited schooling, Guadalupe has grown up hearing about models of school achievement in the family. Aside from her brother, a number of uncles and aunts all finished school in Mexico and one uncle in Mexico has recently completed the equivalent to a bachelor's degree. In addition, Guadalupe has important models of reading engagement in the home. Her mother often reads in an attempt to learn English. Guadalupe also has a large number of books (almost 100) in the home, many of which have been given away at school or been given to her by her teachers. Sometimes they have used the public library to check out books. Furthermore, Guadalupe's mother has made an important connection with one teacher who provides instrumental knowledge about school. The family projects Guadalupe will attend college and since her brother is in college they have a much clearer understanding of the educational system. Indeed the entire family, including Guadalupe, has been to the university campus. While there is every indication that Guadalupe is academically successful relative to her peers in this community, there are still sociopolitical and economic factors that are likely to have a significant impact on her schooling experience. The most significant of these factors that is likely to impact learning directly, as well as motivation and engagement, is the passing of proposition 227. During the second year of data collection for this project, Guadalupe was placed in an English-only classroom. She complained often that the teacher did not speak any Spanish and observations revealed that she was often silent in the classroom and did not participate like other students. In addition it was found that Guadalupe lacked some of the knowledge that teachers often take for granted because it is so common among white middle-class families. For example, Guadalupe has never had an opportunity to visit museums, plays, or even a movie theater. Factors contributing to this are a poor transportation system, lack of English proficiency, lack of instrumental knowledge, and economic constraints. For instance, her ability to use the public library as a resource to check out books for reading has been curtailed by late fees for books that the family cannot afford to pay. Arguably, families can avoid late fees by simply returning books on time, however, there are, relevant factors that include, long working hours, restricted leisure time, a dangerous neighborhood, and unreliable public transportation. This student is relatively advantaged by an intact family, parents, involved in school activities, and a relatively adequate supply of literacy materials, however, community and institutional factors are likely to interact with her individual abilities in complex ways to determine her eventual academic outcome.

The Case ofRicardo Ricardo, a 9-year-old boy, lives with his mother, father, and younger sister. They occupy two-rooms with access to kitchen, dining room, and bathroom shared with other tenants. The parents are immigrants of Mexico,

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but both children were born in the United States. Ricardo's father is a permanent resident who works with a demolition company. He did not have an opportunity to attend school and does not read or write. Ricardo's mother is an undocumented worker in the garment industry, which is an unstable situation because of economic conditions in the larger economy. She attended three years of formal schooling in Mexico, where Spanish was the language spoken in the home. Neither parent spoke English but Ricardo had been placed in English-only classes for at least second and third grade. There are some important differences between this family and Guadalupe's family that seem to impact Ricardo's schooling experience in less favorable ways. For one thing, the family has considerably less instrumental knowledge about the educational system in the United States. For example, interviews revealed that Ricardo's mother did not have a clear idea of the three-tier system of schooling (elementary,junior high/middle school, and high school, that is different than in Mexico. Nor did she know that completion of high school meant twelve years of schooling. Furthermore, Ricardo and his sister did not seem to have any models in the family of academic achievement or of reading engagement. The family lacked an important connection with anyone at the school that could provide them with needed support regarding their children's education. Not surprisingly, Ricardo's mother did not have a clear understanding of the types of programs that her son had been placed in and erroneously believed that the purpose of the research study was to teach the children how to read. At home, Ricardo had only a few books and the family had never been to the public library to check out books. When one of the research assistants took them to the central city public library, the mother avoided checking out books because of the bureaucratic need for identification and the mother's fear regarding her undocumented status. This family had also commented that late fees would be a significant obstacle as well. Like many other children in this community, school records and teacher comments indicate that Ricardo is not progressing as expected, particularly in reading. He was referred to a special education pullout program (RSP) in the middle of third grade during the second year of the study. At the end of the academic year, the family was informed that he would continue in RSP and that he would be repeating third grade. The reading motivation survey administered by the research team suggests that although he understands that learning to read is valuable, he believes that he does not read very well. Not surprisingly, the family comments that he never wants to read at home and that he looks ill at ease when asked to read.

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Summary In sum, the analysis of classroom and after school activities suggested a complex relationship between features of the social context and student engagement. It was expected that the after school program would have more open activities than the classroom, and that students would be relatively more engaged in such open activities than in the closed activities. Neither hypothesis was confirmed. The after school program had a higher percentage of closed activities than the classroom settings, and student engagement did not vary greatly under closed vs. open activities. The analysis of the motivation measures and the ecocultural factors showed interesting relationships among these variables. Ecocultural factors related to children's perceptions of themselves as readers and their value of reading, related to teacher perceptions of children's motivation to read, and related to children's reading achievement. Of particular interest was the dimension of instrumental knowledge, a factor that may be critically important for this population.

DISCUSSION Analysis of Classroom and After School Settings The finding regarding similarities in the classroom and after school program may be due in part to the structure of the after school program, since students had a built-in incentive (free play time) to finish their homework quickly. Nevertheless, while these results were somewhat surprising and contrary to the relevant literature, they confirmed some of the research team's observations regarding students' behavior in the classroom. Specifically, we sometimes would note students' relatively high levels of engagement on activities that we as educators considered to be low level, repetitive, or inauthentic. We viewed these findings as indicative of two points. First, this points to the interplay of a variety of factors that determine instructional contexts. For example, the teachers in our study were well cognizant of the exceedingly high emphasis at various levels on students' standardized test scores. Many teachers internalized this as a need to provide practice to students on discrete skills that might be tested. We often witnessed practice sessions that focused exclusively on test-taking skills independent of any other academic content. In addition to this, the issue of reading instruction was a very salient topic throughout the state (California) at the time of the study. A very strong emphasis on basic skills instruction and explicit phonics was also a prominent factor that formed a part of the educational milieu. The state's constructivist-oriented Language Arts Framework had been replaced by a "balanced" instruction framework. However, to many it appeared to heavily

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emphasize basic skills and direct instruction. Our interviews and observations suggested that these larger sociopolitical forces interacted with such factors as teacher beliefs and views about effective instruction and academic success ultimately resulting in fewer opportunities for authentic or open activities. Second, while much of the literature on engagement has seemed to assume a close connection between engagement and challenging, meaningful, and "authentic" activities, the data just described suggest that this may not always be the case. Specifically, just because students are engaged it does not necessarily follow that they are engaged in instructionally challenging activities of the kind that might result in future academic success. This suggests the need to independently assess the dimensions of engagement and task quality when examining classroom behavior. It also suggests the need to connect engagement to high level challenging activities explicitly, something that has not always been the case in past literature.

Ecocultural Factors The relationships between ecocultural factors, motivation measures, and achievement suggest that children's individual characteristics cannot be considered in isolation but rather as a part of a family which in turn is operating despite and from within the resources and constraints of its environment. In the same vein, reading motivation may need to be framed from a broader perspective, which includes the interplay of families' values, beliefs, schemata resources and constraints, since these are at the core of children's daily practices. Of particular interest in our data was the role of instrumental knowledge of the families. This factor was incorporated into the ecocultural interview protocol as a result of its observed salience in earlier interactions with the families in the study. Our observational data were consistent with the findings discussed earlier. The children who seemed most interested in school-based literacy activities tended to be children of parents with sufficient knowledge about the kinds of activities that fostered school literacy, such as using the library regularly. Access to instrumental knowledge about school was mediated through either close relatives who knew English and had successfully attended U.S. schools or a particular teacher at the school who was particularly accessible to parents. Parents who built close relationships with this teacher often sought her out with questions about school. Yet, we found that not all parents who were close to this teacher were able to access her instrumental knowledge. Parents with minimal experience with schools did not know what questions to ask to access support. General suggestions given to the parent about checking that the child did her homework or reading with the child were not concrete enough to be implemented successfully. Additionally, other sociocultural factors, such as

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families' legal status, impacted parents' use of the instrumental knowledge about school that they were able to access. This study provides some insight into the ways that instrumental knowledge about school impacts children's reading motivation and achievement as well as family practices related to schooling and literacy development. The findings suggest the need for schools to provide instrumental knowledge to families who lack access and provide insights into some of the factors that often prevent minority families from seeking and/ or implementing instrumental knowledge from school sources.

CONCLUSION

By most criteria, all of the students in our study would be considered to be in at-risk circumstances on almost any index yet their achievement levels vary widely. The community in which they reside in many ways is not hospitable to children (nor adults for that matter). There are serious issues related to economic opportunities, transportation, health, and even basic safety. Yet, even within these circumstances, clear differences emerge in the academic trajectories of students and more specifically, clear differences in orientations, motivations, and practices related to reading and literacy. Past literature on at risk status might indicate that features such as an intact family, parental interest in school achievement, appropriate models, and presence of literacy materials in the home are predictors of differences. However, even the "advantaged" students such as Guadalupe have resources that seem minuscule in comparison to most middle class children. These examples also raise other points worthy of consideration. First, students in communities such as we are studying often have different life experiences and different background knowledge than that typically assumed in many school activities and materials. Whether these differences develop based on acculturation status, on lack of economic resources, or from opportunity to learn is not critical. Critical is that elements important for school success such as participation in communities of discourse at school that privilege reading (Gee, 1998), and extensive access to high quality literacy materials amongst others (Madrigal, Cubillas, Yaden, Tam, & Brassell, 1999), are provided at school, since they may not be provided anywhere. Even small but carefully tailored efforts in this direction can have significant impact (Madrigal et al., 1999). A second point has to do with culture and adaptation. As diversity begins to characterize more and more classrooms, and research and theory begins to take this into account, new and better ways are being sought to integrate constructs such as culture in both concept and practice. In the past, culture has often been treated primarily as a characteristic of ethnic and linguistic minority group members, without recognizing that cultural beliefs and practices are embedded (often invisibly) in virtually every rou-

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tine of daily life-homes, schools, businesses, etc. As Levine (1977) notes, these beliefs and practices are organized as cultural models of how things work and what are proper and sensible ways to navigate everyday existence. It is important to represent the diversity present in groups defined on the basis of ethnic or racial or linguistic status. Often the deficit ridden assumptions associated with these labels are based on static measures that fail to capture the wide variability in reading engagement which suggests other factors are at play. (Dunn, 1987; Valencia, 1998). Cross-disciplinary perspectives prove invaluable, since, as anthropologists suggest, culture develops over time in response to adaptive challenges (Weisner, 1984). Gallimore (1999) notes that "Everyone has a metaphorical storehouse of cultural models that can be changed, added to, and even ignored. As circumstances change, these models are modified and changed as new challenges arise." Acknowledging this variability is critical, with respect to the children, families, and community we study. While all may come from the "same" cultural background, the variability and complexity we observe belie the usefulness of group labels for explanatory purposes. Explanations of individual children's engagement must account for the complexity and variability present in the child's daily practices. The everyday routines/ everyday cultural practices, not the static ethnic labels that imply homogeneity of behavior and beliefs, are preeminently shaping children's learning and development. A final point, perhaps most central to the arguments outlined earlier in the paper, has to do with the gaps in prevailing theory and research, specifically the work on motivation and reading engagement. Current models of motivation to read and reading engagement tend to focus on individual characteristics. These include factors such as being motivated to read for personal goals, being strategic in using multiple approaches to comprehend, being knowledgeable in construction of new understandings of text, and being socially interactive (Guthrie et al., 1996; Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000). As critical as these factors are, few theoretical models look at factors we find to be equally critical such as those in the cases described above. These factors include, for example, whether the parents are readers or not, how larger external sociopolitical and sociocultural issues such as state and local school policy impact instruction, and even the meaning of literacy in different communities. This is likely due to the fact that relatively few studies have been done in the types of communities we have been examining. When these studies have been done, the factors examined are typically confined to those found in prevailing models. Even more important, current theories that provide the conceptual foundation and guide the work have no room for larger sociocultural and sociohistorical types of considerations. As the review earlier in the chapter displays, current models are elegant and provide the foundation for powerful classroom interventions. However, we argue that a complete account of learning and development,

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including motivation to read and reading engagement, requires attention to the interactive and embedded nature of the different planes of development. This is especially critical in communities where sociocultural and sociohistorical factors are likely to differentiate them from mainstream groups. While some may see these factors as related or important for motivation to read and reading engagement, we argue that they are aspects of these constructs. The research that has begun to incorporate and examine these critical factors (Au, 1997; Faulstich-Orellana, Monkman, & McGillivray, 1998; Goldenberg & Gallimore, 1995; Monkman, McGillivray, & Leyva, 1999; Reese, Balzano, Gallimore, & Goldenberg, 1995) have shown enormous potential for beginning to understand the complex array of issues related to reading outcomes of students in diverse communities. As Oldfather and Wigfield (1996) also note, broadening the scope of current work will require a wide combination of methods and perspectives, but is likely to result in a richer and more comprehensive view of reading in general and reading engagement in particular.

AUTHOR NOTE

Support for the preparation of this work was provided under the Educational Research and Development Centers Program, PRjAward No. R305R7004, the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA) as administered by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). However, the comments do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Education and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed. We wish to thank Karen Monkman, Atineh Nazarian, Julie Au, and Terrin Ngo who were indispensable in collecting the data and assisting in analysis for this paper. Finally, we are grateful to the students, their families, the teachers, and the school for allowing us into their lives.

NOTE 1. Latino is sometimes preferred to the term Hispanic, although many authors use the terms interchangeably. This group represents an aggregation of several distinct national origin subgroups: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, and other Hispanics. Mexican origin persons constitute about two-thirds of this group (Chapa & Valencia, 1993).

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McInerney, D.M. (1995). Goal theory and indigenous minority school motivation: Relevance and application. In P.R Pintrich & M.L. Maehr (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 9, pp. 153-181). Greenwich CT:JAI. McInerney, D.M., Roche, L., McInerney, V., & Marsh, H.W. (1997). Cultural perspectives on school motivation: The relevance and application of goal theory. American Educational Research Journal, 34( 1), 207-236. Monkman, K, McGillivray, L., & Leyva, C. (1999). Literacy on three planes: The implications of culture in urban primary education. Manuscript submitted for publication. National Center for Educational Statistics. (1996). NAEP 1994 Reading: A first look. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Educational Statistics. Newby,j.T. (1991). Classroom motivation: Strategies of first-year teachers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 187-194. Nihira, K, Weisner, T.S., & Bernheimer, L.P. (1994). Ecocultural assessment in families of children with developmental delays: Construct and concurrent validities. American Journal of Mental Retardation, 98(5), 551-566. Oldfather, P., & Dahl, K (1994). Toward a social constructivist reconceptualization of intrinsic motivation for literacy learning. Journal of Reading Behavior, 26(2), 139-158. Oldfather, P., West, j., White, j., & Wilmarth, j. (1999). Learning through children's eyes: Social constructivism and the desire to warn. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Oldfather, P., & Wigfield, A. (1996). Children's motivations for learning. In L. Baker, P. Afflerbach, & D. Reinking (Eds.), Developing engaged readers in school and home communities (pp. 89-114). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Reese, L., Balzano, S., Gallimore, R, & Goldenberg, C. (1995). The concept of educacion: Latino family values and American schooling. International Journal of Educational Research, 23(1), 57-81. Rigby, C.S., Deci, E.L., Patrick, B.C., & Ryan, RM. (1992). Beyond the intrinsicextrinsic dichotomy: Self-determination in motovation and learning. Motivation and Emotion, 16, 165-185. Rogoff, B. (1994). Developing understanding of the idea of communities of learners. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 1, 209-229. Rogoff, B. (1995). Observing sociocultural activity on three planes: Participatory appropriation, guided participation, and apprenticeship. In j.V. Wertsch, P. Del Rio, & A. Alvarez (Eds.), Sociocultural studies of mind (pp. 139-164). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rogoff, B., Baker-Sennett, j., Lacasa, P., & Goldsmith, D. (1995). Development through participation in sociocultural activity. In j. Goodnow, P. Miller, & F. Kessel (Eds.), Cultural practices as contexts for development (pp. 45-65). San Francisco: J ossey-Bass. Ruddell, RB., Ruddell, M.R, & Singer, H. (Eds.). (1994). Theoretical models and pr0cesses of reading (4th ed.). Neward, DE: International Reading Association. Rueda, R, & Dembo, M. (1995). Motivational processes in learning: A comparative analysis of cognitive and sociocultural frameworks. In M. Maehr & P. Pintrich (Eds.), Advances in motivation and achievement: Culture, motivation, and achievement (Vol. 9, pp. 255-289). Greenwich, CT:JAI Press.

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Rueda, R, & Moll, L. (1994). A sociocultural perspective on motivation. In H.F. O'Neil & M. Drillings (Eds.), Motivation: Research and theory (pp. 117-140). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Sivan, E. (1986). Motivation in social constructivist theory. Educational Psychologist, 21, 209-233. Snow, C.E., Burns, S.M., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Sonnenschein, S., Brody, G., & Munsterman, K. (1996). The influence of family beliefs and practices on children's early reading development. In L. Baker, P. Mflerbach, & D. Reinking, (Eds.), Developing engaged readers in school and home communities (pp. 3-20). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Sweet, A.P., Guthrie, ].T., & Ng, M.M. (1998). Teacher perceptions and student reading motivation. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 90(2),210-223. Tharp, RG. (1997). From at-risk to excellence: Research, theory, and principles for practice. Santa Cruz: CREDE Center, University of California at Santa Cruz. Tharp, R, & Gallimore, R (1988). Rousing minds to life: Teaching, learning, and schooling in social contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Thompson, R, Mixon, G., & Serpell, R (1996). Engaging minority students in reading: Focus on the urban learner. In L. Baker, P. Mflerbach, & D. Reinking (Eds.), Developing engaged readers in school and home communities (pp. 43-63) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Turner,]. (1995). The influence of classroom contexts on young children's motivation for literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3),410-441. U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1997). Population Division, release PPL-91. United States Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, 1990 to 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. (1991). The Hispanic population of the United States: March 1990. (Current Population Reports, Series P-25 No. 995). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Valencia, RR (1998). The evolution of deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. Bristol, PA: Falmer Press. Weiner, B. (1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories, and research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Weisner, T.S. (1984). Ecocultural niches of middle childhood: A cross cultural perspective. In W.A. Collins (Ed), Development during childhood: The years from six to twelve (pp 335-369). Washington, DC: National Academy of Science Press. Weisner, T.S., Coots,]., Bernheimer, C., & Arzubiaga, A. (1997). The EcoculturalFamily Interview Manual (Vol. I). Los Angeles: UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. Wentzel, K.R (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 2, 202209. Wertsch, J.v. (1991). Voices of the mind: A socia-historical approach to mediated action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wertsch,].V. (1998). Mind as action. New York: Oxford University Press. Wigfield, A. (1997). Children's motivations for reading and engagement. In J.T. Guthrie & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Reading engagement: Motivating readers through integrated instruction (p. 14-33). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Wigfield, A., & Eccles,].S. (1992). The development of achievement task values: A theoretical analysis. Developmental Review, 12,265-310.

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Wigfield, A, Eccles, ].S., & Rodriguez, D. (1998). The development of children's motivation in school contexts. In P.D. Pearson & A Iran-Nejad (Eds.) , Review of research in education (Vol. 23). Washington, DC: AERA. Wigfield, A, & Guthrie,]. T. (1995). Dimensions of childrens' motivations far reading: An initial study. Reading Research Report #34, National Reading Research Center, Universities of Georgia and Maryland. Wigfield, A, & McCann, AD. (in press). Children's motivations for reading. The reading teacher.

CHAPTER 12

ADOLESCENT SECOND LANGUAGE WRITERS IN CHINA: A SOCIOCULTURAL ANALYSIS Kerri-Lee Krause and Dan O'Brien

INTRODUCTION Sociocultural theory argues that in order to truly understand the human condition we must interpret it in its social, cultural and historical context. As human beings we are inextricably interconnected to the people, events and influences of our past and present. The Australian Aboriginals have much to teach us about the power of these interconnections. They believe that their land came into being as each ancestor scattered a trail of words and musical notes along the line of his or her footprints. This labyrinth of invisible pathways which meanders allover Australia is known as Songlines or Yiri in the Warlpiri language (Yiri, 1997). These Songlines or Dreaming-tracks were and continue to be the "Footprints created by Mythical Aboriginal ancestors" (Chatwin, 1987, p. 2). The unbroken Dreaming-tracks extended over the land to provide ways of communication. Each tribe was responsible for only a portion of the track, so individuals and groups were dependent on one another for maintaining the Dreaming-track intact, for keeping the pathways of communication open, and thus for caring for their heritage, their land, and each other. If tribes neglected to care for their portion of the Dreaming-track, the inherent link between past and present, the land and its inhabitants was severed (McLellan, 1997). 265

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This Aboriginal Creation Myth provides a cogent metaphor for our study of the role of social and cultural factors in the writing process. The primary issue is that of the pedagogy associated with the argumentative writing processes and outcomes of second language (L2) Chinese adolescents. We are interested in the pathways of written communication-specifically argumentative writing--created by Chinese adolescent writers and the ways in which these are influenced by the social and cultural footprints-past and present-of those around them. In particular, our focus rests on the interdependence of these writing paths and the social and cultural factors within the learning context. We argue that, when teaching and assessing L2 argumentative writing, factors such as students' age and stage of development and the sociocultural nature of the learning environment must be taken into account if we truly seek to understand more about the writing process and the teacher's role in it. This chapter reports on a study conducted in collaboration with three Chinese teachers of English in three high schools in the Henan Province of China. The teachers collected 114 students' argumentative essays, written in English. The essays were marked by the three teachers whose classes were involved in the study and teachers' feedback was analyzed thematically. The essays were also analyzed for linguistic features. Our aim was threefold. First, given that audience awareness is a fundamental characteristic of good argumentative writing (Connor, 1990), and given the sociocultural, linguistic and developmental factors that render audience awareness a particularly challenging skill for L2 writers, we wanted to investigate the level of audience awareness evident in the L2 students' argumentative essays, using Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale. Second, we aimed to extend our analysis through close study of the range and number of metadiscourse features in the essays. Finally, we sought teacher feedback on the essays to determine whether or not there was evidence that teachers foster audience awareness through their written feedback on essays. To this end, the chapter is arranged in three parts. We commence with a review of pertinent literature exploring a range of social, cultural, historical, personal and task-related challenges confronting the adolescent L2 writer of argumentative text. The literature review provides a framework within which to discuss our own investigation of Chinese adolescents' argu,mentative writing with those previously undertaken. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the lessons we have learned thus far and the implications of these lessons for future research and classroom practice. We argue that writing, like the Aboriginal Dreaming tracks, is a communication pathway. Each writer makes her/his unique contribution within the context of interconnecting social, cultural and historical pathways. Extant literature from a range of disciplines provides a contextual framework that maps out some of the challenges facing adolescents in twenty-first century China. Research from developmental and educational psychology disciplines is used to provide an overview of the unique cogni-

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tive and socioemotional characteristics of adolescent writers. Finally, investigations of the complexities of the writing process and the unique difficulties facing L2 writers are mapped out. In essence the following literature review highlights the ways in which our study draws together three interconnected issues, namely, the sociocultural context and its role in the pedagogical process, the socioemotional characteristics of adolescent writers and the challenges of composing argumentative text in a second language. Each of these issues in turn presents a range of contextual challenges for adolescent writers. Engendered in the adolescent writer are several converging pathways, the powerful pathways of social, historical and cultural influences that combine with the challenges of the adolescent period and the demands of composing written text in a second language. These factors and the nature of their interconnections need to be more closely considered by researchers and practitioners if we are to find ways of enhancing the quality of second language pedagogy across cultures.

THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT

Bruner (1987) argued that the "Explanation of any human condition is so bound to context, so complexly interpretive at so many levels, that it cannot be achieved by considering isolated segments of life in vitro" (as cited in Luria, 1987, p. xii). Consistent with this position, we commence our Chinese students' writing literature review on the argumentative writing of Chinese students by examining the context in which their writing takes place, with primary focus on the sociocultural context as it relates to learning and the teaching of adolescents in China. l Chinese culture is characterized by collectivism and loyalty to the family and social group (Salili, 1996; Stevenson & Lee, 1990). The valuing of the group and larger community has implications for the ways in which Chinese students view themselves, their education and their achievements within the larger society (Salili, 1995; Wilson & Pusey, 1982). Research indicates that Chinese students typically associate academic achievement with success in family and social life (Salili, 1995). An associated feature of this sociocultural context is the typically high expectations of Chinese parents (Salili & Ching, 1992; Salili & Ho, 1992). These parental expectations are closely bound to the Confucian philosophy that success is the result of effort, hard work and endurance (yang, 1986), and that "perfectibility" should be the ultimate goal (Tu, 1979; Wing On, 1996). In Chinese culture, emphasis is placed on learning and education as both a social ladder and a character-building experience (Ho, 1981).

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The Chinese Classroom and Pedagogy in a Sociocultural Context Chinese classrooms typically comprise at least 40 students and the context is said to be characterized by strict discipline, authoritarian teachers, an expository teaching style, and much homework (Biggs, 1992; Salili, 1996). The pressure to succeed in the stringent testing regime, comprising weekly and monthly tests as well as competitive entrance examinations, (Hau, 1992; Salili, 1995) plays a significant role in curriculum and pedagogical principles. Chinese teachers rarely use praise and consider it harmful to a child's character if it is given without an outstanding cause (Salili, 1996, p. 94). As a result of the large class sizes, the emphasis on perfecting skills, and the competitive examination-oriented education system, the pedagogy within Chinese classrooms tends to be characterized by an emphasis on memorizing of lessons from Chinese textbooks and repeated practice of new skills (Liu, 1986). Ballard and Clanchy (1991, p. 23) argue that this emphasis on rote learning and memorization (this what) leads to a reproductive approach to learning typical of Asian learners. Biggs (1996) summarized this Western stereotype of Asian learners as the perception of the student-as-tape-recorder (p. 47). However the debate lies in the fact that while Asian learners may be prone to using rote-based surface level cognitive approaches, several studies indicate that they are capable of far more when given the opportunity. Kember and Gow (1991) (see also Hird, 1996) contend that the apparent rote-learning approaches adopted by Asian students may be explained more by the nature of the curriculum and the teaching environment than as an inherent characteristic of the students' (p. 126). Similarly, Salili (1996) argues that memorizing may be the only way for Chinese students to cope with the excessive demands (p. 97) made of them. Counter to the prevalent view of Asian students as surface level learners, Biggs (1991) and Wing On (1996) argue that the Confucian tradition is by nature inclined toward the deep approach rather than the surface approach to learning (Wing On, p. 34). These authors contend that the Confucian tradition emphasizes reflective thinking and enquiry, yet students' opportunities to engage in such activities are severely restricted by the emphasis on examinations dependent primarily on memory work. In summary, we have identified several characteristics of Chinese pedagogy, drawing attention to the typically large class sizes and the concomitant emphasis on teacher-centered approaches, accompanied by an extensive, competitive testing regime. The debate over the nature of the Chinese learner has also been highlighted, however we echo the cautions of Marton, Dall'Alba, and Lai Kun (1996) who warn against making assumptions about pedagogy and forming shallow judgements about the learning methods of students from other cultures. Our study seeks to

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address the need for a more informed discussion of the nature and outcomes of students' learning experiences within the sociocultural context in which it occurs. While we have briefly described some of the key characteristics of the Chinese classroom and pedagogical practices, it is crucial to take account of the unique attributes of the learners themselves in order to understand more fully the challenges facing novice L2 writers.

The Adolescent Writer within the Sociocultural Context In our study, we focus on Chinese adolescent writers and this has important implications for the way in which the data are interpreted and the issues. Adolescence is a period in which young people develop the ability to think hypothetically (Piaget, 1952) and to place themselves in the position of others-to acknowledge multiple viewpoints simultaneously and to understand how these pertain to their own ideas (Lapsley et al., 1986; Selman, 1980). At the same time, adolescents are struggling to come to terms with their identity and their sense of self (Erikson, 1980; Moshman, 1999). Faced with the challenge of defining emerging views and opinions, the adolescent is involved in a complex process of coming to terms with who they are, whose views and values they will subscribe to, and what role they play in their family and larger community. Cultural values, beliefs and traditions playa significant role in shaping the adolescent's emerging identity (Berk,2000). The Chinese traditionally collectivist emphasis has implications for the development of self and identity among adolescents, and in turn, for the writer's self. In Chinese culture, self has two components (Salili, 1995). There is a greater self (ta wo) and a lesser self (hsiao wo). In harmony with the collectivist nature of the community, the Chinese emphasize the greater self and its primary concern with the well-being of the family and society. The lesser self, on the other hand, is referred to as the individual's own desires and actions for him/herself (Hsu, 1985, p. 24). While such desires are important, they have traditionally been subservient to the greater self of the community. It is acknowledged that modernization has somewhat reduced the dichotomy between these two selves within some sectors of Chinese culture. Nevertheless, adolescents in the twenty-first century are influenced by these traditions and values. In addition, the Chinese adolescent L2 writer faces the difficulty of creating and defining a new self, a new identity appropriate for use in the second language (Rodby, 1990). In argumentation, the skills of thinking for oneself and arguing a point convincingly are highly valued. These skills may require L2 students in communitivistic cultures-such as China-to develop a whole new "identity" to approach tasks in the expected way (Kirby, Woodhouse, & Ma, 1996, p.142; see also Shen, 1989). The "dialectic of identity and difference" (p. 48) in which the L2 writer is engaged is

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intensified in the composition of argumentative text since this task, by definition, demands that the writer identify and critically interpret a range of different-often opposing-views in terms of his/her own position on a specified topic. The writer is expected to convey these views to an absent addressee while maintaining a certain distance from the subject matter (Golder & Coirier, 1994, p. 188). In summary, the Chinese adolescent writer faces a tripartite identity challenge. On one level, the adolescent is developing his/her own identity; on a second level, s/he is influenced by the Chinese valuing of the greater self (community) over the lesser self (individual); and on a third level, the L2 adolescent writer must develop an identity as a writer in his/her second language. Each of these facets of the Chinese adolescent writer's identity development combines to render the argumentative writing process a significant challenge. The nature of the challenge of composing argumentative text is explored further in the following subsection.

Second Language Argumentative Writing in a Sociocultural Context We have considered the unique sociocultural context of the Chinese classroom and the challenges confronting Chinese adolescents coming to terms with their identity issues. Now we examine the social nature of the writing process and the particular demands placed on second language writers of argumentative text. Writing is, in essence, a social act (Rubin, 1998) which occurs in social contexts. It is an act of communication, a purposeful means of addressing an audience. The writing process brings with it new challenges and demands requiring acculturation on the part of the writer. New conventions must be learned and new literacy skills acquired. In addition to limited vocabulary and unfamiliarity with the rhetorical structures in the second language (Kirby et al., 1996), the novice L2 writer also has limited understanding of the intended audience, their expectations and their demands. Porter (1992) suggests that "audience" is an abstract concept that "exists within a writer as he or she acculturates to a particular discourse community" (as cited in Intaraprawat & Steffenson, 1995). The novice writer "therefore lacks adequately differentiated audience constructs, lacks inference rules for selecting constructs, and lacks a rich body of cues ... from which to draw social inferences" (Rubin, 1998, p. 57). Often the writing task demands that the student writer compose with authority for an audience about which s/he has only a vague awareness and understanding (Bartholomae, 1985; Bizzell, 1986) and this poses significant pressures. The competent writer will be cognizant of the needs of her/his audience. However, adolescent writers-particularly those attempting to write in

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their second language-face many challenges in identifying and meeting audience needs. An adolescent writer's "conceptualization of audience" is influenced by many factors, not the least of which is the "cognitive egocentricity" characteristic of young adults (Hays, 1988, as cited in Berrill, 1992, p. 81). Sociocognitive research explores the interaction of social and cognitive aspects of an individual's development. Rubin, Piche, Michlin, and Johnson (1984, p. 229) identify salient issues pertaining to the relationship between sociocognitive development and argumentative writing. These include: • Acknowledging that the audience may have an opinion different to that of the writer; • The capacity of the writer to construct his/her own arguments, as well as those of the audience; and • The degree to which the writer includes and represents the audience's viewpoints, values and associations. Hays (1988, as cited in Berrill, 1992, p. 83) analyzed the sociocognitive aspects of the argumentative writing of adolescents and young adults. Her research shows that: "most writers omitted the statement (implicit or explicit) of reasons for readers' views ... suggesting that they did not fully understand why their audience might question their points." Thus the sociocognitive development of writers-their cognitive capacity to understand the views and perspectives of others-has a significant impact on the quality of argumentative writing. Several methods for analyzing the extent to which writers demonstrate audience awareness in their compositions have been proposed. Two such methods are Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale and the close analysis of metadiscourse features. We used both these methods in our study and they are outlined in the following section.

The Audience Awareness Scale and Metadiscourse Features The Audience Awareness Scale (Berrill, 1992, p. 85) provides a vehicle for analyzing the extent to which writers demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the audience for which they are writing. Berrill identifies a number of levels of audience awareness outlined in Table 1. These range from minimal awareness of audience needs-the egocentric level, to an appreciation and accommodation of alternative viewpoints and a concomitant integration of these views into the argument. A complementary means of determining the extent of students' awareness of audience or reader needs involves analyzing the linguistic features of their written texts. Metadiscourse features are those linguistic markers which, while not necessary to the topic, show that the writer is aware of the importance of communicating the semantic content of their thoughts to

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Table 1. Audience Awareness Scale Level of Audience Awareness

Characteristic(s) of the Writing

Egocentric

Writer assumes that audience shares same attitudes and knowledge base.

Cursory awareness of alternative view

Writer anticipates opposing position but does not deal with it.

Acknowledges alternative point of view

Writer recognizes alternative point of view, but does not accept its validity.

Appreciates alternative point of view

Writer recognizes validity of alternative point of view and qualifies initial position accordingly.

Accommodates alternative point of view

Writer explicitly acknowledges validity of alternative view and incorporates this view in argument structure.

Source: Berrill (1992, p. 85).

the audience in order to be understood clearly. Metadiscourse comprises words and phrases that help "readers organize, classify, interpret, evaluate, and react to such material" (Vande Kopple, 1985, p. 83). It "allows writers to specify the inferences that they wish their readers to make" (Barton, 1995, p. 219) and thus facilitates understanding on the part of the reader. The metadiscourse features outlined in Table 2 serve two main functions: textual and interpersonal (Vande Kopple, 1985, 1997). Textual metadiscourse is an expression demonstrating "how we link and relate individual propositions so that they form a cohesive and coherent text" (p. 87). An example of this form of metadiscourse is textual connectives which convey essentially textual meanings (Vande Kopple, 1997). Interpersonal metadiscourse, on the other hand, delineates the writer's "role in the situation" and expresses one's "hopes for the kinds of responses readers might make" (Vande Kopple, 1985, p. 87). Examples of the latter would be narrators, attitude markers and commentaries which allow the writer to express views and emotions on the topic. These metadiscourse features are vehicles by which a writer conveys personality (Vande Kopple, 1997).2 Metadiscourse features in writing tend to make argumentative text easier to read and understand and they serve to link writer and reader by explicitly marking the major structural features of the essay in order to facilitate reader understanding. These features also demonstrate that the writer is aware of the need to consider the argument objectively and critically (Intaraprawat & Steffenson, 1995). In the present study, metadiscourse features are used as one criterion for determining the level of audience awareness evident in student essays. In summary, the task of constructing a successful piece of argumentative writing requires that the composer of the text harness cognitive, linguistic and rhetorical skills while simultaneously maintaining an acute awareness

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Table 2.

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Metadiscourse Features and their Purpose

Textual Features Connectives: show the organization of text Elaboration/explanation: rephrase to ensure clarity of expression IDocutionary markers: identify the purpose of the sentence or paragraph to follow Validity markers: encode writer's certainty about the truth of the content Interpersonal Features Narrators: provide the source of ideas and facts Attitude markers: convey writer's feelings about content Commentaries: address and engage reader more directly

Source: Adapted from Intaraprawat and Steffensen (1995) and Vande Kopple (1985, 1997).

of audience. Such a task is challenging for any writer, but is particularly so for the L2 writer coming to terms with the intricacies of the English language and the associated sociocultural conventions. In our review of literature from a range of disciplines we have explored the interconnections between society and culture, the adolescent experience and the task of composing written text. We have demonstrated the importance of considering any learning task within its sociocultural context, taking into account the unique qualities of the task and of the learner. We now turn our attention to the thrust of our investigation, the identification and subsequent enhancement of audience awareness within the L2 writing environment. Our central question, previously posited is: When teaching and assessing writing, how can teachers simultaneously take account of the sociocultural context of the argumentative writing task and the unique cognitive and socioemotional characteristics of L2 learners, while providing practical assistance to raise their students' awareness ofthe audience for whom they are writing? Our study, outlined in the following section, seeks to address this question, with a particular focus on the implications for teachers and teacher educators.

INVESTIGATING CHINESE ADOLESCENTS' WRITING IN A SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT

Background to the Study The study reported here is ongoing and involves a number of phases. Initially, the focus issue is writing assessment, with a particular emphasis on the sociolinguistic components of the writing and assessment process. We based our investigation on a sample of argumentative essays written in English by a group of students in China. We had three research questions.

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What does Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale reveal about the level of audience awareness in Chinese L2 students' argumentative essays. What is the relationship between Chinese L2 students' audience awareness and their use of metadiscourse features in argumentative essays? Is there evidence that teachers encourage and enhance audience awareness through their written feedback on essays?

Sample Our study was based on 114 essays collected from students in their senior years of secondary school in the Chinese provincial capital of Zheng Zhou, in Henan Province. Students from three schools took part in the study. These schools were selected because they each catered to students who were considered relatively competent English as a second language users who intended to pursue their study of English with a view to teaching the language or using their English proficiency in professional pursuits or tertiary study. The level of English competence of students in these three city schools was shown to be comparable across schools. This comparability was determined on the basis of grades awarded for a piece of written composition used as a means of obtaining baseline data. However, students in this sample would be considered as having superior English language skills compared to the majority of students in their age cohort in China, since they have been selected to attend the schools in question on the basis of achievement and the intention of pursuing career paths and further study specifically related to English language studies. Gender distribution within the student sample was approximately equal.

Procedures Essay Implementation Procedures The writing tasks were administered by class teachers under the guidance

of a Chinese teacher educator acting as a research assistant. Students were asked to write an essay expressing their views on the topic: "Is it better to do your higher education in China or overseas?" The topic was introduced by the class teacher during a lesson in which discussion of the topic took place in class and students were encouraged to identity and elaborate on their arguments. They were also allowed to make notes during the discussion. In a subsequent class, students wrote the essay. In all cases the essays were completed during a class period of approximately 50 minutes and no word limit was imposed. We also asked three teachers of high school English in China to mark and provide written feedback on a random selection of 50 of the

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essays. These teachers were contacted through a research associate in Australia. They were all teachers from the Henan Province, but they did not teach in any of the schools from which the sample essays were drawn.

Essay Analysis Procedures Two trained raters made a globaljudgment about students' essays on the basis of Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale, categorizing each piece of written text according to the five levels of the scale. The two raters then analyzed the essays using the metadiscourse taxonomy outlined in Table 2. The taxonomy comprises seven categories specifically adapted by Intaraprawat and Steffensen (1995) for the purposes of analyzing argumentative writing. These categories are: connectives, elaboration/explanation, illocutionary markers, validity markers, narrators, attitude markers and commentaries. One of the researchers read the essays and categorized the metadiscourse features listed above. The second researcher then reanalyzed each essay. The interrater reliability for identifying metadiscourse features was 0.85. In some instances, the metalinguistic features played dual roles which made classification problematic, however in most cases, the primary role of the problematic examples was identified and all disagreements concerning classification were resolved through discussion. In addition, we analyzed the three Chinese teachers' written feedback on 50 students' essays. The written feedback was content analyzed using the framework of textual and interpersonal linguistic features (based on the metadiscourse taxonomy of Intaraprawat & Steffenson, 1995). To our knowledge this means of analyzing teachers' written feedback on argumentative essays has not been undertaken before. The analytical process required direct interaction between the two researchers and the teachers' written feedback. Initially, line by line coding was manually undertaken, for instance, this involved reading, browsing, validation of codes and searching for emerging patterns in the data. The two analysts met to validate codings and derive statements of hypothetical relationships or hypotheses from the data. These hypotheses were either confirmed, modified or discarded on the basis of further discussion, conceptualization, and empirical evidence from the data. In this way, we sought to establish intercoder reliability, consensus, and verification of emerging themes.

Results Did the Chinese adolescents demonstrate evidence of audience awareness? Table 3 contains results of the categorization of students' essays according to Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale. Results indicate that the majority (60%) of essays were identified as predominantly egocentric. Essays in this category reflected an assumption that readers shared the

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Table 3. categorization of Essays According to Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale Level of A wlience Awanmess

Number ofEssays (N = 114)

Egocentric

69 (60%)

Cursory awareness of alternative view

22 (19%)

Acknowledges alternative point of view

17(15%)

Appreciates alternative point of view

4 (4%)

Accommodates alternative point of view

2 (2%)

writer's attitudes and had the same knowledge base. Such assumptions reflect the adolescent ESL writers' low level of audience awareness and are summarized in the following closing sentence of one essay: "This is my idea and 1 won't change it in my life, for our country and people." While the majority of essays failed to acknowledge alternative viewpoints, approximately one-fifth of them anticipated opposing positions, though failed to deal with them directly. For example one student wrote: "I saw a lot of Chinese go to overseas to go on their higher education, and some of them did not decided (sic) to come back, 1 was angry with them." It seems that the student anticipates that some may argue for the advantages of studying overseas, yet slhe does not discuss the merits and disadvantages of the various options available. An example of a writer's ability to recognize an alternative viewpoint is illustrated in the following excerpt: "Now, many people realized the foreign university are all better than the university of our country. This sentence is not correct." While the opposing view is acknowledged, the writer does not accept its validity and devotes no time to explaining why the argument is "not correct." A small number of students demonstrated their ability to recognize the validity of opposing arguments and an even smaller minority were able to sustain this recognition throughout the essay. One student began with the statement, "There are always two sides to everything .... " Sihe proceeded to outline the merits and disadvantages of each side of the debate, concluding with a personal opinion: "Finally, if 1 have to draw a conclusion about this question, 1 think it is better to doing (sic) my higher education overseas." The student presented opposing views but was able to accommodate these into the argument, ultimately expressing a personal view. Berrill's (1990) study of 16-year olds found that many student writers did explicitly acknowledge the existence of at least two viewpoints and were able to describe each in turn, yet they rarely evaluated the validity of these views. Thus, the majority of students in her study were operating around level 3 of her Audience Awareness Scale. While there were some essays demonstrating an awareness and acknowledgment of alternative viewpoints in this sample of Chinese students' writing, they were in the minority.

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In interpreting these data, we should take into account the potential difficulties experienced by the adolescent writer who is not only coming to terms with her/his own identity and viewpoints, but is also faced with the demands of recognizing and accommodating a range of opposing viewpoints. The egocentricity of adolescence may impede the novice writer's capacity to analyze and present these varying viewpoints objectively. Even expert adult writers reveal strong levels of egocentrism as they attempt to reconcile their own identity and viewpoint with that of an audience who holds an alternative opinion or range of views (Berkenkotter, 1981 as cited by Berrill, 1992). The process is rendered even more complicated for the L2 adolescent writer who essentially constructs a "new self' for use in his/ her second language (Rodby, 1990). Thus a writer's ability to demonstrate audience awareness is closely allied to their developing sense of self and the reconstruction of that self in new social situations and contexts. The Role of Culture in the Writing Process Our analysis would not be complete without some recognition of the pivotal role played by cultural values and beliefs in the process of developing the writer's self. The literature highlights the significance of the ta wo (greater self) and the communitivistic concern of the Chinese for the wellbeing of family, community and society (Hsu, 1985; Salili, 1995). We saw evidence of this throughout the essays we analyzed and we believe that an important factor contributing to the apparent egocentricity of these essays was the question itself. Students were asked to construct arguments for and against completing their higher education in China as opposed to overseas. This topic evoked a strong sense of patriotism and concern for the greater good of the community. Some examples to illustrate this concern are included below: If you remember your own homeland you should return to your own homeland after graduation. You can use those (sic) knowledge to build our homeland ... There are (sic) better wisdom in China. China is our beautiful country and she is our hometown. I think study in China is very good ... You can often go home to see your parents. We can make our country beautiful when we have lots of knowledge, can't we?

At the same time, it was evident that some students were attempting to express their views about what would be best for them as individuals (i.e., expressing the views of their lesser self (hsiao wo). For example: Overseas, if that country is a developed country the study conditions is (sic) good and I can study better. Being alone in overseas can build my character.

Thus, the apparently egocentric nature of these essays must be interpreted in the light of the sociocultural context in which they were written.

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REVIEW AND IMPLICATIONS In summary our analyses of audience awareness using Berrill's (1992) scale revealed that the majority of essays reflected an egocentric orientation suggestive of a low level of audience awareness. We found that Berrill's instrument provided a useful starting point for identifYing the level of audience awareness apparent in students' essays at a macro level. We believe this tool could be used for the purposes of both teaching and assessing L2 argumentative writing. Students' should be made aware of what constitutes audience awareness and how to demonstrate it in their writing. Before a task, teachers could present the Audience Awareness Scale (Berrill, 1992), providing students with the criteria for appreciating and accommodating alternative viewpoints in their writing. We are not suggesting that the aim of teachers should be one of simply moving ESL writers through Berrill's stages from the lower egocentric level to the accommodation level, since it has been demonstrated that the processes inherent in the development of sociocognition are recursive in nature, depending on such factors as age of the writer, previous experience and background knowledge, concept of self, and of course the context of the task and its demands. Nevertheless, if writers could be made aware of these stages of audience awareness, much could be achieved in the teaching and learning of argumentative writing skills among ESL writers. In addition to enhancing students' understanding of the value of audience awareness, teachers need to provide them with the necessary linguistic and metalinguistic tools to achieve the task. The metalinguistic aspects of students' argumentative texts are addressed by the second research question.

How Did We Determine Adolescent Writers' Audience Awareness? We used the metadiscourse taxonomy of Intaraprawat and Steffenson (1995) as a means of identifying ways in which the student writers demonstrated their awareness of the needs of their audience or reader. Table 4 shows the proportion and mean occurrence per essay of the metadiscourse features identified. Frequency counts indicate that textual features (80%) dominated students' use of metadiscourse features. The feature used most often was the connective. This comes as no surprise, since connectives form the basis of the second language learner's repertoire of linguistic skills. These findings are consistent with those of Intaraprawat and Steffensen (1995) who found that between 30% (in the case of good essays) and 47% (in the case of poor essays) of all metadiscourse expressions used by ESL university students were connectives. This was clearly the most frequently used feature in the essays analyzed for this study.

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Table 4. Proportion and Mean Number of Metadiscourse Features Used Per Essay Textual Features

Mean(%)

Connectives

9.92 (41%)

Elaboration/ Explanation

4.94 (20%)

Illocutionary Markers

0.33 (1%)

Validity Markers

4.46 (18%)

Interpersonal Features Narrators

0.52 (2%)

Attitude Markers

2.79 (12%)

Commentaries Total

1.54 (6%) 24.50 (100%)

Students also used elaboration and/or explanation of ideas in their essays. However, the difference between the frequency of these features and the mean number of connectives used is significant. The use of elaboration and explanation was typically heralded by the phrases: "for example," "such as," "that is to say," and "so that." Many of the phrases or expressions used to introduce elaborations or explanations form part of standard essay writing texts for students of English in Chinese schools. For example, in the commonly prescribed secondary school English text Start English Writing, "signal words" or phrases such as "for one thing," "for example" and "another example is" are provided in the form of lists from which students are told to choose phrases to be inserted in doze passages. It is expected, then, that students will not only commit such phrases to memory, but will incorporate them into their own writing as is apparent in the scripts analyzed for this study. Validity markers--comprising emphatics and hedges were also relatively well represented compared to the other metalinguistic features used. In the argumentative essays analyzed, emphatics were the most frequently used validity markers. This may be partly attributed to the topic given: "Which is better, to do your education in China or overseas ?' While approximately one-third of students in the sample suggested that it might be better to do their further study overseas, there was unanimous agreement that they would only study overseas in order to be able to return to their "mother country." Emphatics thus serve the purpose of conveying the strong sense of patriotism which characterized the essays analyzed. The following quote aptly summarizes the feelings expressed through the use of strong emphatics: Our chairman, Mao Zedong even said: 'The world is ours, it is also yours' ... Yes the world is ours, and to build our homeland we must work. It is obvious

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that to build our motherland needs knowledge. Every student must certainly work hard, then build our motherland when we grows up.

In this way, one perceives evidence of cultural values influencing the nature of metalinguistic features used. This has significant implications for the Chinese student writing essays in a Western educational context, and for the Western marker faced with the task of grading such student writing. Interpersonal features were much less apparent than were textual features in these students' essays, comprising only 20% of the mean number of metadiscourse features used. Such features as attitude markers and commentaries allow writers to express their opinions regarding the content of the text and to address the reader directly. These forms of audience awareness did not feature prominently in the Chinese students' essays. Some students engaged reader attention through the use of inclusive phrases such as "let us ... " and "Let's think ... ," and through rhetorical questions. The repeated use of the pronouns "we" and "you" was a feature of some essays. Students' failure to employ commentaries more effectively may reflect an assumption that readers already share their views thus obviating the need to elicit a specific reader response. Attitude markers and commentaries "convey the writer's intentionality and function to increase the acceptability of the text" (Intaraprawat & Steffensen, 1995, p. 259). Unless students are provided with guided practice on how to render the argument acceptable to the reader through the use of metalinguistic features, they may remain unaware of the importance of their role in convincing the reader through the use of rhetorical devices. In those essays that used narrators, some writers quoted parents and older relatives, others cited Chinese proverbs and ancient Chinese wisdom. For example: Long, long ago, there lived a famous man named Xuu Zi, he said: ...

However, the most common forms of reference to sources of information were couched in vague terms such as: "most people think," "everyone knows," and "it is said that." This reliance on family and community values once again illustrates the prevalence of value of the greater self (Salili, 1995) and its impact on students' formation of written arguments. Review and Implications Table 4 demonstrates that students in the sample did make use of metadiscourse features, yet these were limited in number and scope. Students used considerably more textual markers than interpersonal markers. These results are consistent with the tendency toward a dominance of textual markers evident in the poor essays produced by ESL university students in Intaraprawat and Steffensen's (1995) study. The findings of this study suggest a failure on the part of the Chinese adolescents sampled to

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engage with their audience on a personal level. They did not typically convey their personality and feelings on the subject as effectively as they might had they used a wider range and number of interpersonal metadiscourse features in their writing. The reason for the egocentric orientation of these L2 writers should be examined in the light of the relative dearth of interpersonal metadiscourse markers used by the L2 writers. We argue that as young writers develop their awareness of audience and increase their interpersonal connections with readers through the use of such features as commentaries and attitude markers, so the likelihood of their moving into higher levels of Berrill's scale will increase, thus demonstrating greater awareness and accommodation of the views of others. If teachers are serious about providing their L2 students with practical strategies for engaging with their audience more effectively, they should assist them to achieve a balance of both textual and interpersonal metadiscourse markers, with possibly more extensive use of the latter. Direct instruction of metalinguistic features has been advocated (see Cheng & Steffensen, 1996; Steffensen & Cheng, 1996), but there is little point in providing students with endless lists of metalinguistic features to memorize and use. Student writers must understand the rationale for using such markers. L2 writers, in particular, will benefit from being made increasinglyaware of the needs of their readers/audience, but this process must be accompanied by provision of linguistic strategies for meeting those needs. Teachers may provide these strategies through the use of modeling, through class exercises which allow students to identifY a range of metadiscourse markers in samples of writing, and through careful written feedback directly addressing this linguistic aspect of students' argumentative writing. While it is possible to analyze students' writing and make judgements about what is lacking, it is unrealistic to do so in a vacuum. We have noted evidence of the broader sociocultural influences on the content of students' arguments, but what of the influence of the classroom context? Specifically, do teachers acknowledge and reward students' attempts to demonstrate audience awareness in their writing? This is the focus of the final part of this section.

What Did the Markers Say? Consistent with the subdivision of metadiscourse markers into textual and interpersonal categories (Intaraprawat & Steffensen, 1995; Vande KoppIe, 1985, 1997), we analyzed three Chinese teachers' written feedback according to their comments on textual and interpersonal features of students' writing. There are many ways of grouping the themes that emerged in the teachers' written comments, but in the light of our focus on audience awareness, we deemed it most appropriate to use these two themes as

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the framework for the analysis. We acknowledge that written feedback is not the dominant form offeedback for Chinese students owing to the large class sizes, the limited teacher time available, and the primary concern of the education system with quantitative feedback. Nevertheless, we asked three Chinese English teachers to read a random selection of 50 essays (which were devoid of any form of identification) and to provide a score and a written comment at the end of each essay. Our interest in this chapter is with the written comments only. The results of our analyses are presented in Table 5, with a selection of verbatim comments from the markers included. The findings indicate that teachers' feedback on textual features predominated. In particular, markers commented on students' use of language, vocabulary, sentence structure and essay structure, and coherence. The comments on these textual features were relatively easy to categorize and the majority focused on weaknesses in the students' writing rather than pointing out strengths. This is consistent with Salili's (1996) observation that the use of praise by Chinese teachers is relatively rare. Identitying comments on interpersonal features of students' writing proved to be more of a challenge. Yet, despite this challenge and the relatively small number of comments in this category, we decided to include these feedback comments as we believe they raise several pertinent issues. In harmony with Vande Kopple (1985, 1997) we defined interpersonal feedback as that feedback which acknowledges the role of the writer and his/her ability to convey personality to an audience/reader through writing. We included in this category marker's feedback on students' expression of ideas and their ability to construct and present a written argument. While the comments on interpersonal features were in the minority, we have included a range of them in Table 5 to illustrate the types of features to which markers responded. Markers typically commented on the quality of the arguments and the clarity with which the ideas were conveyed. Several comments referred to the level of conviction of the arguments and their relevance to the topic. One marker overtly raised the issue of the reader/audience, stating that "we can't really see your view." Reference to the writer's personality was also made by one marker who commented on the "friendly attitude" of the essay. We would argue that this marker's valuing of a friendly attitude in writing is influenced by the Confucian philosophy that people are "relational being[s], socially situated and defined within an interactive context" (Bond, 1986, p. 215) and that fostering "smooth interpersonal relationships" (Salili, 1995, p. 75) tends to be more highly valued than challenging the status quo through the processes of questioning and critical thought that tend to be valued by Western markers of argumentative writing (Ballard & Clanchy, 1991). Moreover, this comment lends support to the value of cooperation and group orientation that has been found to characterize Chinese learning contexts (Salili, 1995; Stigler, Smith, & Mao, 1985).

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Nevertheless, we did find two teacher comments that reflected a valuing of the spirit of enquiry, open-mindedness and reflective thinking that is

Table 5.

Overview of Markers' Written Feedback in Terms Of Textual And Interpersonal Features in Students' Writing

Textual Features

Verbatim Written Comments

Language

Rather a lot of Chinglish (Chinese English). Knowledge of language poor. Quite a few grammar mistakes. The language is fluent.

Vocabulary

You have a large vocabulary. Some words are not used in the correct way.

Sentence structure

Many awkward sentences. Many good sentences. Some mistakes in sentence construction.

Essay structure and coherence

This is not really an essay. The arrangement of the essay is sensible. The organization of the essay is muddled. The materials aren't well organized. Make sure you link the beginning and the end. Your essay presents three ideas which are different from each other therefore there is no clear point.

Interpersonal Features

Verbatim Written Comments

Expression of ideas and quality of argument

Too many indirect ideas. No persuasive arguments. Some unreasonable arguments in the essay. We can't really see your view on the subject. It is full of facts that have nothing to do with the topic. Some facts don't seem convincing enough. The reasons you have given are convincing but not strong enough. The attitude is friendly. You have your own opinion and have presented and proved it well. The approach is new and interesting.

Handwriting

Poor handwriting.

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arguably at the core of the Confucian tradition (Biggs, 1991, 1996; Salili, 1995; Wing On, 1996): You have your own opinion and have presented and proved it well. The approach is new and interesting.

While these comments were certainly in the minority and made by only one of the Chinese markers, they nevertheless exhibit values that challenge the generalized view of Asian learners as adopting a "reproductive approach to learning" (Ballard & Clanchy, 1991, p. 23) with "no pressure on students to evaluate ... no requirement to argue, to resolve ambiguities or dilemmas, to reach clear-cut conclusions" (p. 32). We are encouraged by the limited though significant evidence that some teachers do encourage students to question, to present well-substantiated arguments and counter-arguments in an effort to facilitate deep approaches to learning (Biggs, 1996) and challenge the stereotypical view of "student-as-tape-recorder" (p. 47). One unexpected but prevalent comment on a number of student essays referred to the quality of student handwriting. Once again we included this in the interpersonal feature category since handwriting is indeed a means of expressing personality, but more important, it is one component of the essay that pertains to audience appeal. While it is not a linguistic or rhetorical feature, it is consistent with the Confucian belief in striving for "perfectibility" (Wing On, 1996) and the emphasis on practicing new skills, including handwriting, repeatedly in order to achieve excellence (Uu, 1986). Review and Implications While the markers' comments are limited in scope they nevertheless provide a useful viewing platform to more comprehensively reveal the types of features in written argument that Chinese markers consider worthy of comment. As demonstrated in Table 5, feedback on textual and linguistic features tend to dominate. This is not surprising, particularly in the case of L2 learners for whom the conventions of the English language are often particularly challenging. It may be argued that all these comments reflect an emphasis, on the part of markers, on raising students' awareness of the audience for whom they are writing. We found few explicit references to and suggestions regarding how students might enhance the appeal and comprehensibility of the text for the reader/audience. There is scope for teachers to not only teach metadiscourse features explicitly, but also to ensure that their feedback on student essays reflects the value of this emphasis on audience awareness. To date there is no evidence of research incorporating a study of L2 writers' use of metadiscourse features and Berrill's (1992) Audience Awareness Scale. There is merit in using these two avenues, combined with teacher feedback, to determine ways of improving L2 writers' skills through enhanced sociocognition.

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Limitations of the Study We recognize several limitations in this study. These include our limited background information on the students in the sample and our reliance on a single essay writing task for analysis. Moreover, we have limited the present discussion to analysis of essays based on frequency counts of metalinguistic features. Crowhurst (1987) cautions against reliance on this measure as a means of determining how usage of specified features is related to writing quality. She comments that the extent of utilization of a particular linguistic device (in her study, cohesive ties were analyzed) does not necessarily equate with writing quality. In analyzing essays one must pay close attention to the context in which the devices are used and the level of complexity and maturity with which they are used. This caution is a valid one and it will guide further analysis of the quality of the essays under investigation. An additional limitation is, of course, imposed by the fact that we are interpreting Chinese culture and pedagogy through western eyes. We recognize that this limits our capacity for analysis and interpretation of sociocultural influences on students' writing.

CONCLUSION This study has significant implications for the teaching of Asian/Chinese adolescents. Our analysis of Chinese students' argumentative essays (written in English) provides evidence of the sociocultural forces at play in their writing. There was evidence of a propensity for reproducing learned phrases and expressions that were repeated in a large number of essays analyzed. In many instances, students' patriotism and lack of awareness of reader needs-as demonstrated in their use of language and claimsimpeded their capacity to construct coherent, objective and effectively substantiated written arguments. These and related findings provide justification for a sociocultural consideration of the pedagogical and assessment issues related to the writing processes of second language learners. A teacher may combine an analysis of the metalinguistic features of students' writing with a study of audience awareness using Berrill's (1992) scale. This would have implications for the marking criteria teachers use for some writing tasks and it should certainly inform teaching practices. While our focus is on the writing of Chinese high school students, there are several broader issues involved, such as those pertaining to teacher preparation and inservicing, development of culturally appropriate teaching resources-including textbooks, and facilitation of ongoing cross-cultural research. We believe these issues have relevance to Chinese educators as well as to those involved in teaching Chinese L2 learners in Western countries.

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By examining a single argumentative writing task from a metalinguistic perspective we have provided some evidence for the ways in which adolescent Chinese writers are influenced by the sociocultural context in which they live and learn. The Dreaming-track analogy introduced at the start of this chapter provides useful insights into the way in which these contextual influences function. As the young writer creates a "trail" of words that yields the final essay, s/he is influenced by a range of factors, all interconnected and all contributing in some way to the communication pathway. First, we have noted the power of the sociocultural context and the interdependence of Confucian tradition and societal values, and the learner and her/his approach to the task. We have also identified the interrelationship between the writer's stage of cognitive and socioemotional development and her/his capacity to construct arguments. Within this set of interrelationships, too, we discern the power of interconnecting pathways as the adolescent's sense of self and identity as a writer is influenced by the Chinese values of collectivism, filial piety and the dual self (Salili, 1995). Finally, we have identified some of the difficulties L2 writers encounter when trying to compose written text within a sociocultural context. There is a tacit understanding that they will forge new pathways of communication with their reader/audience, yet the challenges of keeping these pathways open are great. Students have difficulty identifying and addressing the needs of their audience. Our study has shown that the majority of adolescent writers in our sample were deemed to be egocentric, according to the Audience Awareness Scale (Berrill, 1992). Moreover, their use of metalinguistic features-those features that specifically assist the reader to follow the writer's conceptual pathway-is limited in range and frequency. Our study indicates that those who assist students to develop these communication pathways do not overtly draw students' attention to the importance of audience awareness in their written feedback. Just as we depend on those around us for keeping the pathways of communication open and for caring for our social and cultural heritage, so the reader/audience depends on the writer to keep those pathways open. It is a particularly challenging task for the adolescent writer but we believe that by adopting a more explicit approach to teaching students the value of relating to their audience through linguistic and rhetorical features, successful communication will be fostered. If we can raise student writers' awareness of the powerful interconnections between themselves and the context in which they write, and provide them with ways of harnessing those interconnections to enhance their writing, then we will strengthen the voice with which they write and assist them to find their own pathway across the often difficult terrain of the writing process.

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NOTES 1. Of necessity, this part of the review must be brief and, as is the case with much of the literature which attempts to paint a cultural picture of Confucian beliefs about learning (for example Lau, 1986; Wing On, 1996), such a brief review cannot do justice to the complexities involved. We can only raise a small selection of pertinent issues and we urge readers to consult the reference material in order to read more widely on this important topic. Some educative readings on this topic include Wing On (1996), Salili (1995), Biggs (1996), and Kirby et al. (1996). A further caution pertains to the fact that these depictions of Chinese culture may not hold true for the younger generations of the twenty-first century who are increasingly adopting Western ideas and values. 2. For a more extensive discussion of metadiscourse taxonomies and the role of metadiscourse features in L2 writing, see Krause and O'Brien (1999).

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Rubin, D.L. (1998). Writing for readers: The primacy of audience in composing. In N. Nelson & R C. Calfee (Eds.), The reading-writing connection (Part II, pp. 5373). Chicago: The National Society for the Study of Education. Rubin, D.L., Piche, G.L., Michlin, M.L., &johnson, F.L. (1984). Social cognitive ability as a predictor of the quality of fourth-graders' written narratives'. In R Beach & L. Bridwell (Eds.) , New directions in composition research. New York: Guilford Press. SaHli, F. (1995). Explaining Chinese students' motivation and achievement: A socio-cultural analysis. In P. Pintrich & M.L. Maehr (Eds.) , Advances in motivation and achievement (Vol. 9, pp. 73-118). Greenwich, CT:jAI Press. SaHli, F. (1996). Accepting personal responsibility for learning. In D. Watkins &J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 85-106). Hong Kong: CERC and Melbourne: ACER SaHli, F., & Ching, S.L. (1992). Motivation and achievement. Unpublished research report, The University of Hong Kong. SaHli, F., & Ho, W. (1992). Achievement and motivation. Unpublished research report, The University of Hong Kong. Selman, RL. (1980). The growth ofinterpersonal urukrstanding. New York: Academic Press. Shen, F. (1989). The classroom and the wider culture: Identity as a key to learning English composition. College Composition and Communication, 40, 459-465. Steffensen, M.S., & Cheng, X. (1996). Metadiscourse and text pragmatics: How students write after learning about metadiscourse. In L.F. Bouton (Ed.), Pragmatics and language learning. (Monograph Series, Vol. 7, pp. 153-170). Stevenson, H.W., & Lee, S. (1990). Context of achievement. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial no. 221, Vol. 55, Nos. 1-2. Stigler,j.W., Smith, S., & Mao, L.W. (1985). The self-perception of competence by Chinese children. Child Development, 56, 1259-1270. Tang, C., & Biggs,j. (1996). How Hong Kong students cope with assessment. In D. Watkins & J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 159-182). Hong Kong: CERC and Melbourne: ACER Tu, W.M. (1979). Humanity and self-cultivation: Essays in Confucian thought. Berkeley, CA: Asian Humanities Press. Vande Kopple, W. (1985). Some exploratory discourse on metadiscourse. College Composition and Communication, 36, 82-93. Vande Kopple, W. (1997, March). Refining and applying views of metadiscourse. Paper presented at the 48th Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communcation, Phoenix, AZ. Wilson, RW., & Pusey, A.W. (1982). Achievement motivation and small business relationship patterns in Chinese society. In S.L. Greenblatt, R W. Wilson, & A.A. Wilson (Eds.), Social interaction in Chinese society (pp. 195-208). Praeger. Wing On, L. (1996). The cultural context for Chinese learners: Conceptions of learning in the Confucian tradition. In D. Watkins &J. Biggs (Eds.), The Chinese learner: Cultural, psychological and contextual influences (pp. 25-41). Hong Kong: CERC and Melbourne: ACER Yang, K.S. (1986). Chinese personality and its change. In M.H. Bond (Ed.), The psychology of the Chinese people. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. Yiri. (1997). Retrieved October 20, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http:// www.nanou.com.au/songlines/index2.html

CHAPTER 13

ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CANADIAN AND GERMAN PRESERVICE TEACHERS' BELIEFS Erika Kuendiger, David Kellenberger, and Siegbert Schmidt

Vignette: Jill and Gretel just received a letter informing them that they were admitted to a teacher-training program. Since high school both had planned to become elementary teachers and it seemed that their wish would come true. They liked to work with young children and were looking forward to teaching them. There was only one aspect that bothered them; they would have to teach mathematics. Based on their experience during their high school years, Jill and Gretel were convinced that they did not have what it takes to do mathematics, let alone teach it. They envied those who seemed to have this special ability for the subject. Although both had received reasonable grades in mathematics, they remembered that it was always a struggle. They needed to exert a lot of effort and seek help from teachers and others. Now they were concerned about how difficult it would be to teach the subject. On the other hand teaching language arts was something to which they looked forward. This subject seemed easy to them. They were always very interested in it and believed that they would have no problem teaching it successfully.

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INTRODUCTION

Unfortunately Jill and Gretel are not the only preservice elementary teachers who, based on their high school experiences, are concerned about teaching mathematics. Thus, the question arises whether past mathematical achievement and how it is explained (e.g., through ability and/or effort) influences preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers. In the last ten years several studies have been carried out in Canada as well as Germany that addressed this issue. These are summarized in the section: The Motivational Framework "Learning History.» The results of these earlier studies lead to the hypothesis that achievement in mathematics is explained differently in Canada and Germany. The current study addresses this hypothesis by investigating how Canadian and German preservice teachers attribute their own past achievement as well as students' achievement. Moreover, in order to assess whether country differences in relation to attributions are specific to mathematics only, language arts was also included in this study. A review of the literature revealed that the topic of this study apparently has not been addressed to date. Several studies have been found on related topics, however (e.g., teacher's mathematical beliefs and cultural differences on students' achievement). Most of these studies focus on teachers' view of mathematics (e.g., mathematics as a process versus product) and how this view influences their teaching methods (Dossey, 1992; Thompson, 1992). Moreover, research studies on teachers' beliefs are typically conducted in one country only and thus do not address cultural differences (Pehkonen, 1994). In addition, only a few studies are available that investigated how these beliefs have developed (Pehkonen, 1994; Pehkonen & Toerner, 1996) and what beliefs preservice teachers have about themselves (Pintrich, 1990). Cooney (1990) points out that although teachers' beliefs continue to form during their teaching experience, relevant belief systems are already in place before an individual enters a teacher-training program and that these initial beliefs act as a filter for subsequent experiences. With regard to student achievement there are several studies that investigated the relationship between students' academic success and cultural beliefs (McInerney, Hinkley, Dowson, & Van Etten, 1998; McInerney, Roche, McInerney, & Marsh, 1997). Yet, Salden (1999) pointed out that the question as to how cultural beliefs influence student achievement is typically not addressed when achievement differences between countries are discussed. There is an obvious need on one hand to gain further knowledge about the beliefs preservice teachers bring to the profession and on the other hand for comparative studies on achievement related beliefs. This study addresses this need by investigating the achievement related motivational framework future elementary teachers from two countries brought to the profession, specifically the attributions they used to explain their former

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achievement as well as students' achievement. In this context, attributional differences act as indicators of between-country differences in the motivational framework. The conceptual framework of this study is based on attribution theory. This theory and relevant research results are summarized in the next section followed by the description of those studies that investigated how preservice teachers attribute their past achievement and how this motivational framework influences their self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers. Thereafter, the objectives of this study are detailed, followed by the description of the study, the results, and lastly a discussion of the results.

ATTRIBUTION THEORY

The importance of causal attributions for students' motivation to learn has been well researched. Borkowski, Carr, Rellinger, and Pressley (1990) summarized recent research studies which showed the connection among attributional beliefs, knowledge about learning strategies, and the development of knowledge, as well as the interrelationship among attributional beliefs, self-efficacy, self-esteem, affect, metacognition, and academic performance. In mathematics education, attribution theory has been successfully applied to explain gender differences in mathematical achievement (e.g., Eccles & Blumenfeld, 1985; Fennema, 1990; Kuendiger, 1982; Leder, 1992; McLeod, 1992; Tiedemann & Faber, 1995). An overview of different theoretical approaches and corresponding studies that link attributions with achievement is provided in Heckhausen (1991), who summarized the essence of this theoretical framework as follows: There can be no question then that cognitive processes of causal explanation and attribution of motivation are an integral part of motivation and playa decisive role in one's actions. A scientific explanation of action requires that such cognitions be scrutinized, regardless of whether-from the perspective of science analysis-the actor's attributions are "amateurish," "incomplete" or "false." What is crucial is solely what the acting individual deems pertinent. (Heckhausen, 1991, p. 342)

Although different models have been used in research studies, the following view with regard to the relationship between achievement and attributions has been generally accepted. Cumulative success in a subject matter, like mathematics, leads to the development of a subject-related positive self-concept which includes perceptions about one's performance standard and causal attributions for the performance in this subject matter. The latter are referred to as attributional styles, which are relatively stable over time as they have been developed based on cumulative experiences. These perceptions, which are

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related to both the level of perfonnance and its attributions, serve as a motivational framework for the next achievement situation (Heckhausen, 1991, pp. 373-443) and thus influence students' confidence in their cognitive skills to perfonn a subsequent task. These self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1986) are relatively domain-specific and have to be distinguished from students' outcome expectancies related to a specific task. For example, a student may believe that s/he will be successful in a mathematics class because s/he is very good at mathematics but, nonetheless, expects a poor grade in the test just taken because s/he did not prepare her/himself. The causal explanations an individual makes for success and failure on one hand mediate future expectancy and on the other hand are self-evaluative, thus allowing for conclusions regarding the student's self-concept of his/her ability. The development of a student's motivational framework together with his/her gain of knowledge is described by way of example below. When a student does not correctly solve a mathematical task given by the teacher, this has a twofold impact for the subsequent learning situation. First, there is a subject matter directed one: the student's deficiency lessens his/her chance of reaching subsequent goals because of his/her fragmentary antecedent knowledge. Accordingly, accumulating deficiencies can easily occur. Second, there is a motivational directed one, which can be described by the following scenario. Assuming the student decides to put forward more effort to succeed in the subsequent task, then one of two results may occur: 1.

2.

If this effort leads to continuing success, then the motivational- and content-related learning potential for future learning is strengthened. Mathematics is commonly considered a highly intellectual and a rather difficult subject. Success at a difficult task is pre-emptive evidence of ability. Thus, continuous success will lead to a positive self-concept of one's ability. The positive self-image and the gained confidence of being in control (if needed, putting forth extra effort to bring success) together with the gained knowledge make future success more likely. Thus, the student has entered a success cycle in which past success relates to future success. If however, this effort does not lead to success, and if this occurs repeatedly, then chances are high that the student will develop a negative concept of his/her ability. The combination of high effort and failure implies low ability and therefore threatens one's selfworth. To diminish this threat, effort expenditure is often reduced and external reasons are added to explain failure. Moreover, a student might develop other strategies in reinterpreting the threatening experience of failure, such as not trying at all. A failure cycle is thus established in which the negative motivational development and the lack of knowledge relevant for the next learning step affect

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each other. A detailed description of the dynamics of failure and success can be found in Covington (1984). A characteristic of mathematics curricula is the highly sequenced and hierarchical nature of the content. For example, addition is taught before multiplication and the teaching of multiplication relies on the understanding that multiplication is repeated addition. This demonstrates that success in succeeding topics is based strongly on success in preceding topics. Thus, if a student failed to understand addition then he/she will undoubtedly fail to understand multiplication. Moreover, if this student decides to improve his/her grades in the upcoming test on multiplication, he/she must first make an effort to understand addition before focusing on multiplication. In contrast, language arts is typically taught in a less hierarchical fashion. For example, if a student's essay on one topic is not satisfactory, then the student does not have to redo this essay before approaching the next essay. Instead the student can focus on developing skills that support essay writing in the succeeding essay. It makes sense to assume that these subject matter differences may lead to differences in how achievement is attributed. Indeed, several studies support that attributions are contextspecific (Marsh, 1984; Marsh, Cairns, Relich, Barnes, & Debus, 1984; Skaalvik,1994). Regardless of the subject area, one attributional pattern that has been repeatedly highlighted in research studies, is the self-serving bias: ownership is claimed for success by attributing it more to internal reasons like ability and effort and failure to external reasons like luck and task difficulty. This bias has been found for mathematics (Schoenfeld, 1989), as well as other subject areas (Vispoel & Austin, 1995), and achievement in general (Licht, Stader, & Swendon, 1989). Several international studies have been conducted that investigated attributional differences of students' mathematical achievement. Most of these studies compared attributions of American students with those of one Asian country (e.g., Samimy, Liu, & Matsuta, 1994; Stevenson & Lee, 1990; Tuss, Zimmer, & Ho, 1995; Yan & Gaier, 1994). The results confirm that the attributions used by students vary considerably between countries, thus indicating a different motivational climate in which the learning of mathematics takes place. The question of how teachers can positively influence their students' attributions and self-esteem has been addressed in numerous publications (e.g., Borkowski et al., 1990). It was shown that the attributions' teachers have for their students' achievement impact on the reasons students use for their own achievement (e.g., Cooper & Good, 1983; Darom & Bar-Tal, 1981). Yet, the question of how teachers' achievement-related beliefs have developed has rarely been investigated. The study reported here addresses this aspect in two ways: first, by asking preservice teachers to attribute high and low students' achievement; second, by investigating the motivational

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framework preservice teachers have developed based on their past achievement in high school. The latter aspect has already been addressed in several studies, which are described in the next section.

THE MOTIVATIONAL FRAMEWORK "LEARNING HISTORY" On entering a teacher-training program, preservice teachers generally do not have any previous experiences in teaching that would allow them to establish perceptions about their ability to teach a specific subject area. Yet, they do have well established and precise perceptions about themselves as former learners of mathematics and language arts, in particular, about their achievement and the causes they consider relevant to explain this achievement. A series of studies investigated the motivational framework preservice teachers have established prior to entering a teacher-training program and the impact it has on their self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers. Based on several pilot studies involving 330 preservice teachers (Kuendiger, 1987, 1989), Kuendiger (1990) investigated the relationship between preservice teachers' perceived former mathematical achievement and its attributions. The study was carried out over two consecutive years with an overall sample size of 446. Subjects included preservice elementary (grades kindergarten to six) teachers enrolled in a one-year teacher-training program at a university in Ontario, Canada. Preservice teachers judged their past achievement level in mathematics and indicated the applicability of each of the following attributions and their negative counterparts: ability, effort, good luck, easiness of mathematics, good teacher, and help from others. Based on perceived past mathematical achievement, two groups were formed: those who perceived their performance as above average and those who perceived it as average or below average. The two groups of teachers used distinctively different attributions to explain their mathematical achievement. The group with lower mathematical achievement displayed an unfavorable attribution pattern not conducive to success in future achievement situations. They believed that lack of ability as well as lack of effort, difficulty of the subject, poor teacher's explanations, and lack of help by others were more applicable to explain their former achievement. However, prospective teachers with above average performance, showed a favorable attribution pattern. Importantly, they attributed success distinctively to their ability, a stable, internal attribution. Results from the second year of the study were not only identical to those of the first year, but were also confirmed by subsequent studies (Kuendiger, 1996; Kuendiger, Gaulin, & Kellenberger, 1993; Kuendiger & Schmidt, 1997b; Kuendiger, Schmidt, & Kellenberger, 1997). Thus, it was concluded that perceived former performance together with its attribution constitutes a valid, stable motivational system, which was called "mathematical learning history."

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The mathematical learning history was related to preservice teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers (Kuendiger, 1990). It was found that elementary teachers with a less favorable mathematical learning history were not only less confident to teach mathematics, but also considered their personal insufficiency as a relevant reason to explain future students' lack of progress in mathematics. Although preservice teachers became more confident in teaching mathematics during the course of a one-year teacher-training program, the program did not succeed in overriding the impact of the mathematical learning history. Further studies confirmed the relationship between mathematical learning history and self-efficacy beliefs (Kuendiger, 1996; Kuendiger, Gaulin, & Kellenberger, 1993; Kuendiger & Schmidt, 1997b; Kuendiger, Schmidt, & Kellenberger, 1997). In subsequent studies the learning history was expanded to also include language arts and the relationship between learning history and self-efficacy beliefs was investigated further. To allow for a more differentiated comparison of learning histories between subject areas, the attribution "interest/lack of interest" was added. In addition, the attributions "good/ bad luck" were excluded since they were chosen less than 5% ofthe time in the preceding study (Kuendiger, 1990). It is not surprising that few preservice teachers chose "good/bad luck" since cumulative past performance was attributed and not the performance of a single task. These studies led to the following important results. One, the concept "learning history" was not only valid for mathematics but for language arts as well (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger, Gaulin, & Kellenberger, 1992; Kuendiger & Schmidt 1997a; Kuendiger et al., 1997). Two, almost all participating preservice teachers from two Canadian provinces (i.e., Ontario and Quebec) had a favorable language arts learning history, which was not the case for mathematics (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger et al., 1992). Three, the relationship between learning history and self-efficacy was confirmed for both subject areas (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger et al., 1992; Kuendiger & Schmidt, 1997a). For example, Kellenberger and Kuendiger (1993) found that preservice teachers with a less favorable learning history in mathematics and a more favorable learning history in language arts judged themselves as significantly less able to influence students' effort, interest and achievement in mathematics compared to language arts. Moreover, preservice teachers with a less favorable mathematical learning history judged themselves as less able to influence students' mathematical achievement than those with a favorable learning history. In addition to the above studies, the concept oflearning history was also applied to computer education. Kellenberger (1994) found that the subject-related learning history was significantly related to preservice teachers' self-efficacy with regards to the use of computers in teaching. In summary, the aforementioned series of research studies support the conclusion that the motivational framework called "learning history" is a

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valid concept that provides the framework on the basis of which preservice teachers develop perceptions of themselves as future teachers. Yet, none of these studies included comparisons between countries.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The study reported here addressed the need for international comparisons by researching achievement related beliefs of Canadian and German preservice elementary teachers. First, the learning history related to mathematics as well as language arts achievement was investigated. As such, this study also contributed to the still ongoing discussion as to whether a motivational framework is contextspecific (Marsh, 1984, 1986; Marsh et al., 1984; Skaalvik, 1994). Second, to validate that the learning history is indeed a relevant motivational framework on the basis of which preservice teachers develop perceptions about themselves as future teachers, the subject-specific learning history was related to preservice teachers' confidence to teach in the future. Third, to gain further insight into the climate related to achievement, in particular student achievement, preservice teachers were asked to evaluate the achievement of four hypothetical students with different achievement levels in two content areas within each subject. In mathematics these were word problems and computation. There is an ongoing discussion as to how much emphasis should be given to each content area and how this impacts students' achievement (e.g., Mayer, Tajika, & Stanley, 1991; Song & Ginsburg, 1987; Yang & Cobb, 1995). For language arts, an expert inquiry led to the decision that the most equivalent content areas in this subject were "reading and essay" and "grammar and spelling." Consequently, preservice teachers were asked to assess the achievement in the different content areas and to attribute each student's achievement. In short, the following questions were addressed: 1.

2. 3. 4.

Are there country differences with regard to preservice teachers' mathematics and language arts learning history and the manner in which these are related to preservice teachers' confidence to teach either subject in the future? What is the relative importance of achievement in specific content areas for success in the subject? Do preservice teachers attribute students' mathematics achievement and language arts achievement differently? What conclusion can be drawn from the above results with regard to country differences in the achievement-related beliefs linked to mathematics and language arts?

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DATA GATHERING

Canadian Sample Participants from Canada were elementary (kindergarten through grade six) preservice teachers who were enrolled in a one-year, consecutive teacher-training program offered by a Faculty of Education in the province of Ontario. All individuals entered the teacher-training program with at least a baccalaureate, usually a Bachelor of Arts. A total of 224 individuals from Canada participated in the study, which took place at the beginning of the program. The average age was 27.5 years (SD= 5.0), and the majority of the participants (78%) were women. Nearly all participants attended high school in Ontario, which at the time went from grades 9 to 13. Although high school students could choose among three different levels of courses in mathematics and language arts, those who wished to enter postsecondary education required at least some advanced-level courses. While Canadian university programs vary with respect to the number of advanced-level courses required for admission, typically two advanced-level or at a minimum two general-level mathematics courses are required for nonscience programs. About 50% of the sample took five or more advanced-level mathematics courses, and thus studied mathematics until the end of their high school education. Yet 26% fulfilled the minimum requirements only, which meant that these participants took their last high school mathematics course in grade ten. Moreover, half of these took only general-level courses (13% of the sample). The remaining 24% took either three or four advanced-level mathematics courses. With regard to language arts, five high school courses are required to graduate. About 68% of the sample took all five as advanced-level courses. On the other hand, 21 % of the sample took only two advanced-level courses. The remaining 11 % took either three or four advanced-level language arts courses. In summary, most of the individuals who chose to become elementary teachers took more courses in language arts compared to mathematics. Based on data gathered from earlier studies, the high school subjectrelated background and postsecondary achievement was typical for this university.

German Sample Participants from Germany were preservice teachers who were enrolled at one of two universities within different states: Northrhine-Westphalia and Hamburg. The German school system as well as the teacher-training programs differ considerably from those in North America (Keitel, 1992). All teacher-training programs are concurrent programs. Preservice teachers from Northrhine-Westphalia were attending a three-year program,

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which upon completion would allow them to teach in grades one to four. Participants from Hamburg were attending a four-year program, which upon completion would allow them to teach from grades one to ten. A more detailed description of the programs is provided in Kuendiger and Schmidt (l997a). Despite the program differences, preservice teachers from both universities used the same attributions to explain their past achievement (Kuendiger et al., 1997). Thus, preservice teachers from both universities constituted the German sample of elementary preservice teachers. Data were obtained from 264 participants who were in the second year of their respective program. The average age of the German sample was 22.8 years (SD= 2.8) and the majority (88%) were women. Although German schooling also ends at grade 13, level differentiation does not begin until the second half of grade 11. Students who wished to take the fewest and easiest courses possible could take two general-level courses (Grundkurse) and thus would have their last high school course in the subject under consideration during the first part of grade 12. For mathematics, 21 % of the preservice teachers had these minimum requirements, 23% took four general-level courses, while 45% took four advanced-level courses (Leistungskurse), the largest possible number of mathematics courses. The remaining preservice teachers (11 %) took three courses with a mixture of general and advanced levels. For language arts, only 9% had the minimum requirements (Le., two general-level courses), 25% took four general-level courses, and 54% took four advanced-level courses. The remaining 11 % took three courses, again with a mixture of the two different levels. As in the Canadian sample, the Germans had a stronger background in language arts compared to mathematics. Moreover, based on previously gathered information, their academic background was typical for preservice elementary teachers in Germany.

Operationalization of Variables Data were gathered via a questionnaire. Participants were asked to recall their past learning of mathematics and language arts and to indicate their achievement level in both subject areas on a five-point Likert scale ranging from poor to excellent. In addition, from a list of provided attributions, they chose those that were most applicable to explain their past achievement in either subject area. Following discussions with participants of the 1992 study (Kuendiger et al., 1992) "intelligence/lack of intelligence" was added. Thus, participants could select from the following list of attributions: general intelligence, math ability, effort, interest, math is easy, good teaching, help by others (referred to as positive attributions) as well as the equivalent opposite attributions (e.g., lack of intelligence). The latter are

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referred to as negative attributions. Moreover, participants were asked to name "other reasons," if applicable. Only 5% took advantage of this possibility. All of these reasons could easily be associated with one of the aforementioned reasons. Each pair of corresponding attributions was considered an attributional aspect (e.g., the aspect of "intelligence"). A participant received a score of "1" if s/he attributed her/his past achievement to a positive attribution (e.g., "intelligence"). A participant received a score of "-1" if s/he used a negative attribution (e.g., "lack of intelligence"), and a score of "0" if s/he chose neither, thus indicating this aspect was not relevant for her/his achievement. Participants could use more than one attribution to explain their achievement. To measure the relative importance of achievement in solving word problems versus performing computations for overall achievement in mathematics, participants were asked to assign a grade out of lOO to four hypothetical students with different performance levels in the two mathematical content areas and to indicate on a five-point Likert scale how successful each student would be in the future. Moreover, participants were asked to attribute each student's achievement using the same attributions listed above. With regard to language arts the same questions were asked for four students with different performance levels in "reading and essay" and "grammar and spelling." In accordance with the noninterval nature of the data, non-parametric tests were used for the statistical analyses. Moreover, the significance level was set to 1 % and the impact of multiple testing accounted for.

RESULTS

Mathematics Learning History Canadian and German preservice teachers judged their past achievement in mathematics as relatively good, Canadians even more so than Germans (see Figure 1). In Canada, the majority (57.6%) considered it to be above average or excellent, compared to only 35.3% in Germany. This difference in past achievement was significant at the 1 % level (Mann-Whitney z=-6.374,p= .000). Preservice teachers in both countries used between two and three attributions to explain their achievement (Mumada = 2.5, SDCanada = 1.2; Mcennany = 2.5, SDGennany = 1.1). Table 1 provides an overview of these attributions. The positive/negative attribution that was used alone most frequently in Canada was "effort" (3.57%), followed by "poor teacher" (2.68%). In Germany the corresponding attributions were "good teacher" (2.23%) and "lack of effort" (3.46%). No one used "lack of intelligence" or "lack of help by others" by itself to explain their achievement. Positive aspects of nearly all attributions

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42.3

40 35 30 25 (%)

15 10 5 Poor

Below Average

Figure 1.

Table 1. Attributian

Average

Above Average

Excellent

Former mathematics achievement.

Attribution of Former Mathematics Achievement Country

Negative aspect (%) Alone

With others

Notused(%)

Positive aspect (%) With others

Alone

Intelligence

Canada Germany

0.00 0.00

1.79 1.15

58.04 71.54

37.05 25.38

3.12 1.92

Math ability

Canada Germany

0.89 1.54

8.48 19.23

71.87 58.85

16.96 19.62

1.79 0.77

Effort

Canada Germany

1.34 3.46

14.29 17.31

47.32 53.46

33.48 23.85

3.57 1.92

Interest

Canada Germany

1.79 0.77

22.32 15.00

47.32 56.15

27.23 25.38

1.34 2.69

Easy/Diff. Subject

Canada

1.79

17.41

75.89

4.46

0.45

were used more often than the negative ones, both in Canada and Germany. This is not surprising since all participants successfully completed high school and thus, none could have completely failed in mathematics. Only for the aspect "easy/difficult subject" was the negative aspect mentioned more often than the positive one. Yet, the latter aspect, together with "help from others," was mentioned least often in both countries. To analyze the relationship between the attributional aspects on one hand, and achievement and country on the other, hierarchical log-linear models with backward elimination were conducted (see, e.g., Darlington, 1990). For these analyses, three categories of past achievement were formed: "above average," "average," and "below average." The results from

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303

the log-linear analyses can be interpreted in a similar manner as results from analyses of variance. All attributional aspects were related to past achievement (see Table 2). Preservice teachers with higher achievement were more likely to choose the positive attributions compared to those with lower achievement. Firstorder country differences were found for three aspects: "mathematics ability," "interest," and "teacher." Further inspection of the data revealed that: 1. 2. 3.

"mathematical ability" in Germany was more associated with "above average achievement," "lack of interest" was more relevant for Canadians with "below average achievement" and "average achievement," and "good teacher" was more relevant for "above average achievement" in Germany.

An interaction effect was found for "effort" (see Table 2 and Figure 2). Canadian preservice teachers used "lack of effort" more often to explain low achievement and "effort" more often to explain high achievement than Germans. In summary, the following picture emerged: high achievement was attributed to "intelligence," "mathematical ability" (more so in Germany), "effort" (more so in Canada), "interest," "good teacher" (more so in Germany), and "help from others." For low achievement "lack of intelligence" was hardly mentioned (see Table 1). If an internal stable cause was used then it was "lack of mathematical ability" (more so in Germany). Moreover, low achievement was attributed to lack of effort (more so in Canada), "lack ofinterest," "poor teacher" and to a lesser degree to "lack of help from others" (see Table 1). Overall the relationship between past achievement and

Table 2.

Log Linear Analysis Summary of Attributional Aspects of Mathematics

Attributional Aspect

Source Achievement (X2, df=4)

P

Achievement x Country

Country (X2, df=2)

P

(X2, df=4)

P

Intelligence

86.09

.000*

2.21

.331

4.77

.311

Math ability

164.70

.000*

9.74

.007*

2.93

.569

91.15

.000*

3.08

.215

33.10

.000*

153.63

.000*

26.09

.000*

6.23

.182

Effort Interest Easy/Diff. subj. Teacher Help from others

Note * P< .01.

3.02

.000*

8.53

.014

4.06

.398

121.36

.000*

18.16

.000*

2.55

.637

26.00

.000*

3.53

.171

5.90

.207

304

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT 100

Above Average Achievement

80

~ &

60

.'...' .' .'.' .'

~

u..

(jj

'"

40 20

..................._••

.1It

-..

........

..' .'.'

-......

0 100

Below Average Achievement

80

~ &

~ u..

(jj

'"

60

.....................

40 20

........

..........

.......

0 Lack of Effort

Not Used

1--Canada Figure 2.

Effort

••••••• Germany

Interaction effect of achievement and country for effort in mathematics.

use of attributions that was found in earlier studies was confirmed (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger, 1990; Kuendiger et aI., 1992). In both countries, preservice teachers who perceived their past performance as high had developed a favorable attribution pattern and thus, can be described as having a favorable learning history, whereas those who perceived their past performance as low can be described as having an unfavorable learning history in mathematics.

Confidence to Teach Mathematics Canadian as well as German preservice teachers were relatively confident to teach mathematics, Canadians even more so than Germans (see Figure 3). In Canada, 36.6% judged their confidence to be excellent compared to 1.9% in Germany. The difference in confidence was significant (MannWhitney z = -6.717, P = .000). As in earlier studies (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger, 1990; Kuendiger et aI., 1992), significant correlations were found between past achievement and confidence (rCanada = 0.56, P< .01; rGermany = 0.30, P< .01). In both countries, higher past achievement led to higher confidence to teach mathematics in the future. This relationship was even stronger for Canada than Germany (z = 3.065, P< .01).

ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS

305

To investigate further the relationship between the learning history and the variable "confidence to teach," preservice teachers who chose the positive aspect of an attribution were compared with those who chose the negative aspect. Since "lack of intelligence" did not occur frequently in either country, the aspect "intelligence" needed to be excluded from this comparison. In Canada, significant differences were found for six of the seven attributional aspects (see Table 3). Canadian preservice teachers who explained their past achievement through the internal reasons "mathematical ability," "effort," "interest," and/or through the external reasons "easy subject" and "good teacher," were more confident to teach mathematics in the future than those who used the corresponding negative aspect. Further analyses of the data revealed that Canadians, who used "easy subject" and/ or "good teacher" also used at least one of the internal attributions "intelli-

42.8

II Canada

43.0

Ii!iIGermany

5 Not At All Confident

Somewhat Not Confident

Figure 3.

Table 3.

Somewhat Confident

Neutral

Very Confident

Confidence teaching mathematics.

Confidence Teaching Mathematics and Attributions

Attributional Aspect

Canada

Germany

z

p

z

P

Math ability

-5.19

.000*

-4.66

.000*

Effort

-4.69

.000*

-2.33

.020

Interest

-6.21

.000*

-3.51

.000*

Easy/Diff. subject

-3.96

.000*

-2.37

.018

Teacher

-4.30

.000*

-1.86

.063

Help from others

-2.26

.024

-2.24

.025

Intelligence

Note:

* p< .01.

306

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT

gence," "mathematical ability," "effort," or "interest," with the exception of less than 3% who chose "easy subject" or "good teacher" as their only reason to explain their achievement. Moreover, no clear pattern emerged for the use of negative attributions. In Germany, only two attributional aspects were associated with differences in confidence to teach mathematics: "mathematical ability" and "interest." Upon further analysis of the data, individuals who chose "interest" as an attribution also chose either "mathematical ability" or "intelligence," with the exception of 2.67% of individuals who chose "interest" as their only reason. No clear pattern emerged with regard to the use of negative attributions. In summary, the relationship between preservice teachers' mathematical learning history and confidence to teach the subject was substantiated in both countries. Thus, the hypothesis that the learning history constitutes a motivational framework on the basis of which preservice teachers develop perceptions of themselves as future teachers was supported. In Canada, the anticipation to teach mathematics with confidence was, on one hand, more strongly related to the perceived past achievement level, and on the other hand, was related to more attributional aspects compared to Germany. In Canada, high confidence was typically associated with at least one internal positive attribution, which was not necessarily either "intelligence" or "mathematical ability." In Germany, however, typically "intelligence" or "mathematical ability" was one of the positive attributions that were related to future teachers' high confidence to teach mathematics. This suggests that a high perception of one's academic ability, either general or subject specific, is more closely related to high confidence in Germany compared to Canada.

Language Arts Learning History Few participants in either country perceived their past language arts achievement as low (see Figure 4). In Canada, only 1.8% judged their past achievement as below average or poor, while the majority (80.8%) judged it as above average or excellent. In Germany, only 6.8% judged their past achievement as below average or lower, while a modest 38.9% judged it as above average or higher. The difference between countries was significant at the 1 % level (Mann-Whitney z = -6.374, P= .000). Participants in both countries used between two and three attributions to explain their achievement in language arts. The average was slightly lower in Germany (Mcanada = 2.4, SDCanada = 1.1; MGermany = 2.1, SDGermany = 1.0). Table 4 provides an overview of the attributions used. In both countries, "interest" was mentioned by itself the most (8.93% in Canada, 11.32% in Germany). In addition, "interest" was also the most frequently mentioned attribution overall in both countries (59.82% in Canada and 69.30% in

ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS

307

54.3

II Canada IliIIGermany

(%)

0.4

0.0 Poor

Below Average

Figure 4.

Average

Above Average

Excellent

Former language arts achievement.

Table 4. Attribution of Former Language Arts Achievement Attribution

Country

Negative aspect (%) Alone

With others

Notused(%)

Positive aspect (%) With others

Alone

Intelligence

Canada Germany

0.00 0.38

0.89 0.00

47.77 73.96

47.32 23.77

4.02 1.89

LA ability

Canada Germany

0.45 2.64

2.23 6.04

71.87 67.55

23.21 23.02

2.23 0.75

Effort

Canada Germany

0.00 3.02

4.46 12.08

46.43 68.68

45.09 15.85

4.02 0.38

Interest

Canada Germany

0.00 2.26

0.00 9.06

40.18 31.70

50.89 45.66

8.93 11.32

Easy/Diff. subject

Canada Germany

0.45 0.75

0.89 2.64

87.95 86.04

9.82 9.81

0.89 0.75

Teacher

Canada Germany

0.00 1.13

4.02 12.83

78.12 68.30

17.41 16.98

0.45 0.75

Help from others

Canada Germany

0.89 0.00

0.45 2.64

90.62 93.58

7.14 3.77

0.89 0.00

Germany), followed by "intelligence," "effort," and "good teacher." Once again, the negative aspects of all attributions were used less often than the positive aspects. This was particularly evident for Canada. Moreover, the two attributional aspects "help from others" and "easy/difficult subject" were least relevant. The distributions for past achievement in the two countries were so unequal that log-linear analyses comparable to those performed for mathe-

308

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT

matics could not be carried out. Thus, the relationship between achievement and attributions were analyzed for each country separately using Chisquare tests. For Canada three achievement groups were formed: "average and below," "above average," and "excellent." Bearing in mind that only 1.8% of Canadians judged their past achievement as below average, the first group essentially consisted of those preservice teachers with average achievement. In Germany only two groups were formed: "average and below" and "above average and excellent." In addition, when too few participants used a specific negative attribution, these were excluded from the analysis. As a result, the degrees of freedom vary for the Chi-square tests, the results of which are summarized in Table 5. In Canada, only two attributional aspects were related to past achievement at the 1 % level: "language arts ability" and "interest." The higher Canadians judged their past performance, the more often they used these attributions to explain their achievement. Together the results suggest that average or higher achievement is explained by "intelligence," "effort" and to a lesser degree by "a good teacher," whereas higher than average achievement is specifically related to "language arts ability" and "interest." For Germany, all attributional aspects other than "help from others" were significantly related to past achievement. Those with a higher than average achievement more likely chose one or more of the positive aspects of all attributions. Once again, overall results confirmed the close relationship between perceived past achievement and the attributions used to explain this achievement. Thus, the validity of the concept "learning history" was reaffirmed, this time for language arts. The above analysis described how achievement and attributions were related within one country. A further analysis with respect to the use of an attributional aspect only, regardless of whether the positive or negative

TableS. Relationship Between Former Language Arts Achievement and Attributional Aspects Attributional Aspect

Germany

Canada

r

p

r

p

Intelligence

7.00

.030

28.40

.000*

LA ability

18.61

.000*

71.11

.000*

1.30

.521

16.52

.000*

Effort

11.54

.003*

43.56

.000*

Easy/Diff. subject

4.19

.123

11.76

.003*

Teacher

0.61

.737

21.41

.000*

Help from others

6.89

.032

0.32

.850

Interest

Note:*PG

.000* .090

P

Intelligence

C>Ga

.002*

.014

LA ability

G>C

.000*

.508

Effort

C>G

.000*

Interest

G>C

.000*

C>G

Student 3

Easy/Diff. subj.

.038

.960

Teacher

.505

.103

Help from others

.682

.162

Student 4

DifJ

P

.002*

C>G

.000*

G>C

.001*

C>G

.001*

G>C

.000*

.536

.011

.033

.103 G>C

.017

.008*

C>G

.002*

.011

C>G

.002*

Notes: a Canadians either used the positive attributional aspect more or the negative attributional aspect less than Germans.

* p< .01.

316

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT

ligent in spite of his/her poor achievement. The distribution of the negative aspects for Canada (Germany) was as follows: "lack of intelligence" 12% (8%), "lack oflanguage arts ability" 23% (47%), "lack of effort" 37% (44%), "lack of interest" 46% (52%), "difficult subject" 23% (13%), "poor teacher" 24% (29%), "lack of help from others" 14% (29%). Four attributional aspects led to significant country differences (see Table 8). German preservice teachers attributed poor achievement in language arts more to a lack of the student's specific ability and lack of help from others than Canadians. Moreover, Germans attributed this poor achievement clearly to "lack of effort" and "poor teacher," whereas Canadians also used the positive attributional aspects of "effort" and "good teacher"; thus, allowing the interpretation that the student performed poorly in spite of effort and a good teacher. No clear pattern was found with regard to the combination of attributions used to explain poor achievement. Thus, poor achievement in language arts might be due to internal and/ or external reasons.

Comparison of the Evaluations for High and Low Achieving Students In both countries the assessment of a student who did well in mathematics was equivalent to the one who did well in language arts (i.e., Student 1). The same was found for the students who did poorly in the two subjects as well (i.e., Student 4). Notwithstanding, Canadians gave all students higher grades and judged the future success as higher than Germans. This suggests a difference in assessment standards between countries. Consistent differences were found with regard to the reasons that preservice teachers used to explain students' performance in both subject areas. The same country differences were found for the student with high achievement in mathematics and the one with high achievement in language arts. Likewise, the same was found for the students with low achievement, with one exception: Canadians used subject difficulty as an additional reason for failure in mathematics. Moreover, no significant within-country differences were found for the attributions used to explain either high or low achievement in mathematics and language arts. However, closer examination of the combination of reasons teachers used to explain high achievement revealed the following: in both countries high mathematical achievement was associated with the attributions "intelligence" or "subject-specific ability." The same was found for language arts in Canada, whereas high achievement in language arts in Germany was not necessarily related to either reason. Other internal reasons, specifically "interest" (82%), were relevant for language arts achievement in Germany. In summary, in both countries high achievement in mathematics was strongly associated with the perception of high intelligence and/or high

ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS

317

mathematical ability, whereas the attributional pattern for high achievement in language arts varied between countries. When preservice teachers explained the low achievement of Student 4, who performed poorly in both content areas in mathematics or language arts respectively, they used a variety of reasons, which also included positive attributions. Moreover, they used "lack of intelligence" or "lack of subjectspecific ability" less often to explain poor achievement than they used "intelligence" and "subject-specific ability" to explain high achievement. Correspondingly in Canada the attribution "difficult subject" was more relevant to explain low achievement and respectively "lack of help from others" in Germany. Together these differences indicated that the self-serving bias was evident when preservice teachers attributed poor students' achievement.

CONCLUSIONS

The study was designed to answer several questions related to preservice elementary teachers' achievement-related beliefs. The first focused on the attributions they used to explain their own cumulative past achievement (i.e., their learning history) and how these were related to their confidence to teach in the future. Based on past mathematical achievement, preservice teachers with a favorable or unfavorable learning history could be identified. The same was found for language arts in Germany. In Canada though, nearly all preservice teachers had a favorable language arts learning history. The majority (80.8%) judged their past performance as above average or excellent and accordingly used mostly positive attributions to explain this achievement. This finding confirmed the results of earlier studies (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger et al., 1992) and thus might well be considered the most important difference with regard to preservice teachers' learning history. When one summarizes between-country and between-subject differences of attributions in terms of the relevance of attributional aspects, the following picture emerges: The aspect "intelligence" was more relevant in Canada to explain achievement in language arts compared to Germany, whereas "mathematical ability" was more relevant to explain mathematical achievement in Germany. These between-country differences in internal, stable causes did not lead to significant differences between subject areas. The latter though was the case for the attributional aspects "effort," "interest" and "teacher." The teacher was most important for mathematics achievement in Germany, followed by mathematics achievement in Canada, and least important for language arts achievement in both countries. "Effort" was most important for mathematics and language arts in Canada, followed by mathematics in Germany, and least important for language arts

318

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT

in Germany. "Interest" was most important for both subject areas in Canada as well as language arts achievement in Germany, but least important for mathematics achievement in Germany. No significant differences were found for the two aspects "easy/difficult subject" and "help from others." Neither attributions were used very often and thus were less relevant to explain preservice teachers cumulative past achievement. The relationship between preservice teachers' learning history and their self-efficacy beliefs as future teachers that was found in earlier studies was confirmed (Kellenberger & Kuendiger, 1993; Kuendiger, 1990; Kuendiger et al., 1992). Preservice teachers who judged their past achievement as high in either mathematics or language arts were also more confident to teach the subject area. In addition the use of specific positive attributions, which varied between countries and subject areas, was linked to high confidence. Together these results provide strong empirical evidence that learning history influences self-efficacy beliefs. If one accepts the conclusion that the learning history is a relevant motivational framework on the basis of which preservice teachers form their initial efficacy beliefs then the question arises as to what implications there are with regard to teacher training. Primarily, it is important for teacher trainers to be aware of this relationship. It allows them to explicitly address the issue, particularly for those who enter a program with an unfavorable learning history, and to consider interventions related to the specific negative attributions related to confidence in teaching. For example, if a preservice teacher is convinced that she is not able to do mathematics, then it might be necessary to stress that the mathematics she feels unable to do is not the level of mathematics she will be teaching in elementary school. She must have been successful with elementary school content otherwise she would not have finished high school successfully. In addition it might be necessary to provide the preservice teacher with success experiences in elementary school mathematics to enable her to develop a positive perception of her ability to do the mathematics she will be teaching. A more detailed discussion on possible interventions can be found in Kellenberger and Kuendiger (1993). The second question that was addressed in this study relates to the relative importance of speci:6.c content areas for overall achievement in mathematics and language arts. With regard to language arts, both Canadian and German preservice elementary teachers agreed that achievement in "reading and essay" was more relevant for overall success in this subject than achievement in "grammar & spelling." Country differences were found for mathematics, however. Canadians valued achievement in computation consistently higher than achievement in problem solving, whereas Germans regarded both as equally important. Thus, the ongoing discussion that takes place within the community of mathematics educators to strengthen the importance of problem solving

ACHIEVEMENT IN MATHEMATICS AND LANGUAGE ARTS

319

within the mathematics curriculum, appears, thus far, not to have had much impact on preservice teachers' perceptions specifically in Canada. One might speculate that the high importance Canadian preservice teachers place on computational skills is a reflection of the higher importance of computational skills compared to problem solving in the curriculum. Some support for this hypothesis is provided by Mayer et al. (1991), who concluded that American students' poorer achievement in problem solving compared to Japanese students was based on differences in the curricula, which provided American students with less exposure to problem solving. The question remains whether one can make the inference from a curriculum standpoint that the United States is similar to Canada. An additional argument for the relatively high importance of computational skills in Canada comes from a study conducted by Ford (1994). Here fifth grade U.S. teachers believed that problem solving in mathematics was primarily an application of computational skills. If one assumes that the Canadian preservice teachers have a similar perception, then it follows that computational skills are more important for overall achievement in mathematics. To try to explain differences between Canada and Germany with regard to the relative importance of computation and problem solving through differences in the curricula is, at this point, highly speculative. The third question this study addressed is related to preservice teachers' attribution of students' achievement. Consistent between-country differences were found with regard to the reasons preservice teachers used to explain high versus low student achievement. Canadians attributed high mathematical achievement more to students' intelligence and effort whereas students' mathematical ability and interest were considered more relevant in Germany. The same differences were found for high language arts achievement. Nonetheless, there was a clear difference with regard to the combination of attributions that were used for language arts versus mathematical achievement. In both countries high mathematical achievement was associated with intelligence or subject-specific ability. The same was found for language arts in Canada, whereas high achievement in language arts in Germany was not necessarily related to either reason. Other internal reasons, specifically "interest" (82%), were relevant for language arts in Germany. Country differences for low student achievement were equally consistent. In Germany, low achievement in either subject was explained more by lack of subject-specific ability, lack of effort, poor teacher, and lack of help by others compared to Canada. In addition, in Canada, low mathematical achievement was seen as more related to the difficulty of subject. The equivalent difference was not found for language arts. In either country, lack of intelligence or lack of subject-specific ability as an explanation for poor achievement was mentioned less often than the corresponding positive attributions for high achievement. Thus, the self-serving bias often

320

E. KUENDIGER, D. KELLENBERGER, AND S. SCHMIDT

found when one's own poor achievement is attributed was evident when preservice teachers attributed students' achievement. The final question to be addressed regards what conclusion can be drawn from the above results with regard to country differences in the achievement-related beliefs in mathematics and language arts. When preservice teachers attributed students' achievement, they did not apply the exact same pattern they used when they attributed their own past achievement. Nonetheless, clear differences between subject areas as well as countries emerged. For example, high achievement in mathematics was more clearly linked to either general or specific ability, the latter attributional aspect being more prevalent in Germany. Mathematical achievement therefore seems to be ability evaluative, either general or subject-specific. This might be caused by the hierarchical nature of mathematics described earlier. If one accepts this hypothesis, then how can one explain the between-country differences with regard to language arts achievement? This subject area was ability evaluative in Canada, with intelligence being more relevant than language arts ability, yet in Germany mostly interest was related to this achievement. Is this an indication of different teaching methods or of differences in more general cultural beliefs? In addition, further studies might investigate why mathematical ability in Germany is more linked to achievement compared to intelligence in Canada. What is the cultural context that leads to this difference? Moreover, in Canada, achievement for both mathematics and language arts was more related to effort compared to Germany. The question arises as to what is meant by effort in both countries and subject areas. Does this mean applying cognitive strategies or does it mean memorization? The answer to this question would provide a more detailed insight into the subject-area-dependent teaching and learning processes in both countries.

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Pintrich, P.R (1990). Implications of psychological research on student learning and college teaching for teacher education. In W.R Houston (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 826-857). New York: Macmillan. Salden, V. (1999). TIMSS---kulturell in terpretiert. Die Deutsche Schule, 91, 186-201. Samimy, K., Liu, j., & Matsuta, K. (1994). Gambare, Amae, and Giri: A cultural explanation for japanese children's success in mathematics. Journal of MathematicalBehaviour, 13(3),261-271. Schoenfeld, A.H. (1989). Explorations of students' mathematical beliefs and behavior. Journal far Research in Mathematics Education, 20(4), 338-355. Skaalvik, E.M. (1994). Attribution of perceived achievement in school in general and in maths and verbal areas: Relations with academic self-concept and selfesteem. The British Journal ofEducational Psychology, 64( 1), 133--43. Song, M., & Ginsburg, H.P. (1987). The development ofinformal and formal mathematical thinking in Korean and U.S. children. Child Development, 58(5),12861296. Stevenson, H.W., & Lee, S. (1990). Contexts of achievement: A study of American, Chinese, and japanese children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 55(1-2), 1-116. Thompson, A.G. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and conceptions: A synthesis of the research. In DA. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 127-146). New York: Macmillan. Tiedemann, j., & Faber, G. (1995). Madchen im Mathematikunterricht: Selbstkonzept und Kausalattributionen im Grundschulalter. Zeitschrift fur Entwicklungspsychologie und Piidagogische Psychologie, 27(1),61-71. Tuss, P., Zimmer,j., & Ho, H. (1995). Casual attributions of underachieving fourthgrade students in China,japan, and the United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26(4), 408-425. Vispoel, W.P., & Austin, j.R (1995). Success and failure in junior high school: A critical incident approach to understanding students' attributional beliefs. American Educational Research Journal, 32(2), 377-412. Van, W., & Gaier, E.L. (1994). Causal attributions for college success and failure: An Asian-American comparison. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 25( 1), 146-158. Yang, M.T., & Cobb, P. (1995). A cross-cultural investigation into the development of place-value concepts of children in Taiwan and the United States. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 28( 1), 1-33.

CHAPTER 14

NATIVE AMERICAN INFLUENCE ON CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION Scott Sparks

INTRODUCTION This chapter examines Native American learners and how Native American culture can impact learning and social development. It represents an opportunity to share information about these learning and social issues to heighten awareness and to help assure that acceptance and action will soon follow. Much of what is presented is a result of extensive literature reviews over several years and a good portion is the outcome of the author's work as a consultant to tribal schools and as a member of a Chippewa tribe in Michigan. During visits to various tribal schools throughout the United States, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to share many Native American cultures and see them at work within an educational context. My training as a special educator provided a strong focus on the curriculum and how it was delivered to individual students. Realizing that a large majority of Native American students, both children and adults, were receiving their education in off-reservation public schools, I began to study how their cultural strengths were being used or not used by educators. The sad truth is that Native American youth are not being adequately accommodated within public schools and a whole host of problems result. These include low self-esteem, behavior problems, alcohol and drug abuse, identity crises, and a general feeling of hopelessness. The fact that Native American youth, on a proportional basis, represent the largest eth325

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nic minority receiving special education services speaks to the inadequacies of the system in supporting Native American learners in a culturally responsive manner.

Stereotypes A word of caution regarding stereotypes is needed at the beginning of this chapter. Readers often take general information such as that presented here and generalize it "beyond its data set" in a manner of speaking. For instance, information on Native American culture is well and good but does not apply to all Native American learners equally within different or similar contexts. Native Americans are extremely diverse and cultural beliefs and practices vary from one group to another even when they live only miles apart. Anyone who plans to use cultural information to enhance education should focus their efforts on the specific values held by the local Native group. This "localization" of cultural information will help to avoid inaccuracies and will meet the cultural learning needs of local Native American students. A broader, more general view of Native American culture will evolve as the curriculum and students grow.

Assimilation Consider the following scenario: Jaren is a 15-year-old Native American youth who lives in a nonnative household. When he was 4 years old, he was living with his father and mother on the tribal reservation and was physically abused by both parents. They were both alcoholics and had little interest in Jaren, he was removed from the home and custody was given to the State. State agencies looked first for relatives of Jaren to adopt but found no one willing or able to accept this responsibility. The agency then sought adoptive parents from Native American communities and again found no interest. Finally, the agency opened the adoption to the wider community and a nonnative family was approved for the adoption. As in the past when many young Native Americans were adopted out of their cultural communities,Jaren began a longjourney of conflict and confusion. Before Jaren was adopted, he lived in a home where his Native language was spoken as a primary language. At four years old, he could communicate effectively but not completely in his native tongue. His adoptive family did not speak Jaren's primary language and insisted that Jaren develop English skills at the expense of further development of his Native language. The State agency had little concern about this and saw it as a benefit for Jaren by helping him fit in with the dominant society with a minimum amount of rejection. ThusJaren was raised in an immersion of English and Euro American values at the expense of his Native American identity.

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Things started to go wrong for Jaren when he was 8 years old and other children began to tease him because he was an overweight Indian. Jaren himself began to question his Native American heritage and started to wish he was anything but Native American. He rejected everything Native American and was rejected by the dominant society he so much wanted to join. His behavior in school steadily declined and now at age 15, he is looking forward to being able to drop out of school soon and get a job in town. Jaren has begun to show signs of abusive behavior toward others and has a difficult time finding and making friends. Assimilation is a process of a person moving from his or her primary culture to another culture and society. In the case of Native Americans,Jaren's case highlights a number of issues. The first is the fact that the United States Government through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) made a concerted effort during the first half of the 20th century to wipe out Native American languages and values by developing a network of boarding schools wherein Indian children would live throughout the school week or longer. The goal of the boarding schools was to immerse Native children into the dominant culture by forcing English, encouraging nonuse of Native language, and embracing dominant culture values while ignoring and often punishing the practice of Native values (Mannes, 1993; Timpson, 1993). The result of the boarding school movement has been to alienate Native American youth from their cultural values and leave them dazed and confused about who they are and how they fit into society. An entire generation of Native American's was subjected to this form of education and that has led to extinct Native American languages, extreme poverty and unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse, and increased disability issues such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).

Tribal Schools Today, most boarding schools are closed but some remain. However, their focus today is not to assimilate the students into the dominant culture but to reassimilate them into their own Native culture. Tribal schools are affiliated with the BIA in one of three ways; BIA administered schools, Contract schools and, Grant schools. Most are contract or grant schools since there is a great deal of flexibility in curriculum and other matters without the absolute oversight of the BIA (Snyder:Joy, 1994). Despite the model, each type of tribal school embraces the tribal values and actively acts on those values. It is not uncommon to see all kinds of rituals being performed daily and elders roaming the halls and classrooms. This celebration of tribal values gives students an accurate and proud identity and the curriculum utilizes their individual learning strengths much more than what occurs in non tribal schools. Assessment is also more relevant in tribal

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schools than in traditional public schools. In BIA supported schools, students are much more likely to receive an assessment that takes into account their cultural status. The teachers in tribal schools are overwhelmingly non-Native Americans. There is a significant shortage of Native American teachers in the United States making tribal schools rely heavily on non-Native American teachers. However, tribal schools draw heavily on their local Native American community to bring in cultural behaviors both directly and indirectly. Elders are often used as language teachers in an effort to revive struggling Native American languages. Generally a teacher is designated as the Culture Teacher whose job it is to practice Native American culture and teach students about their Native heritage.

Public Schools

As noted earlier, only about 10% of Native American students attend a BIA sponsored school, most attend their local public school, as does Jaren. The degree that the public school personnel incorporate culture specific values will determine the success or failure for Native American students. From the description of Jaren, the reader might conclude that his school was not one of those "culturally sensitive" educational settings. That conclusion is true and Jaren's story is not uncommon. His dislike for school and for his own heritage has left him without direction at a crucial time in his development. His behavior is a sign of this conflict as is his lack of motivation to succeed in school.

NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES AND PUBLIC POLICY The reader might ask; why did his Native American community not take in Jaren? This question is a legitimate one and points to a number of problems within Native communities that impact their children in schools and other settings. There is a general tendency for Native American parents to not adopt children leaving little choice to agencies that must place a child (Timpson, 1993). On the other hand, for years, adoption agencies were encouraged by bureaucrats to adopt Native American youth into nonNative families in the mistaken belief that it would benefit the child through assimilation. Either way, the outcome of this practice has led to students like Jaren who suffer acute identity crises and feel unwanted. Tribally based child welfare programs face the same problems, have increasing caseloads, and make extensive use of out-of-home care (Mannes, 1993). Without the influence of a Native American family,Jaren has trouble defining his place in the social order and himself as an individual. His well meaning but misdirected adoptive parents do not understand Jaren's

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behavior and expected him to have little problem leaving his Native American culture and family due to the physical abuse he suffered. Jaren's story is general enough that many interpretations can be made. One of the stereotypes that might evolve is the alcohol addiction and resultant physical abuse that his biological parents exhibited. While alcoholism is a major problem on many reservations throughout the United States, not all Native Americans are alcoholics. It is also true that alcoholism can contribute to physical abuse but it is only one reason that maltreatment of children occurs on Native American reservations. Other reasons include the physical smallness of reservations, unemployment, and the loss of cultural identity resulting from the Boarding School Movement. Understanding a student's life challenges is a good idea but caution must always be in the forefront so that stereotypes like the "drunken Indian" are avoided.

Poverty Another "reality" of reservation life includes an acute problem of poverty. Perhaps the biggest concern of poverty for Native American learners is good nutrition. Native American children between ages 5 and 19 have an alarming 39% overweight rate compared to 28% for other children (Jackson, 1993). Often the main meal of the day consists of flour and water bread with some salt for flavoring and is repeated day after day. This narrow diet is nutritionally unsound and can easily lead to developmental concerns for growing children. The cycle of poverty on reservations is a true challenge for Native Americans and society at large. Nutrition is but one of the many poverty-related hardships that many Native American schoolchildren must endure; others include fewer opportunities to compete in the nonnative world and experience meaningful adult interactions, and a sense of hopelessness.

School Attendance and Achievement In the story aboutJaren, there is an obvious reluctance to attend school and an expectation that he will not finish. This is due in large part to Jaren's lack of motivation and culture conflict but could also point to systemic problems with how schools operate and treat students. For instance, students from Native American communities enrolled in public schools are more likely to have low achievement test scores. Nel (1994) noted that 75% of Indian students are at least one grade behind their age peers and that nonenrollment in school is as high as 10% for this population of students. Further, several researchers have found an alarming dropout rate for Native American students that represents the highest in the nation (Charleston, 1994; McCarty, 1993; Nel, 1994). Nel reported the Native

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American dropout rate as 35.5% compared to 27.9% for students from Hispanic backgrounds and 22.2% for students of Mrican American heritage. Overall, Indian youth account for a staggering 3.1 % of all dropouts thus indicating a serious breakdown between the schools and Native Americans. While J aren 's reasons have to do primarily with his identity crisis, there are many reasons that Native American youth drop out of school. Among these is a general hopelessness associated with the feeling that they are "stuck on the reservation" with no escape. They very often fail to see anything meaningful resulting from an education and this lack of functional richness leads to not attending or dropping out of school. The teenage years that Jaren is experiencing are particularly challenging for Native American youth. During this age, they have the highest suicide rates of any other subgroup of teenagers, the lowest academic achievement level, the lowest rate of school attendance, the lowest rate of participation in postsecondary education, and the highest school dropout rate (Banks & Banks, 1993; Charleston, 1994; Nel, 1994). Students from Native American communities are more likely to be identified as having a mild disability than any other minority group as well. The most common diagnoses are emotional disturbance and learning disabilities. When educators see these kinds of facts, the alarm bell has to go off and culturally responsive education must follow.

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

What can be done is practice based on good empirical data. Jaren's case is a compilation of a number of Native American specific issues that are well based in research. His story is fiction and does not represent a real person but does illustrate very real issues within indigenous cultures. For example, the practice of adopting Native American youth outside their Native communities has been a common one in the United States (Mannes, 1993; Timpson, 1993). Public Policies such as the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 were passed to help Native American in the United States regain their culture and languages (Mannes, 1993; Timpson, 1993). However, a number of writers have expressed concern with the loss of indigenous languages from nonuse (Charleston, 1994; Crawford, 1995; Lipka, & Ilutsik, 1995; McCarty, 1993; Nel, 1994; Silentman, 1995; Smolkin & Suina, 1996; Zepeda, 1995). Yet another issue Jaren illustrates is the tendency toward obesity in Native American youth. Jackson (1993) reports that American Indian schoolchildren have significantly higher body mass indices than other children. This increased body mass can lead to a number of health risks and prevention efforts are sorely needed. Self-esteem is also negatively impacted by obesity. Jaren represents the poor self-esteem and other psychological factors that result in high dropout rates from school and seeing little in the future (Charleston, 1994; Nel, 1994; Timpson, 1993).

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Ideas for Positive Educators Educators and others who work with Native American learners can help break the many negative aspects of reservation life using a positive curriculum approach. The first and foremost idea to consider is empowerment. The idea of empowerment of Native American students does not suggest that they change their cultural beliefs and behaviors but that they learn to adapt to specific situations and acquire necessary coping skills. Educators should make a concerted effort to familiarize Native American students with mainstream culture and school practices. Students from Native American backgrounds need to know how mainstream Americans view the world. It is less likely that school failure will occur when Native American students are positively oriented toward both their own and the dominant culture. InJaren's case, a slightly different set of variables is at work. He has been immersed in the dominant culture since early childhood and is aware of mainstream American values. However, what is missing in his case is positive information on his Native American culture. The same process outlined above applies to Jaren except an emphasis on his Native heritage rather than the dominant cultural values is needed. In any event, it is crucial that Native American children become positively oriented to both cultures so that they can function suc€essfully in either one. Diversity must be considered when presenting information to children in school. Otherwise, the teacher runs the risk of stereotyping Native American children into one homogeneous group and perpetuating the myth of one single "Indian Reality" (Gross, 1995). In fact, cultural education in public schools should be aimed as much at changing ideas of children from the dominant culture as it is in providing a relevant learning environment for children from Native American backgrounds. Cultural infusion in the curriculum does not water down the academics but strengthens it by making it relevant to the learner. The curriculum should address issues of tradition and health practices in Native American communities and families. In most Native American communities, cultural practices have a significant influence on how children perform in the curriculum (Snyder:Joy, 1994; Watahomigie, 1995). By understanding specific cultural practice, educators are able to develop curricula that are both responsive to the student's needs and to the teacher's as well. Learning about a student's life requires good judgment, respect for privacy, confidentiality, and the skill to use what is learned in a positive way. Native American families are no more excited about outsiders coming into their homes than any other family would be in similar circumstances. Generally, it is more appropriate to garner an invitation from a family rather than force the issue. This will take time as trust is built between home and school but persistence and frequent positive communications from teachers will go a long way to breaking this barrier. If available, contact a tribal

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source and learn about the proper way to approach families within their culture. In Jaren's case, his adoptive family could positively participate. They might gain insight into the value of the Native American culture that Jaren was born to and appreciate his differences rather than trying to change them. Of course, information about an individual family is only part of the picture in developing curricula that are sensitive to Native American learners. Information about specific tribal culture in general is the most logical place to start given the open access to such information. Family information takes time to acquire but general information about the local tribe can easily be discovered. Some sources of tribal information are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Read books, magazine articles, and other written material on local tribal practices. Request information from the tribal authority including brochures and newsletters. Attend pow-wow's and other tribal events to gain insight and develop social contacts and resources. Use the Internet to search for sites through governmental and private sources. Talk with tribal members about general tribal matters. Attend a tribal school board or council meeting.

Language Matters The way one communicates with Native American students and their families is critical in the development of trust and cooperation. Language issues should be addressed within the curriculum. Researchers such as Charleston and King (1991) found that schools resist integrating Native language and culture into the curriculum despite having access to excellent materials and resources, this resistance must be overcome to accommodate Native American students. Many tribes are engaged in efforts to save their Native language and depend on young people to carry this knowledge forward. The suggestion is not to learn and teach the local Native American language but to make all students aware of it and familiar with its sound, intonation, and basic meaning. Native American students can serve as role models in this effort and can generally seek additional language instruction through family and tribal resources. Serving in such a positive role-model capacity will strengthen self-concept in Native American students. SinceJaren had learned some of his Native tongue at the age of four, he will have an advantage in learning that much of the language again since he had developed a familiarity. Teachers should devote some bulletin board or other space for frequent mini-language lessons using local Native American words and phrases. Language also can communicate

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negative biases and stereotypes. The language one uses to refer to an ethnic group for instance is clearly indicative of a particular cultural bias. Likewise, the body language that a professional uses in working with culturally different people can give away cultural bias. These language biases can be presented in very subtle ways and many times the professional is unaware of projecting cultural bias. However, to the person who is culturally different, these language signals are very clear and obvious and impact motivation to learn and perform.

Instructional Approaches The auditory approach of the standard school curriculum may work well for non-Indian urban students, but Native Americans tend to be highly visual learners due to their cultural upbringing (Gilliland & Reyhner, 1988). Note-taking is a skill that would be troublesome to Native American students and alternatives should be sought. In today's technological world, preparing material on a word processor or presentation software can generate colorful illustrations to accompany the written word. Some alternatives to consider are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Allow for audio taping on a tape player or computer so that material can be listened to repeatedly. Provide illustrated notes that represent important points. Use a number of colorful visual aids to complement lecture material. Give real-life examples to illustrate important lecture issues. Use demonstration and other hands-on techniques as much as possible.

At the same time, many Native American students grow up in a highly oral culture whereby stories, songs, and listening are strong cultural values (Lipka & Ilutsik, 1995; Watahomigie, 1995; Zepeda, 1995). The history of many tribes has been passed from one generation to the next through storytelling singing and dancing. While this may seem consistent with a lecture method of teaching, unless such an oral technique is accompanied with visual (and preferably, active) cues, it will lack a necessary component of good learning. Books should be well illustrated and information presented in a visual format. Native Americans are well known for visual representations of their knowledge and history rather than written ones. Sign Language that many deaf persons use is largely based on sign language used by Native Americans further reflecting the importance of an active visual communication preference. Researchers have found that Native American students utilize simultaneous processing rather than sequential processing (Dunn & Griggs, 1995, Preston, 1991). The traditional standard school curriculum is very sequential in nature. A new fact is presented that leads to another fact and to

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another until a whole is established. Textbooks and other written classroom materials are typically developed in a sequential fashion. This works against the learning style of most Native American students who tend to process information in a simultaneous fashion, synthesizing separate elements into a whole. That is, they first see the whole picture and gain insight on specific details from that image but not necessarily in the traditional sequence. For instance, instead of teaching the grammatical parts that make up a sentence, present the entire sentence first and then break it apart by its grammatical components. Of course, making the sentence one about a Native American subject can accomplish this and at the same time, serve as an excellent way to infuse the Native culture "into" the curriculum. In many Native American cultures, children learn new skills by observing them and then doing them (Barta, 1999; Mellas, 1998). This hands-on technique is part of their natural learning style and should be utilized to the maximum extent possible. Teachers are realizing more and more that an active, hands-on curriculum benefits all learners and usually leads to a fuller understanding of the concepts represented. Demonstration is an example of an in-class method that utilizes a visual and hands-on process. While demonstrations are generally sequential in nature, by showing what the final product looks like before the demonstration the teacher can introduce simultaneo~s processing into the learning equation. Following a demonstration, students should have the opportunity to make their own product based on their observations during the demonstration. This fits in very nicely with the traditional "observe and do" model used in Native communities. Another familiar theme to teachers is the concept of the "extended classroom" or taking instruction beyond the walls of the school. This is often accomplished through field trips into the community and surrounding environment. This approach works well with Native Students due to its active, hands-on nature. However, field trips must be relevant to both the learner and the curriculum and not simply isolated "experiences." Field trips to tribal functions are welcome by many tribes and educators can initiate them with a phone call to a tribal office in most cases. The local community in general is ripe for relevant field trips. The talents and skills of a variety of people in the community need to be available and used in the educational process both inside and outside of school buildings. Visiting non-Native and Native owned businesses and other local enterprises give all students cultural perspective and positive images. This also serves to accomplish the goal of preparing Native American students to function in multiple societies and positive tolerance among non-Native students. Cooperative learning strategies tend to work very well with Native American students. This is largely due to the fact that they tend to value cooperation and harmony which will maximize a grouping methodology. Native American students will generally do better in cooperative rather than competitive learning environments (Nichols, 1991). Cotton (1994) suggests that the following as guidelines to increasing intergroup contact.

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1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

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Students have equal status. Students get to know one another as individuals. Students have common interests and similar characteristics. Students associate with one another according to equitable social norms set by leaders. Students have an interest in cooperation. Students can advance individual or group goals through cross cultural interactions. Students advance when subjects are extracurricular and social as well as academic. Students remain on-task when the activities are frequent and sustained.

Students should be organized into culturally heterogeneous cooperative learning groups and given tasks requiring group cooperation and interdependence. Activities should be structured so that teams can experience success. Of course, methodologies like cooperative learning benefit all students not just Native Americans. For instance, a multicultural (realize that ethnicity is not a required aspect of culture) cooperative group might be organized to address a topic such as a specific historical event. In cooperative groups the individual cultures of each student can contribute to the final product. The Native American student is able to discuss and include his or her insights into the specific historical event as can the student from Asia or an African American student. Through such culturally diverse small group activities, understanding and appreciation for one another is fostered. This points out how much both the indigenous culture and every student's culture can positively drive the curriculum for all students. This active diversity within the educational setting should be an ongoing process and not limited to small group activities only. A final characteristic of Native American learners has to do with the concept of time. Native American students frequently have a different concept of space and time and more often than not see life as an unhurried event (Nel, 1994). The implication for the teacher is to project an unhurried demeanor when working with Native American students. While Native American students must learn to be at certain places on time in order to successfully function in multiple societies, teaching them academic and social skills doesn't always require a frenetic or routine pace. By being flexible and patient, the teacher gives positive recognition to a different but very natural conceptualization of time and space.

Curricular Focus Students should themselves generate the focus of classroom inquiry based on their own interest. This is not done at the expense of meeting

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necessary curricular goals but becomes part of the process in meeting those goals. By generating themes with students using curricular goals as a guide, a level of empowerment for students is allowed. This "ownership" of the curriculum may well lead to students taking responsibility for learning what they had an opportunity to develop. Native American concepts and culture can easily be incorporated into the class curriculum is such a way as to meet academic and social goals. By encouraging student input, the teacher has a gauge as to how much "cultural infusion" appropriately meets the students' comfort level. Using images of Native American life to illustrate issues in civics, science, history, or mathematics is limited only by a teacher's creativity. For instance, Cajete (1994) notes that traditional education for Native Americans has always been ecologically based on how each tribe adapted to specific environments in unique ways. This environmental ecology can easily become a part of the everyday science curriculum in the classroom. Native Americans typically represent an outstanding example of people who live in harmony with their environment and these strengths benefit Native American students and their non-Native peers. Using Native experts and Elders as resources, this environmental perspective can be brought to the classroom. Including Elders as instructors in schools can prevent Native American traditions from being forgotten. Academic credentials are comparably matched by their knowledge of culture, tradition, and language. Most tribes have Elder programs and many welcome the opportunity to talk with young people. Bringing Elders into the classroom promotes respect for their wisdom and provides positive role-models for Native American students. When working with Elders, find out what their perceived strengths are and let them take the lead in instruction. They may utilize storytelling, songs, dance, music, ceremonies or any number of vehicles to instruct students. Non-Native students will be enriched by their interaction with culturally different individuals. To listen to elders talking about the past and the culture opens up the truth about the Native American culture and hopefully, appreciation and acceptance will follow.

CONCLUSION How well Native American students are served by schools and other institutions is largely determined by how responsive the school or institution is to the students' culture. The brief story ofJaren is not unique and represents an interesting dichotomy among Native American youth. Because of the assimilation efforts in boarding schools and by child welfare agencies, it was believed to be in the best interest of Indian youth to leave their Native heritage in the past and embrace a new heritage defined by the dominant culture. Thus, a very large group of children were removed from their families and cultures and forced to learn different ways. The other part of Jaren's

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story has to do with the children who did not leave the reservation or tribal culture. These students more often than not live in poverty, are confined to small spaces called reservations, drop out of school regularly, become involved in alcohol and drugs, and act out behaviorally. However, the problems that children have who unlike jaren stayed in their culture are almost identical to those jaren are experiencing. Of course, the common denominator is the fact that all of them are Native American youth and until the dominant society is willing to accept them, they will continue to experience bias, abuse, poverty, and unresponsive school and other bureaucratic systems. So as not to end this chapter on a negative note, educators must always be aware of the importance of positive thinking and approaches. As noted throughout this chapter, a positive orientation toward Native American culture improves students' perceptions of themselves and ultimately their performance in schools. There are many problems to be solved but determined tribal members, sincere non-Native Americans, and public and private agencies are working diligently to solve these problems. By simply incorporating the ideas presented in this chapter, educators can take a giant step to improving the lives of Native American children. As for jaren, his outlook will depend largely on his own strength, his adoptive families' willingness to change, his Native American relatives and other tribal members willingness to get involved, and agencies who have a goal of keeping Native American children within their cultural communities until they are developed enough to make their own choices about such matters. My hope is thatjaren will make it, his adoptive and biological families will find ways to support him and he will learn to appreciate his ethnic heritage. On top of all that, the real hope is that jaren stays in school and learns skills that will serve him in whatever community he chooses as an adult.

REFERENCES Banks, J.A., & Banks, C.A.M. (1993). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Barta, 1. (1999). Native American beadwork and mathematics. Winds of Change, 14(2), 36-4l. Cajete, G. (1994). Look to the mountain: An ecology of indigenous education. Durango, CO: Kivaki Press. Charleston, G.M. (1994). Toward true Native education: A treaty of 1992-Final report of the Indian Nations at-risk task force-Draft 3. Journal of American Indian Education, 33, 10-56. Charleston, G.M., & King, G.L., (1991). Indian Nations at risk task force: Listen to the people. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Indian nations At Risk Task Force. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 343 754) Cotton, K (1994). Fostering intercultural harmony in schools: Research findings (Topical Synthesis No.7). Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

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Crawford,]. (1995). Endangered Native American languages: What is to be done, and why? The Bilingual Research Journal, 19( 1), 17-38. Dunn, R, & Griggs, S.A (1995). Multiculturalism and learning style. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers. Gilliland, H., & Reyhner,]. (1988). Teaching the Native American. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Gross, E.R (1995). Deconstructing politically correct practice literature: The American Indian case. Social Worn, 40(2), 206-213. Jackson, M.Y. (1993). Height, weight, and body mass index of American Indian schoolchildren, 1990-1991. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 93, 1136-1140. Lipka,]., & Ilutsik, E. (1995). Negotiated change: Yup'ik perspectives on indigenous schooling. The Bilingual Research Journal, 19(1), 195-207. Mannes, M. (1993). Seeking the balance between child protection and family preservation in Indian child welfare. Child Welfare, 72,141-151. McCarty, T.L., (1993). Language, literacy, and the image of the child in American Indian classrooms. Language Arts, 70, 182-192. Mellas, L. (1998). Life's lessons learned, and taught: College of education initiative fosters lively science and math teaching grounded in life experiences. Quantum: Research & Scholarship, 15(2), 30-32. Nel, J. (1994). Preventing school failure: The Native American child. The Clearing House, 67, 169-174. Nichols, R (1991). Continuous evaluation of Native education programs for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Educatin, Indian Nations At Risk Task Force. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 343 760) Preston, V. (1991). Mathematics and science curricula in elementary and secondary education for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Indian Nations At Risk Task Force. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 343 767) Silentman, I. (1995). Revaluing indigenous language resources through language planning. The Bilingual Research Journal, 19( 1), 179-182. Smolkin, L.B., & Suina,J.H. (1996). Lost in language and language lost: Considering Native language in classrooms. Language Arts, 73,166-172. Snyder:Joy, Z.K (1994). Self-determination in American Indian education: Educators' perspectives on grant, contract, and BIA-administered schools. Journal of American Indian Education, 35, 20-34. Timpson,]. (1993). Four decades of literature on native Canadian child welfare: Changing themes. Child Welfare, 74, 525-546. Watahomigie, LJ. (1995). The power of American Indian parents and communities. The Bilingual Research Journal, 19(1), 189-194. Zepeda, O. (1995). The continuum of literacy in American Indian communities. The Bilingual Research Journal, 19( 1), 5-15.

CHAPTER 15

SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT AND SERVICE LEARNING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM Valerie C. McKay lWIere, after al~ do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home so close and so small they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet, they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood [they] live in, the school or college [they] attend; the factory, farm, or office where [they] work. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal Justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world. -Eleanor Roosevelt

INTRODUCTION: THE SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT

Our communities, our neighborhoods, our schools: These are the places close to home in which we learn the lessons of life. Those who educate us in those lessons are our friends, neighbors, family-and teachers. Teaching, of course, encompasses much more than the dissemination of information; in reality, the complexities of the world in which we live require, with ever increasing intensity, the need to provide our students with occasions to explore who they are-to become more self-aware of themselves as individuals and in relation to other people; to increase their awareness of the needs of the community in which they live; to understand their society, culture, culture of origin, and nation in terms of function and responsibility both within and outside of our borders; to be globally-aware of the peo339

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pIes of other nations, to learn the respect and consideration deserving of all cultures, the openness with which we should listen to and learn from others; and care for the environment and the world whose resources we share with all other living things. Certainly, the changing face of the university classroom presents the educator with a sociocultural context for learning both within and outside of its walls. Increasingly, the classroom is becoming the place in which students have a voice. It is in this place where they can hear and be heard (at least hopefully) with little fear of criticism, complacency, or contradiction. To engage the classroom in these kinds of conversations however, presents the teacher with risks that are uncertain, undefined, and uncharacteristic of traditional pedagogy. Thoughtful discussion, reflection, a forum for asking questions and listening to answers-all these offer students the experience of hearing others speak to who they are while at the same time testing their own understanding of self. In the words of Eble (1976, p. 171). All teachers have the opportunity for opening up worlds. Not only do we as educators seek to discover new ways to facilitate our students understanding of who they are, but in doing so, we recognize that each of our students is unique in their motivation to learn, their style of learning, and their choice of what they experience in the classroom and later integrate into their own lives. At the same time, however, we recognize that some of the methods that we try will be successful in accomplishing our pedagogical goals and others will not. Among the many methods employed to facilitate student learning in higher education is community service learning. What is community service learning? It links academic study to community service through structured reflection; engages students in responsible and challenging community service; provides structured opportunities for students to reflect critically on their experiences; and emphasizes learning in areas such as communication, critical thinking, and community involvement. Through service learning, campus-community connections are established; students gain a better understanding of the economic, social, and/or political issues within their community; they have the opportunity to meet people whose lives are different from, or perhaps similar to, their own; they learn valuable skills and often have the opportunity to use or share those that they have learned as well as enhancing self-confidence and self-esteem by helping others. Hence, service learning is valuable for two fundamental and interrelated reasons: (1) service as a form of practical experience enhances learning in all areas of a university'S curriculum; and (2) the experience of community service reinforces moral and civic values inherent in serving others (Erlich, 1995 [italics original], p. 8). Community service learning might also function as a tool for motivating students to participate in the learning process and may be especially appealing to those who learn best through experience, involvement, and teaching others. Evidence of this facet of service learning will be illustrated through a case study described later in this

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chapter. While community service learning is by no means the only option available to faculty who are concerned about innovative pedagogy and classroom diversity, it does offer faculty a viable choice. The purpose of this chapter, then, is not only to present the reader with information about the engaging, pedagogical value of service learning, but also to propose that service learning be used as a tool to motivate students of diverse learning styles/potential to participate in their own learning process. In order to accomplish these objectives the reader will first be presented with a brief synopsis of the theoretical underpinnings linking sociocultural context and the social construction of attitudes toward, beliefs about, and values imposed upon others; next, the pedagogical foundation for service learning courses will be illustrated in terms of student learning and developing the service learning curriculum; then a case study example of a service learning course, its structure, objectives, learning process and outcomes will be described which will include the use of excerpts from student essays and guided reflection exercises as illustrative examples; and finally, limitations inherent in community service learning pedagogy, and implications and applications of student learning in college courses will be addressed through the explication of three service learning models.

THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT FOR LEARNING

The origins for service learning in the United States are found early in the twentieth century. Educators known as social reconstructionists advocated active participation in a democratic civic community, ultimately to act on conceptions ofa better world (Weistheimer & Kahne, 1998, p. 3). Students were encouraged to select an issue or institution for examination, analysis, and influence-and determination of methods for innovation and change. Later, other forms of service learning courses emphasized identification of social needs and projects were designed to satisfY those needs; the objective of which was to transform students political and social orientation toward fighting injustice (Weistheimer & Kahne, 1998, p. 3). More recently, however, interest in service learning has been recognized as a curricular tool for engaging students in their own learning process (Krupar, 1994). Service learning differs from other forms of experiential learning in that it includes the component of critical reflection, a tool for integrating what is being learned in the classroom and in the community agency for which the service is being provided. Students engage in written and/or discussion exercises that are structured in a style to promote critical thinking and analysis, development of argument and/or explanation, listening to the opinions of others, and other essential skills. In this way, students make connections between the theoretical concepts they learn in school and

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their own experienced realities (Novek, 1999, p. 234). Moreover, students are empowered to have control over what they learn while those who receive their assistance are empowered to help themselves (Sigmon, 1990). From the perspective of social construction, opportunities to be engaged with the community such as service learning provides, may function to diminish stereotypical notions and expectations for the behavior of certain groups of people and increase the capacity for change in attitudes, beliefs, and values. Notably, community service may foster in students and the peapIe in their communities a deeper understanding of the human condition, including the structural factors that reinforce poverty and prejudice (Bachen, 1994, p. 4). Clearly, by better understanding the sociocultural context of the communities in which they reside (including, but not limited to, influences of socioeconomic status, gender, age, ethnicity, educational level, religiosity, or sexual preference), students are likely to increase their awareness and understanding of themselves, their biases, the origins of cultural stereotypes and prejudices, and ultimately, the effects of power and authority in our society. This process of social deconstruction then becomes the foundation for individual learning which, in turn, functions to socially construct empowered and informed viewpoints-and ultimately, significant changes in the way students may think, act, and speak. This point is illustrated later in this chapter. Often, participation in a service learning course is only the beginning of a meaningful life of volunteerism, social activism, and community involvement; relationships fostered between students and members of their community make real what is otherwise only imagined. It is here that students begin to better understand and accept the characteristics of diversity within their community (Shastri, 1999). Sociocultural context is situated both within the community and the classroom in which the service and learning occur. For example, Holland and Eisenhart (1990) observed that what happens outside of the classroom in combination with what goes on inside is often an influential factor in changing students values and attitudes over the course of their undergraduate education. Empirical evidence supports this finding in terms of increasing tolerance to social groups (Henderson-King, 1993; HendersonKing & Kaleta, 2000), changes in sociopolitical attitudes (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991), increases in intergroup interaction (Chen, 1995; Fischer & Hartmann, 1995), understanding of multi-culturalism and diversity (Astin, 1993), and civic involvement (Pascarella, Ethington, & Smart, 1988)-to name a few. Courses taught within a feminist pedagogical framework and/ or curriculum, such as those found in many Women's Studies programs, often incorporate an experiential/service learning component into the course curriculum in order to enhance students' sense of community involvement and activism (Henderson-King & Kaleta, 2000; Musil, 1992; Novek, 1999). These results have been replicated even when controlling for student demographic characteristics such as sex and ethnicity (Astin, 1993; Musil, 1992; Pascarella, Whitt, Nora, Edison, Hagedorn, & Terenzini,

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1996). Additionally, research indicates that courses which emphasize diversity or include material on ethnic or racial issues enhance student learning outcomes in relation to cultural understanding and awareness (Tanaka, 1996). In this way, the classroom serves as a microcosm for the issues, efforts, and tensions being played out elsewhere in society (Smith, 1997, p. 3) and students within the classroom have the potential to learn from each other and their communities. Taken together, it is quite possible that students who enroll in community service learning courses are likely to emerge with an increased awareness and tolerance of diversity; competence in multi-cultural interaction, intellectual capacity, and a sense of empowerment; skills in critical thinking, discussion, and writing.

A PRESCRIPTION FOR DEVELOPING THE SERVICE LEARNING CURRICULUM: REFLECTION, COMMUNITY, COMMUNICATION, AND COMMITMENT How do service learning courses differ from those offered in the traditional form? In what way(s) do service learning courses appeal to students who vary in their learning styles? In order to answer these questions, we will first consider the ways by which we learn and determine how service learning compliments and enhances the learning process through reflection; next we will describe other key components that characterize the service learning curriculum: Community, Communication, and Commitment.

The Reflection Component The most common methods by which information is conveyed in the classroom setting are lecture, reading, visual (usually technologically mediated), demonstration, discussion, practice by doing, and teaching others what we've learned-which is central to the service learning curriculum. Research suggests that while lecture offers students a minimal retention rate for content learned, teaching others (which offers the opportunity for immediate use of what is learned) maximizes retention by engaging students in the phenomenon under investigation (Shastri, 1999); in other words, students are more likely to remember and later apply what they've learned when the opportunity to teach others is provided. Moreover, in terms of the primary learning styles which include aural, oral, visual, and tactile, lecture is limited to aural and visual whereas teaching others offers a multidimensional learning opportunity that enhances the retention rate for content learning and is an integral component of service learning curriculum (Sigmon, 1990). Reflection, a key component of service learning courses, offers students the opportunity to ground their learning in the social realities of the com-

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munities in which they work. Hatcher and Bringle (1997, p. 157) note that effective reflection activities must link experience to learning objectives, are guided, occur regularly, allow for feedback, and include clarification of values especially in cases where value conflict occurs. Reflection is most effective when it occurs before, during, and after service activities; the means by which reflection is accomplished varies according to the style of student learning. Hence, by combining the activities of teaching others and then engaging in reflection upon those efforts, student learning is likely to be enhanced. The variety in the types of community service that students can perform offers them the opportunity to share what they do best as well as focus their learning through opportunities for guided reflection. Reflection exercises, therefore, should be designed to maximize learning in accordance with each learning style: The linguistic learner might be encouraged to engage in journal writing about their service experiences while the logical/mathematicallearner might work to identify a problem and devise a solution for the community agency. The musical learner could utilize their talent to write a musical score for a children's play; kinesthetic learners to choreograph a play or community performance. In any case, students will have had the opportunity to make the connection between what they are learning in class and what they are learning in their community-and that learning is maximized according \0 their own unique style. Likewise, in accordance with theories of self-determination and the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the opportunity for students to create their own method of reflection actively involves them in the learning process which, in essence, functions as a personal motivation for learning. Deci and Ryan (2000) advocate a continuum of motivational forms from amotivation (e.g., lack of motivation), to extrinsic (varying by degree to which sources are external and/or internal) to intrinsic motivation (sources are completely internal). One form of extrinsic motivation is identified as regulation through identification which is described as "a conscious valuing of a behavioral goal or regulation, such that the action is accepted or owned as personally important" (p. 72). The fine line between regulation through identification and integrated regulation is that the former is minimally motivated by an external source which, in the case of students engaged in community service learning, might be satisfying the writing assignment and achieving a grade, while the latter might be inspired by engaging in volunteer community service simply for the satisfaction derived from doing so. In either case, research suggests that once the action is owned (Le., students develop their own method of reflection) , the individual is likely to engage in that action autonomously and competently-while at the same time characterizing that action as personally important and highly valued. The result is that students are engaged in their learning at two levels (service and reflection) which is likely to result in both integration and internalization of the lessons learned; the potential

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for self and community awareness is maximized. Reflection, however, is only one component of the learning that takes place in service learning courses. What other characteristics of service learning courses motivate and influence student learning? This question leads us to examine the components of community, communication, and commitment.

The Community Notably, community needs are central to the development of course objectives. Inherent in course development is the understanding that both the university and the community have something to gain by participating in service learning courses; hence, the community agency is a partner to the learning process and the goal of teaching others applies to both students enrolled in the course and people involved in the community agency (including those in administration and those who utilize agency services). The goals for service are mutually decided upon in order to maximize available resources. Hopefully, students are assigned tasks within the agency so that their learning is meaningful while at the same time useful to the community project. Students do not usually receive a grade or points for the actual service, however, credit is given for completing related assignments such as guided reflection exercises and papers.

Communication Praxis Communication between teachers, students, agency representatives, and community members is not only integral but inherent in the implementation of service learning courses; thus, the value of effective communication is shared among all participants. Faculty and community agency representatives' work together to provide students with information, direction, and ongoing educational opportunities so that students understand the social, cultural, political, and economic context of the service work and thus, how to serve more effectively. Students are encouraged and learn to view diversity as an asset so that they become responsive to individuals of culturally, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse populations within their communities. Moreover, service learning experiences offer students a myriad of opportunities to explore the link between the communication theory and communication practice. At the core of the communication process is an understanding of how social interaction functions in the construction of social reality; hence, as we study communication we are studying the process and the outcomes that service learning is designed to enhance (Applegate & Morreale, 1999, p. xi). Through experience, students are likely to learn characteristics of leadership, have opportunities to engage

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in conflict resolution, participate in interviews, prepare and present public speeches, enhance their assertiveness skills, organize small group discussions and activities, as well as many other forms of communication praxis. But more importantly, they have the potential to increase their sensitivity and awareness to cultural differences in communication and issues of diversity within their communities. In this way, the theoretical premises underlying their knowledge of communication are tested through practice-the underlying premises of social construction are played out through communication experience. This chapter presents a case study that illustrates and supports this assertion.

Making the Commitment Finally, students should be accountable for their commitment to themselves, to faculty, to the community agency, and ultimately, members of their own community (Luce, 1998). Not surprisingly, this level of commitment offers students another source of self-motivation to learn (Markus, Howard, & King, 1993). The fact that community participation has declined in recent decades is well documented (Smith, 1997). The mission of many universities is preparation of students to function as productive citizens within their communities; a better understanding of and tolerance for the diversity within those communities is an ultimate goal of their undergraduate education. The imperative here is the education of students to live in and contribute to a pluralistic society. As such, this dimension sees diversity as central to teaching and learning, not just because some students may require new approaches, but because what and how we need to be teaching has changed (Smith, 1997, p. 11). Perhaps traditional pedagogy is no longer singularly effective as a way for teachers to teach and students to learn; service learning offers faculty and students alike with an opportunity to participate in pedagogical transformation. The question remains, however, whether students learn anything in a service learning course that they would not have learned in a traditional course. If we assume that they do, what is it? Unfortunately, there is a paucity of empirical research literature that explores student learning in service learning courses or compares service learning with learning that occurs in traditional courses. What has recently emerged, however, is a body of literature lauding the value of diversity learning in higher education (e.g., Smith, 1997) and service learning is cited as one curricular method by which this learning consistently occurs. What are the goals for student learning? How are they assessed? Does service learning facilitate this process? These questions will be answered by presenting a case study example of the goals, forms of assessment, and process for service learning courses.

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CASE STUDY: ONE SERVICE LEARNING COURSE ON ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION AND GENDER

For the past two years, I have been involved in teaching a course that I originally developed as a traditional course and later revised to include a service learning component; notably, the course has always been taught within a feminist perspective. The course is entitled Issues in Communication and Gender and it is offered within the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Long Beach. It is both an elective upper division course for our majors and a General Education elective for students across campus that wish to enroll. There is one section of the course taught each semester with approximately thirty-five students enrolled in each section; an analysis of enrollment across semesters indicates equivalent representation of men (~ 48%) and women (~ 52%) and proportional ethnic representation according to university demographics (e.g., White (~30%), Mexican American (~20%), Mrican American (~15%) , Asian/Asian American (~15%) and other categories including unidentified (~15%). Current demographic information for the California State University, Long Beach campus is available on-line at: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/af/html/ institutional_research.html. The course begins with an overview of theories that explain gender development, social implications for gender behavior and stereotypes, and the relationship between gender and communication. Empirical theories are then applied to issues in communication and gender within various contexts such as education; business; interpersonal, intimate, and family relationships; media; research methods, and others. The objectives of the course state that: (1) students become familiar with major issues regarding communication and gender; (2) students understand the critical and dynamic influence of gender as it relates to the development of attitudes and behavior (including sexual preference, socioeconomic status, age, ethnicity, religiosity, educational level, political beliefs, and other sociocultural variables); (3) students develop and strengthen their ability to critically analyze the influence and role of socially constructed gender attitudes, beliefs, and values in their lives; and (4) student participation in the service learning opportunity will combine meaningful community service with inclass learning as well as offer a forum to share what they have learned with other students and members of their community agency. In order to assess these goals, a variety of techniques are employed so that the diversity in student learning modalities is acknowledged and developed, and students have the opportunity to recognize the quality and quantity of their learning; hence, journals, reflections, papers, discussions, question/answer sessions, examinations, lectures, debates, oral presentations, and other assignments are offered to maximize student learning and achieve instructional goals. Given that the course is in the discipline of Communication Studies, there is a myriad of opportunities for engaging in

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communication theory testing and skill practice. The syllabus for this course is available on-line through our Campus Service Learning Center website at http://www.csulb.edu/ centers/ cslc/. Integral to the success of the course, students are encouraged to select a community agency whose mission is of personal interest and relevant to course content, and together we-students, agency representatives, and myself-formulate objectives for student service, commitment, purpose, and outcomes for engaging in the project. Both the community of Long Beach and the university are characterized by diversity, hence, the opportunities for students to provide service reflect that variability. For example, some students have engaged in service that provides communication skills training for women in non-traditional employment roles-W.I.N.T.E.Rsuch as interviewing, public speaking, small group interaction, and conflict management, to women seeking assistance in preparing to enter this nontraditional workforce (e.g., construction, electrical/technical service, plumbing, etc.). Others have participated in an after school peer mediation training program and a tutoring program for children with working parents; some in a highly publicized campaign within the local Vietnamese community advocating the removal of communist paraphernalia from a merchant's storefront. One Filipino student acted as facilitator and translator for a Filipino Community group whose members were her elders. A small group of students worked together with a local Parks and Recreation Department to organize and publicize a community environmental awareness event. Key to the service learning curriculum, of course, are the guided reflection exercises which offer students the opportunity to critically reflect upon the interrelationship of service and learning and the content of the course. Moreover, these reflections are shared in interactive discussions with classmates either in small groups or class-as-a-whole. Copies of students guided reflection papers and final papers have been, and continue to be, collected (with their permission) in an ongoing effort to provide data assessing the value of the service learning component of this course. In addition, course evaluations (modified from the standardized form) are administered to provide quantitative information and feedback about the course content, design, and teaching effectiveness [see Appendix AJ. These evaluations also include an essay that asks students to write about what they've learned regarding gender issues, their community and/or service agency, diversity within their community, and how service learning experiences influenced their learning. In combination, these sources of information provide a comprehensive view of what students believe they are learning and how their service experience contributes to that learning. We will continue with an explication of each of the assessment tools: guided reflection, modified course evaluations, and the written essay.

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The Guided Reflection Exercises By definition, guided reflection papers provide the students with structured questions, instructions, or scenarios that direct their writing and thus, facilitate their making connections between course content and their service learning experiences (Hatcher & Bringle, 1997). These papers are evaluated according to standardized criteria such as: (1) adherence to the structured questions, (2) integration of in-class material and service learning experiences in relation to content, (3) development of arguments to support opinions/ claims, and (4) grammatical construction (e.g., spelling, paragraph structure, etc.). The completed papers are used to initiate conversations in small groups during the class period and as the basis for classas-a-whole discussions about the topics/issues under examination. The opportunity for students to share their reflections takes advantage of within class diversity resulting in variability in describing and interpreting personal experiences. For example, during the first few weeks of the course, students are introduced to various theories that explain gender development, social implications for gender behavior and stereotypes, and the relationship between gender and communication. Instructions to guide students' reflections are illustrated by the following: The theory of social Construction of Gender suggests that the gendered character of communication between people emerge out of each interaction; additionally, the value of that interaction is assigned according to whether it is masculine or feminine. Observe an interaction between two or more people in your community agency. How would you label this interaction according to its gender? Why? (Please include specific examples of behavior that lead you to assign a specific label). Now, consider some of the effects of gendering this interaction or the individuals involved. Is your opinion of these people affected by what you've observed? Why? Why not? (Please justify your response).

In response, one student wrote: Coming into this class I thought that I had a good idea about gender and how your sex has something to do with what characteristics of gender we all possess. But I was wrong. Gender is something that is culturally learned. Your society, your family, and your friends all have influence on which' gender roles you are going to take on as your own or are assigned to you (that's the scary thing). Many people label others by their biological sex only and I would have to say that this is wrong. By taking this course I have been able to open my eyes to see that there are differences. Every man may have some characteristics that are the same for every man but each hides at least a few feminine roles that many people don't see [italics original]. Those characteristics are the ones that go unaccounted for and make society believe that gender roles are based on your sex only. Roles should not be labeled as feminine or masculine but just roles. If we still keep labeling roles as feminine and

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masculine then we still are going to label men as masculine (and great) and women as feminine (and not so great). So where does that leave us?

Another student disclosed: This exercise has made me really realize how our society overwhelming valorizes patriarchal and masculine ideologies. Women continue to be oppressed through many aspects of our society, and especially the media, workplace, and in families-and this is evident in my agency experience. Also, I've learned about the many stereotypes that place women (and in myobservation, little girls) as subordinates and inferiors to men. Although women have gained some respect, they haven't achieved total equality. The women's progress towards subverting our patriarchal and male dominant society is increasing, but at a very slow pace.

Often students enter the class with finn opinions about the more-or-Iess traditional roles of men and women. Although the class is centered on exposing students to infonnation that often causes feelings of personal dissonance and thus, the potential for change, there is a certain amount of risk that characterizes any change of opinion that is shared publicly. However, the risk for disclosing changes in opinion is significantly reduced when disclosures are substantiated by personal experience such as that which comes from participating in their community agency. Moreover, according to social Construction Theory, the change in opinion is also more likely to be enduring when it emerges from personal observation and experience. Later in the semester, empirical theories are applied to issues in communication and gender within various contexts such as education; business; interpersonal, intimate, and family relationships; media; research methods, and others. Instructions for guided reflections during this portion of the course include: What is the mission of your community agency? What is the social issue that the agency addresses? Consider (1) your awareness of the issue, (2) your knowledge of the issue, (3) the communication aspects of the issue, and (4) your ability to help-both before and after engaging in community service for this agency. How would you define #1-4 above before you took this course? Mter? Where will you go from here?

One student wrote: Through the service learning project I got to see how gender affects people in the real world. By working with the women of the Junior League of Long Beach I was able to see how women balance all the activities in their lives while still providing service to those less fortunate than they are (something I know I'll have to do). I also got to work hands on with people in my community and feel like I was making at least a small difference.

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Another student wrote: At first I thought I was wasting my time. It was not until I took the initiative to interview Vincent Zucchero, the founder of Father's United, that I felt the half hour spent interviewing him was the most fruitful experience I had at Schuster Law Offices. From Vincent, I learned his viewpoint of fathers fighting for the visitation or custody rights of their children. He (and now me) felt men are in need of direction when it comes to wanting rights to their children and, because of his experience, feels he can give them the support they need.

Another student who volunteered in a Domestic Violence Advocacy Program wrote: Although I could not actually participate in the program as a volunteer without undergoing formal training, I was allowed access to all areas of the program, including meetings with coordinator and member volunteers and court proceedings. I learned that the volunteers' work includes educating the abuser or batterer as well as providing consultation to the victim and/or survivor. I was surprised and pleased to learn that responsibilities can include helping educate police/peace officers about the symptoms and cycles of domestic abuse. As the text noted, law enforcement and legal professionals playa key role in normalizing, if not trivializing, domestic violence or violence against women in general.

One student became an active participant in NOW (National Organization for Women): My friend and I are going to join NOW in order to help the process move faster along with what I have learned this semester I am inspired to be stronger in my beliefs of what is right and wrong and how much I will stand fori

And finally: Another uplifting experience that I had in this class was my volunteer work that I did with the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). I was able to work with children from the ages of five to ten years old. By volunteering with these children I was able to see first hand how children at a young age begin to conform to society'S views on gender and communicate with each other accordingly.

During in-class discussions early in the semester, the psychological distance between what is happening in-class and the real world is evidenced by use of the terms they and them rather than we and us when referring to critical social and community issues. However, by mid-semester that language appears to change to I, we and us, reflecting a reduction in the distance between campus and community life. Notably, students also recognize that they can contribute to social change within their communi-

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ties; hence, they come face-to-face with the potential for empowering themselves and members of their community. This experience may be unique to service learning courses and might also set them apart from traditional classrooms.

The Modified Course Evaluation A quantitative measure is administered in the form of a course evaluation and results are analyzed in terms of consistency and standardization of responses, and dimensionality. The survey is designed to reflect three primary areas for diversity learning which include: Communication/Connections, Critical Thinking, and Self/Issue-awareness; the responses to statements in each area have been consistent across semesters (see Appendix A). Communication/Connections The Communication/Connections component of the instrument reflects the importance of classroom interaction and the value of students' sharing their experiences. In this way, students are able to verbally make connections between course content and their own experiences (and specifically in this course, communication and gender), increase their self-confidence when stating opinions which are based upon personal experience, exchange ideas and information, and listen to the opinions and experiences of others (Applegate & Morreale, 1999). Examples ofitems reflecting Communication/Connections include: This course has helped me to become more confident when stating my views or expressing myself, I find myself talking with others outside of class about the material covered in this course, I feel more confident in my ability to work with others as a result of taking this course, The service learning component made what I was learning in class more real for me, I have been able to see connections between the material taught in this course and real-life situations, and The information shared and exchanged by other students challenged me to think. Consistently, students indicate strong agreement on items reflecting links between their communication skills and their service learning experiences. Critical Thinking There is now ample evidence (e.g., Meyers, 1988) that learning to think critically is not the inevitable outcome of a college education; rather, research (e.g., Halpern, 1996) has demonstrated that there must be explicit instruction in learning to think if this goal is to be achieved. Even so, designing instructional environments that lead to the enhancement of the thinking of college students in a variety of specific contexts is, in itself, a formidable challenge. Add to this challenge the element of diversity, and the environment becomes charged with an energy that, if used effectively, urges students to go beyond a basic knowledge of course content to more

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complex levels of understanding of self, other, community, society, and culture. Quite clearly, if this can be achieved, we accomplish our mission of preparing our students to become productive citizens in the communities in which they eventually reside (Harkavy & Romer, 1999). Service learning courses are ideal for creating the context in which students learn to think and engage in ethical reasoning, negotiation, respect for difference, questioning of stereotypes, and the values of citizenship-and this goal is reflected within the area of Critical Thinking. Examples of items reflecting this component include: I now have an increased awareness of the causes and effects of inequality and prejudice, as a result of taking this course, I am more likely to examine what I read closely and assess its usefulness before drawing conclusions, am now more convinced of the importance of the material taught in this course than at the beginning of the semester. Consistently, students indicate strong agreement on items reflecting critical thinking about course content and their service learning experiences. Self/Isme-a:wareness

Meacham (1999) suggests that the goals of any course on diversity should increase our understanding of Ourselves and others in ways other than stereotyped groups or categories; to develop an awareness of the causes and effects of structured inequalities and prejudicial exclusion; and to develop an increased self-awareness of what it means in our culture to be a person of the students own gender, race, class, ethnicity, and religion as well as an understanding of how these categories affect those who are different (p. 1). The area of Self/Issue-awareness is designed to tap into this dimension of student learning. Examples of items reflecting this area include: This course has helped me to understand myself and others in ways other than stereotypical groups and categories, this course has inspired my interest in related topics, this course has introduced new ideas that I had not previously encountered, the difficulty level for this course was high, but challenging. Students indicate strong agreement on items reflecting the goals of diversity learning and their service learning experiences. These and other dimensions are also revealed in end-of-semester essays that students write about their cumulative experiences during the semester.

The Written Essay These essays are not graded and students have a full class period to engage in the writing exercise. Students are asked to reflect upon their learning in relation to gender issues; their community, fellow students, and those who receive assistance through community agencies; and how their service learning and in-class experiences have influenced their learning; their understanding of diversity as it is defined by them, their peers, their

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community and the community agency. Consistently, students wntmg reveals: (1) an increased sensitivity and awareness of media stereotypes; (2) links between in-class, service learning, and real world experiences; (3) benefits of engaging in service learning in contrast to traditional course curriculum, and (4) specific examples of learning in relation to gender issues, cultural diversity, and the role of power in our society.

Awareness of the Effects of Stereotyping Overcoming the tendency to stereotype, though difficult, offers us the opportunity to become familiar with and better understand members of other cultures, and thus, avoid imposing undeserved views upon a group of people. The limitation inherent in stereotyping is the assumption of the homogeneity of the group; in other words, we assume that most people within the culture behave similarly based upon our generalized notion of the group. The result of this assumption is, of course, a tendency to fonn "rigid preconceptions which are applied to all members of a group ... over a period of time, regardless of individual variations" (Atkinson, Morten, & Sue, 1985, p. 172). Although some may view stereotyping as a means by which we can generally understand, or become familiar with, people of other cultures, this process often prevents us from really getting to know individual members of those same cultures. As a result, we fail to get past the uncertainty and unfamiliarity by communicating and engaging in preliminary stages of relationship (friendship) development. In many cases, the diversity (or heterogeneity) within a culture is greater than the diversity found by making comparisons between cultures (Catchen, 1989). While stereotypes often seem hannless, and in some cases humorous, we must not fail to realize the consequences of perpetuating these positive and negative images. "Any minority community that is not well understood generates myths both in its own and the host community. These myths serve functions for both communities-they demystify, they make life more tolerable, they allow subtle discrimination to continue" (Ebrahim, 1992, p. 52). While the success and appeal of stereotypical images portrayed in the media have yet to be determined, the practice continues to be the basis for creating characters both central and peripheral to the story portrayed. Students, in their writing, reveal an increased awareness and sensitivity to stereotypical images portrayed in the media and their effects. One student writes, I learned that women's status is hurt by the ways that they are referred to in the media and in everyday speech; these stereotypes are often seen in the movies, advertisements, music videos, magazines-I never really saw them before [italics original]. Another notes, This course definitely opened my eyes to issues I have not previously thought about, or if so, encouraged me to think more readily about; two examples being male domination and female submission reflected in the media. Another stu-

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dent writes, I have a higher tendency to analyze, things now-whether it be a friend's comment, a TV commercial, magazine article, etc., I see I am aware of the manipulation of stereotypes. Finally, I think this class and this project helped me to see how important the communication among everybody is in order to wipe out misconceptions, stereotypes, or taboos, many people are labeled with the wrong type of characteristics due to the fact that people label one another without actually getting to know them, and I observed what could potentially be negative stereotypes toward children when they get older-I don't know why it bothered me but it did. Community service learning has also been criticized for its potential to reinforce stereotypes about people of color and/or citizens earning lower income (Grady, 1997). Additionally, Foos (1998) advocates care in the design of community service learning projects to introduce students to the difference between charitable work and participation in citizenship and social change. These issues are at the forefront of concern in designing this course and consequently, students comments do not reflect issues of status difference or charitable help; on the contrary, students comments suggest that they are learning to question stereotypes and that the benefits of their participation for them and citizens in the community are mutual. However, these concerns will be addressed later in this chapter.

Linking Service Learning and Real World Experiences Throughout this chapter, the connections between service learning and real-world application have been emphasized. As noted by Shastri (1999, p. 17), service learning, rather than limiting learning experiences to vicarious exposure to critical issues and problems, engages students with the phenomenon under study. Students are clearly able to articulate ways in which their in-class learning applies to real world issues and concerns; moreover, as noted in some of the following excerpts, their service learning experiences have the potential to influence future career plans. For example, I think working in a gender related organization really helped me relate what I was learning to the real world. Another writes, I believe my experience with my service learning was very valuable in helping me to extend my knowledge of concepts and ideas to real world application. I'd recommend it to friends because I have already been told by potential employers that they look for similar experiences when interviewing job applicants. I may continue to establish and maintain relations that will help me in my field of work. Another states, what you learn in class is actually seen and applied in real-life. Finally, the service learning project intrigued me and made opportunities for a later internship more plausible, and the service learning program is a good way to get people involved in the community as well as help people get connected with job opportunities when finished with school.

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Service Learning and Traditional Curriculum As previously mentioned, there is little extant research that provides comparison data between traditional and service learning curriculum and consequent student learning. Evidence for a possible difference between these pedagogical methods is found, however, in anecdotal excerpts from students' writing as they reflect upon their first-hand observations: As I learned first hand that batterers themselves often want help and that educating them is equally important as teaching victims. Learning is way more effective when you can apply what you learned to everyday life. I think my experience reinforced my thought that the woman usually takes the steps toward safe sex, I mean, I saw the majority of women in my agency obtaining birth control. One student wrote: My service learning helped me to see and work with the challenges involved in training women for the workplace. Though it only gave me a brief look at this organization, what I saw was a group of women intent on furthering themselves in their careers.

Others noted, when I entered my service learning agency I had no idea what to expect, but as I continued to volunteer I saw that using communication was a main source in obtaining gender goals, being a volunteer allowed me to see that there are really certain jobs that are labeled male, the service learning experience showed me that there are agencies out there that are geared toward education of its community members and they're not interested in money.

Learning about Diversity Recently, academic publications have called for the need for diversity education. The rationale for engaging in the study of diversity ranges from considering our diverse student populations to facilitating citizenship in diverse communities. For instance, Gray (1998, p. 3) noted that, it is critically important that people of diverse backgrounds learn how to live and work together-the future simply demands it ... diversity education helps students learn critical skills including communicating with those of differing backgrounds, teamwork, and problem solving. What characterizes diversity education? curriculum for diversity must do more than relate the individual stories of racial and ethnic minorities. It must integrate their cultural perspectives, divergent socioeconomic experiences, and political histories into a broader, enriched discussion about both the commonalities and differences among cultures and values, the tragedies and triumphs in the making of American society (Marable, 1997, p. 3). When asked what they have learned about diversity, students are motivated to take the first

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steps toward articulating and considering the impact of what they have learned. They write, diversity in our community is not as open as I thought, if I was asked to be someone different for a day, I'd hope that freedom, above everything else, was as important for others as it was for me. Another student wrote: Through our class I feel like I received a big picture of what diversity is, and isn't. Diversity involves recognizing and appreciating differences between people, which were clearly demonstrated in my organization. People from all walks of life, of all colors, were represented at the agency; yet everyone was united in the common goal of furthering themselves in the work force.

One student who worked with the Juvenile Crime Prevention Program wrote: I volunteered as a tutor and social worker at a Family Resource Center in Long Beach. It was really neat to work with these families and get involved. They come from poor, low income areas of Long Beach and it was interesting to see how they survived and benefitted from participating in this program. These mothers wanted a safe environment for their children and a place where they would benefit as well. But there was not one father present-ever. And finally, after participating in this class for the past few months my eyes have been opened to many new things. Gender and other issues have been made much clearer and harder as a result of taking this class, diversity is a celebration of differences between people, not necessarily of race, and how we can work with these differences (not against) to promote a better understanding of the world around us.

IMPLICATIONS FOR ADOPTING SERVICE LEARNING CURRICULUM

In what way(s) does service learning function to diminish stereotypical notions and expectations of others? Does the service learning experience increase the capacity for change in attitudes, beliefs and values? Does student learning in service learning courses differ from that in traditional courses? In what way(s) does service learning enhance (or inhibit?) sociocultural influences on motivation and learning? While this chapter only begins to answer these and other questions, the words of students themselves suggest that service learning provides them with a very different kind of learning than that which they have previously experienced or might otherwise experience in a traditional classroom and, while they may not be entirely comfortable with it, any discomfort or dissonance they feel is the groundwork for change-in attitudes, beliefs, values, motivation for, and nature of their learning. Hence, and in accordance with the perspective of social construction, students are likely to be more aware and better understand those sociocultural factors that influence the development of bases

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and prejudices as a result of their service learning experience and thus, socially construct their own empowered and informed viewpoints as a result of their education. Clearly, this is accomplished through reflection, critical thinking, effective communication, community participation and involvement, and commitment-integral components of the service learning experience. We must caution, however, that the tendency to define community apart from the university, its citizens as needy minorities, and the role of student as missionary is omnipresent (Zlotkowski, 1995). The responsibility of faculty and community representatives is to craft course objectives and student activities so that a balance between social ideals and realities is achieved and maintained. One of the objectives of community service learning is to dispel stereotypes-not reinforce them. Is the service learning experience always positive? The answer is no, it isn't. Often, students report that the additional time commitment required outside of the classroom is difficult to fulfill because of other responsibilities such as part-time or full-time work, family obligations, and requirements in other courses. Some also report that community agencies are not always willing to provide needed training and thus, students engage in work that is less than ideally suited to their needs. Integral to the success of service learning curriculum, then, is the commitment on the part of faculty to balance the course requirements, maintain contact with the community agencies, and offer many opportunities for in-class discussion and reflection. How is this accomplished? There are three basic models or levels for adopting service learning curriculum: as an optional assignment, as one of several required assignments, or as an entire course. Often, faculty incorporate service learning as an optional assignment in order to explore student responses to this relatively unfamiliar teaching and learning method; as a required assignment once they have evaluated student responses and determined its relevance to the course; and finally, as an entire course if the content warrants it. Application of the service learning curriculum is influenced by several factors, including (but not limited to) the degree to which a faculty member is committed to incorporating service learning into their course(s) and willing to take the risk for adopting an innovative teaching method; the degree of support offered by the university in terms of available time for faculty to engage in course development or reform, endorsement and advocation of service learning curriculum, and resources to investigate community agencies; and finally, the degree of need indicated by community agencies, their willingness to work with faculty and students to explore and develop valuable learning experiences, provide training (if needed), and be available for on- or off-campus meetings and consultations. Faculty motivation for and commitment to adopting service learning into existing or new courses is essential. Faculty must be willing to take the risk that the method could just as easily fail as succeed-failure most likely indicated by lower than average student evaluations. Students are used to

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traditional pedagogical methods such as lecture and discussion but are wary of newer methods and especially those that require what they perceive as additional time spent out of the classroom. Faculty must be sensitive to this by requiring a reasonable time commitment to the service learning assignment (a minimum of ten hours depending upon the status of the assignment as required or optional), balancing it with other assignments (e.g., replacing an existing assignment with the service learning requirement), and maintaining contact with the community agency to assure that the commitment is being met by both the agency and the student (students tend to appreciate faculty interest and willingness to monitor their work). Additionally, new faculty are cautious about taking the risk and are encouraged to seek the assistance of seasoned faculty in adopting the service learning option. Furthermore, the time needed to incorporate service learning into existing courses, or develop an entirely new service learning course is usually extensive and support from the university in these efforts is necessary---especially if the university administration advocates the adoption of service learning curriculum (Bringle, Hatcher, & Games, 1997). Our campus efforts are supported by our Campus Service Learning Center whose staff provides consultation for developing instructional objectives, revising and/or developing course syllabi; stipends to support faculty time and effort; updated lists of community agencies and contacts; training, and other resources integral to the success of service learning curriculum. Clearly, the degree of success resulting from the development and adoption of service learning curriculum is directly and positively related to the quantity and quality of university support.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION This chapter has sought to present service learning as a curricular strategy for enhancing sociocultural influences on the motivation for learning both inside and outside of the university classroom; diversity in students learning styles as well as diversity in the community become the bases for the sociocultural context in which this learning occurs. Although a paucity of research literature exists that provides empirical evidence for the quality and quantity of learning in this non-traditional classroom setting, excerpts from students writing strongly suggest that there is a qualitative difference not only in what students learn-but more importantly, how they learn it. Additionally, although there are both benefits and risks associated with the development and adoption of service learning courses, careful crafting of instructional goals, consistent monitoring of student and agency commitment, adequate support from the university, and enduring faculty commitment all but guarantee the success of a service learning course. Additionally, students, faculty, the university and surrounding community benefit from participating in service learning courses, and universities are

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better able to accomplish their mission of preparing students to be responsible citizens and community leaders.

REFERENCES Applegate,J.L., & Morreale, S.P. (1999). Service-learning in communication: A natural partnership. In D. Droge & B. Ortega Murphy (Eds.), Wiices of strong democracy: Concepts and models for service-learning in communication studies (pp. ix-xiv). Washington, DC: AAHE. Astin, A. (1998). How undergraduates are affected by service participation. Journal of College Student Development, 39(3), 251-263. Atkinson, D.R, Morten, G., & Sue, D.W. (1985). Minority group counseling: An overview. In L.A. Samovar & RE. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A reader. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishers. Bachen, C. (1994, November). Integrating communication theory and practice into the community. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. Bringle, RG., Hatcher,jA., & Games, R (1997). Engaging and supporting faculty in service learning. Journal of Public Service & Outreach, 2( 1), 43-51. Catchen, H. (1989). Generational equity: Issues of gender and race. In L. Grau (Ed.), Women in the later years: Health, social, and cultural perspectives (pp. 21-38). New York: The Haworth Press. Chen, S. (1995). On the ethnic studies requirement. In D.T. Nakanishi & T.Y. Nishida (Eds.), The Asian American educational experience. New York: Routledge. Eble, K.E. (1976). The craft of teaching. San Francisco:jossey-Bass. Ebrahim, S. (1992). Health and ageing within ethnic minorities. In K. Morgan (Ed.), Gerontology: Responding to an aging society (pp. 50-62). London: The British Society of Gerontology. Erlich, T. (1995). Taking service seriously. AAHE Bulletin, 47(7),8-10. Fischer, B., & Hartmann, D. (1995). The impact of race on the social experience of college students at a predominantly white university. Journal of Black Studies, 26(2),117-133. Foos, C.L. (1998). The "different voice" of service. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 5, 14-2l. Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books. Grady, K. (1997). Constructing the other through community service learning. Research/ Technical Report. Gray, W.H. (1998). National poll reveals strong public support for diversity in higher education. Diversity Digest, 2( 1), 1-6. Halpern, D.F. (1996). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Harkavy, I., & Romer, D. (1999). Service learning as an integrated strategy. Liberal Education, 85(3), pp. 1-14. Hatcher,jA., & Bringle, RG. (1997). Reflection: Bridging the gap between service and learning. College Teaching, 45(4), 153-158.

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Henderson-King, D. (1993). The development offeminist consciousness: Effects of exposure to feminism and emotional stance. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan. Dissertation Abstracts International, 545( II-B) 5983. Henderson-King, D., & Kaleta, A (2000). Learning about social diversity: The undergraduate experience and intergroup tolerance. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(2),142-164. Holland, D.C., & Eisenhart, M.A (1990). Educated in romance: Women, achievement, and college culture. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Krupar, K. (1994, November). Service-learning: A method of motivating students to enroll in communication and aging programs. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. Luce,]. (1998). Service learning criteria. Stanford, CA: Haas Center for Public Service. Markus, G.B., Howard,].P.F., & King, D.C. (1993). Integrating community service and classroom instruction enhances learning: Results from an experiment. EducationalEvaluation and Policy Analysis, 15,410-419. Marable, M. (1997). As quoted in "Curricular Change Gains Momentum." Diversity Digest, 1(2), 1-6. Meacham,J. (1999). Curriculum transformation: Assessing diversity courses. Diversity Digest, 3( 1), 1-5. Meyers, C. (1988). Teaching students to think critically. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass. Musil, C.M. (1992). The courage to question: Women ~ studies and student learning. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges. Novek, E.M. (1999). Service-learning is a feminist issue: Transforming communication pedagogy. Women's Studies in Communication, 22, 230-240. Pascarella, E.T., & Terenzini, P.T. (1991). How college affects students: Findings and insights from twenty years of research. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pascarella, E.T., Ethington, C., & Smart, J. (1988). The influence of college on humanitarian/civic involvement values. Journal ofHigher Education, 49,412-437. Pascarella, E.T., Whitt, EJ., Edison, M.I., Nora, A, Hagedorn, L.S., Yeager, P.M., & Terenzini, P.T. (1997). Women's perceptions of a "chilly climate" and their cognitive outcomes during the first year of college. Journal of College Student Development, 38, 109-124. Ryan, RM., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1),68-78. Shastri, A (1999, April). Investigating content knowledge gains in academic service learning: A quasi-experimental study in an Educational Psychology course. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Sigmon, RL. (1990). Service learning: Three principles. In]. Kendall (Ed.), Combining service and learning: A resource book for community and public service (pp. 5664). Raleigh, NC: National Society for Internships and Experiential Education. Smith, D.G. (1997). Diversity Worlts: The emerging picture of how students benefit. Washington, DC: AAC&U. Tanaka, G.K. (1996). The impact of multiculturalism on white students. Ph.D. dissertation, UCLA. Dissertation Abstracts International, 5 7( 05), 1980A Weistheimer,]., & Kahne,]. (1998). Education for action: Preparing youth for participatory democracy. In W. Ayers,]. Hunt, & T. Quinn (Eds.), Teachingfor social justice (pp. 1-21). New York: The New Press.

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Zlotkowski, E. (1995, Fall). Does service learning have a future? MichiganJournal of Community Service Learning, 123-133.

CHAPTER 16

PLAY AND LEARNING IN SCHOOL: A MOTIVATIONAL APPROACH Ole Fredrik Lillemyr

CHILDREN'S PLAY AND ACADEMIC INTEREST AND MOTIVATION: A PREVIEW Schools are increasingly using playas a tool to motivate young students (Curriculum Guidelines, 1997; Dockett & Fleer, 1999; Fagerli, Lillemyr, & SiZ>ebstad, 2000), but play has not always been considered important to curriculum guidelines and educational programs. The failure to incorporate children's play in education has occurred despite positive associations between play and overall learning (cf. Bennett, Wood, & Rodgers, 1997; Ceglowski, 1997; Lillemyr, 1999b; McInerney & McInerney, 1998a; Wood & Attfield, 1996). Furthermore, children's play is closely related to social development (Backe-Hansen & Ogden, 1998; Urdan & Maehr, 1995). The importance of play is evidenced by the following vignette. A male first-grade teacher arranged a play situation with the students in a Norwegian elementary school (6-year olds). A week ago the teacher took his entire class (27 students) to a middle-sized Norwegian farm in the neighborhood, together with another first-grade teacher (female) and her class. The class trip was exploratory in nature, allowing students in the two classes to learn about the activities, animals, and machines normally found on a dairy farm. The farmer and his wife showed the children around and told them about a normal day on the farm and incidents that can occur during a day. 363

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The following week the two teachers decided to observe and evaluate their students' motivation and knowledge acquisition by letting them elaborate through play on their farm visit experiences. The children were encouraged to playas if they were farming, but they still had the freedom to create whatever they wanted during the play session. The children displayed great enthusiasm to play farm in the school's outdoor area; they played in three groups of nine students. The outdoor area has grass, heaps of sand, and a few trees. The children used varied sizes of wooden bricks and natural materials such as leaves, pine cones, and stones for their farm play setting. All decisions in the play session were made by the players themselves, and they defined player roles such as the farmer, wife, brother, sister, carpenter, neighbor, etc. Mter the play lasted for about two school lessons, several of the children asked if they could play more later on. The teacher said they could, but first they were going to make some drawings from what they had played. In the drawing session, the teacher learned that the student drawings reflected elaborated experiences, an integration of facts and information and their fantasy, creativity, and experimentation. Later the teachers took the students' elaborated experiences as a starting point for a structured learning session focusing on the growing of crops. Hence, the play and learning sessions were organized as exchanging activities in the class, providing experiences that will increase students' desire to further play with the newly acquired knowledge.

The Concepts of Play and Learning: Is Our Vignette an Accurate Reflection? There is growing interest in integrating play in educational programs, particularly in reading and writing at the early childhood level (cf. Brostrom, 1999; Dockett & Fleer, 1999; Einarsdottir, 2000; Lillemyr, 1999a; Samuelsson & Sheridan, 1999). There are several reasons why play is important to the school. Some authors point out the following (Fagerli et al., 2000; Lillemyr, 1999b): 1.

2. 3. 4.

Play has a particular meaning and a specific value of its own to the child. Play therefore contains a strong attractiveness and a fundamental source of motivation. Children at early school age (6-lO) explore, test out, and learn through play. Through play children develop their sense of competence and seek for identity. Children develop social competence through play and become socialized. Including play means including the sociocultural perspective of the child.

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Four dimensions of play, can be extracted from the most relevant theories of play: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Intrinsic motivation. Children's suspension of reality. Internal base of control. Children's playas social interaction, or communication at different levels (Garvey, 1977; Levy, 1978; Lillemyr, 1990; Mead, 1969; Schwartzman, 1978; Smilansky, 1990).

These four dimensions aid in our understanding of play. Each dimension is represented in the above vignette, as the children are deeply involved, suspend reality, are governed by an internal base of control, and interact and define roles. Still, play typically withholds from being defined (Lillemyr, 1998). Schoenfeld (1999), as well as others (Bj0rgen, 1997; Covington, 1998), outlines a broad perspective on learning, encompassing learning in areas like the school yard, at home, the after-school club, and I am sure the rich arena of play cannot be left out here. This author (Lillemyr, 1999a) defines school learning as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Internal processes caused by training/ experiences, providing increased capacity to comprehend, experience, feel, reflect, act. Learning includes acquisition of knowledge and skills, as well as applications, as in experimentation and creativity. Learning comprises individual processes, influenced by social competence, feelings of relatedness, and sociocultural aspects. Learning affects personality, and vice versa. (Learning affects the whole child.) Learning changes the child's competence, and therefore its sense of competence.

Scandinavian Countries and Play There have been a few studies carried out in Scandinavian countries focusing on school reform and the questions of motivation and learning and how to integrate children's play in school. In these studies the need to integrate the tradition of early childhood education and the tradition of primary school education is realized. With children's playas a main area of early childhood education, particularly in Europe and Scandinavia, studies often focused on early literacy (Einarsdottir, 2000; Vedeler, 1997). Brostrom (1992) examined everyday life in Danish and U.S. kindergarten classes. He found that in the United States, teaching the three R's was predominant, whereas play constituted the life in the Danish classroom. The American teacher-controlled "academic" practice and children's background contrib-

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uted to the development of motivation for learning. On the other hand, U.S. children were egocentric and had difficulties with group activity participation. The "child-controlled" practice in the Danish kindergarten developed social competence but neglected the development of motivation for learning. Brostrom (1992) concluded that a combination of the two traditions ought to be preferred. Later Brostrom (1999) elaborated his perspective towards the concept of educational play. In Sweden, Pramling and Samuelsson and collaborators during the last decades carried out research on how children learn, and understand learning, in preschools as opposed to schools (Pramling, Klerfelt, & Graneld, 1995). Ethnographic education with play and a broad perspective on learning, were found to enhance students' abilities for reflection and creativity. Pramling and Samuelsson argue that knowledge is individual, but is dependable on social aspects. For children communicative interactions and freedom to choose is, like in play, fundamental to learning. Learning how to learn and social cognition is of great importance (Pramling, 1990, 1992). She considers play and learning as different ways for the child to react to the outside world, both phenomena closely tied to communication. For teachers it is momentous to understand how children learn, to be able to empower the child as a learner (Doverborg & Pramling, 1996; Pramling, 1996). In Scandinavia there has been a recent trend to emphasize social competence, in preschool and day care institutions as well as in school. Including play in the educational program seems natural to ensure a harmonic school start and a sociocultural perspective (Brostrom, 1998a; Lillemyr, 1999a; Samuelsson & Sheridan, 1999). In New Zealand it was clearly documented in a study among 5-year-old school starters (Patrick & Townsend, 1995) that their sense of social competence clearly affected their perception of academic competence. But play and social competence are often ignored in teaching, at the expense of teacher-directed activities (Wood & Attfield, 1996).

SCHOOL REFORM: THE CASE OF NORWAY

In Norway Reform 97 and Curriculum Guidelines 1997 (CG97), objectives and selected course units are concerned with how to make students become involved and take responsibility for activities and learning in school, so they later can be creative and experimental when meeting challenges in society. According to CG97 the overall aim of school learning is to extend children's abilities to acknowledge, experience, understand, develop, and participate. It is said that successful learning demands a twofold motivation; that of the student and that of the teacher. Reform 97 is closely tied to the Norwegian child care institution reform of 1996 (children aged 1 to 5), which includes for the first time a national framework for preschool institutions in the country (Framework Plan for Day Care Institutions, 1996; OECD Report, 1999). The comprehensive

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school (lO-year compulsory school) includes primary and lower secondary education, comprising the initial stage (grades 1-4), the intermediate stage (grades 5-7), and the lower secondary stage (grades 8-10). At the initial stage varied activities of play and learning are to be included in the educational program, for which reason teachers need a thorough understanding of the concepts of play and learning. The instruction shall ensure Sami students and students of other minorities to develop a safety in their own culture, language and identity. A Sami version of eGg7 is available. At the initial stage the overall aim is to assure for all children a smooth transition from preschool to school. It is said education should nourish children's natural sense of wonder and their desire to explore through play. The emphasis is put on learning through playas well as on free play activities. To obtain this the cooperation between preschool teachers and primary school teachers is necessary at the initial stage. The Education Act has been revised, so both preschool teachers and primary school teachers can be appointed in grades 1-4. In grade 1 there is a limit of 18 students per teacher, above which there must be two teachers working together, for example a preschool teacher and a primary school teacher. The guidelines suggest that play can provide a starting point for, form an approach to, or be a part of thematically organized teaching; stating "Teaching feeds into play and vice versa." It is said that play enables students to explore their surroundings, digest impressions, and try out a variety of roles and practical solutions, even if they have different sociocultural backgrounds. Play being an approach to thematically organized teaching and a starting point for teacher-directed learning was illustrated in the vignette presented above. The teacher can organize for free play activities, and structured as well as child-centered learning including choice, student initiative, etc. In the guidelines play is understood as follows: Play is imagination, trial and error,joint action, and a natural arena for physical, social and intellectual challenges. Play offers experience in mastering tasks and challenges, and taking responsibility for oneself and others. Play is self-motivated and an important source of learning, especially during early years. Play helps children to develop language, concepts and communication competence, offers practice in using their bodies and motor skills, teaches them cooperation, and trains them in learning rules. (Author's translation.)

From an internationally perspective the inclusion of play in these guidelines can be considered unique. The observation of play will inform the teacher about the students' values, roles, interactions, and interests, providing useful information in adapting the instruction to the needs of children from different sociocultural backgrounds, such as Sami students and other minority students. In the guidelines children's play is a perspective of great importance, both because of its cultural relevance and its potential in relation to motivation

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and learning. Reform 97 represents not only renewal and expansion, but at several points a radical shift, as the recommended integration between the early childhood education tradition and the primary school tradition at the initial stages shows. This is supposed to end in a new educational approach for the initial stage. The integration intends to have advantageous consequences, not least for students of different cultural origins, as a holistic educational approach would be more salient. Obviously, this will have to change our traditional understanding of school learning.

Reform-related Research Studies i-:- Norway Clearly, in search of an optimum learning environment, students' interest in play and learning have to be taken into account. In research focusing on sociocultural perspectives of motivation, interests should more often be a target variable, to examine questions such as: What are the play interests of students from different backgrounds? What do students from different cultural background think it is important to learn in school? A set of research studies carried out in Norway (Lillemyr et al., 1998) focused on students' interests in play and learning activities at school, and was called "The Transition Preschool-School Project" (the TPS project). The research was requested by The Norwegian Ministry of Education, Research and Church Affairs to support the implementation of the school reform. Self-determination theory (Deci, 1998; Deci & Ryan, 1985, 1991) and achievement goal theory (Maehr, 1984; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986; Maehr & Midgley, 1996) were combined as guiding theories, supplemented by principles from the curriculum guidelines. The theories and principles were developed into a framework for the studies. As in the vignette presented, varied activities of play and learning were tried out in preschools and schools. An important aspect of this qualitative research was student interest examined along the dimension: the extent to which students could decide "what" and "how" in the play or learning activity. According to self-determination theory and achievement goal theory, the target is to support student autonomy, reflect social goals of relatedness or obtain personal investment in learning through task-orientation (cf. Urdan, 2000). The theory of competence motivation (Harter, 1978, 1992), closely related to the two theories, focuses students' sense of competence and mastery within important areas of experience. All these theories are aiming at children becoming their own creators of meaningful knowledge. These theories are directing self regards and intrinsic motivation as fundamental to school outcomes, stressing that students' sense of competence and active involvement must be highlighted to provide personal investment in learning. As disclosed in Figure 1, self (Self) and intrinsic motivation (1M) are considered basic components contributing to students' interests (INT) , as can be seen in situations with play and learning. Selfwas defined primarily

PLAY AND LEARNING IN SCHOOL

Play

369

Outcomes K

A





•• ________________ ••L ___________ ••__________ ~

Figure l.

~

••• •• __________ J•••



~

Self, intrinsic motivation, and interests as fundamental to school outcomes.

as cognitive and social sense of competence, even if other factors are also influencing the self (added in Figure 1, not measured in the studies). As derived from the theories self, intrinsic motivation and interests will in turn influence school outcomes, like knowledge (K) skill (S) and attitudes (A). These studies were not analyzing outcomes though. As can be seen in the model (Figure 1), school outcomes will in turn influence students' interests, intrinsic motivation and self. A basic idea behind the model is that children already at the preschool level, and particularly at the beginning of school, should be offered rich opportunities for gradually developing autonomy and confidence in their particular competencies. Not at least because all children, independent of intellectual level, sociocultural background, and other differences have considerable competence at the time they start school. This research sought to examine what characterizes students' interests for play and learning in school, in relation to sense of competence and intrinsic motivation. A qualitative approach, combining observations, interviews and rating scales were chosen, and the studies were carried out as a survey over a 3-year period, in six preschools and six schools, selected systematically from three different municipalities in North Troendelag county, Norway. Altogether, 500 students aged 5 to 9 years participated. The examination was designed as exploratory studies focusing on students of a Norwegian majority cultural background origin only. Data concerning the sense of cognitive and sense of social competence were collected with a Norwegian adaptation of "The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children» by Harter and Pike (1983). This scale was translated and transformed to the Norwegian culture in terms of school and student background (Lillemyr, 1984). Data were collected by trained teachers who interviewed students with the Norwegian scale, which has been used in several small-scale studies before.

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O.F. LlLLEMYR

It included sub-scales with 6 items each. Coefficient alphas were .61 (cogni-

tive scale) and .69 (social scale). These are slightly lower, but in the same range as those reported by Harter with large American samples (Harter & Pike, 1983). Two corresponding scales based on teacher evaluations were developed, with coefficient alpha's .86 (cognitive) and .89 (social). Intrinsic motivation was operationally defined from the three criteria presented by Harter (1980): preference for challenge, preference for independent mastery, and curiosity/interest in new things. Data were collected based on student interview and interviewer ratings on a four-point Likert scale. An index of intrinsic motivation included all three criteria. Teacher observation ratings based on student interviews were also developed. As to the variables "interest in play" /"interest in learning," ratings focused on: • • • •

Interest in teacher-directed play; Interest in free play; Interest in teacher-directed learning; and Interest in free learning.

"Free" in this sense meant relatively free as to the child's possibility of choice. In the teacher observations similar ratings on a Likert scale were employed as with interview data. In the studies the understanding of play and learning that children hold without adults defining it for them, was of concern. We decided to consider student interest in interviews through just one dimension: what are the student interests when it comes to their extent of choice about what and how, in the play or learning activity. Student interests were divided into four categories: not at all interested, not so much interested, fairly much interested, and very much interested. In addition teachers were rating student interests on observations, one student at a time, concerning their interests in play and learning; and according to the same four categories. Reliability and validity were calculated and interpreted satisfactory in these exploratory studies. In 1995/96 children aged 5,6, and 7 were included in the studies. The next year children from the same schools aged 8 years were included, and the third year children aged 9 were included. A total of 888 student observations by teachers were collected during 3 years. Forty-two preschool teachers, primary school teachers, and headmasters participated in the studies. A total of 267 students were interviewed regarding their interests for play and learning in school. A total of 469 students, randomly selected from the total sample, were rated according to the sense of competence scales.

RESULTS The results from the studies will be presented in two groups, the sense of competence and intrinsic motivation data, and the student interests in play and learning data.

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371

Sense of Competence and Intrinsic Motivation Table 1 shows M-values for sense of social acceptance or social competence for different age groups on each of the items as well as for the total sub-scale. The corresponding standard deviations were .6 in all cases (except 9 yr.: .7). We had few 9-year olds, therefore the data for 5 to 8 year olds are the most reliable. With few exceptions, all items show a tendency toward increasing Mvalue with increasing age. Looking at sense of social competence in total, the increase is insignificant. For this sample it was concluded that level of student sense of social competence tends to be high and stable with age. In Table 2, M-values are depicted for sense of cognitive competence for different age groups on each of the items, as well as for the total sub-scale. Standard deviations varied from .3 to .5. For four of the items there is a ten-

Table 1. Students' Sense of Social Competence-M-values for Different Age Levels

AGE 5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

9 years

Total

Has a lot of friends to play with

3.2

3.3

3.3

3.4

3.6

3.3

A lot of kids will lend him their toys

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.3

Has a lot of friends in preeschool/ school

3.3

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.4

3.4

Clever inventing things when kids play

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.3

3.4

Has a lot of friends to play with outside preeschool/ school

3.1

2.8

3.1

3.2

2.9

3.0

Tries to include others when playing with dolls/toys

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.3

3.2

3.2

Index

3.2

3.2

3.3

3.3

3.3

3.3

Table 2.

Students' Sense of Cognitive Competence-M-values for Different Age Levels

AGE 5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

9 years

Total

Clever with puzzles

3.6

3.4

3.4

3.4

3.2

3.4

Knows a lot about things

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.5

3.4

3.4 3.7

Knows the name of the colors

3.6

3.7

3.7

3.8

3.9

Clever with counting

3.8

3.8

3.9

3.8

3.8

3.8

Knows many letters

3.4

3.4

3.7

3.8

3.7

3.6

Can remember what adults are reading

3.2

3.2

3.4

3.4

3.3

3.3

Index

3.5

3.5

3.6

3.6

3.5

3.5

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O.F. LlLLEMYR

dency toward increase in M-value with increasing age. For sense of cognitive competence in total, the increase is insignificant. It was concluded that level of student sense of cognitive competence tends to be high and stable with age level. In both sub-scales we see clearly, as Harter and Pike (1983) found in American studies, that young students tend to have rather high perceptions of themselves with regard to competence. A further examination of sense of social acceptance items was undertaken. Children's answers were divided into four categories, values 1-4. Value 4 indicates complete correspondence between the statement presented in the item (for example "has a lot of friends to play with") and the student's answer. Table 3 gives an overview of the complete correspondence percentage of student answers of value 4, according to age level. As can be seen, in 4 out of 6 items the percentage at the age of 5, decreases substantially to the age of6 or (in some cases) to the age of7, and seems to increase again from 7 or 8 years of age. This indicates a declining tendency in sense of social competence at about 6 or 7 years of age. Bearing in mind the age of school entrance in Norway was 7 years in 1995 and 1996, and changed to 6 years from 1997. Longitudinal data, not presented here, clearly supported the picture of "a declining tendency" in sense of social competence around the age of school entrance. Teacher evaluations of students' cognitive competence and social competence were collected as well. These were compared to students' own evaluations from interviews. Correlations of r= .21 (cognitive) and r= .40 (social) were found, indicating significant but rather weak correlations, indicating it is not easy for teachers at this level to evaluate children's sense of competence. Figure 2 provides a picture from the analyses of 5-, 7- and 9-year-old students' intrinsic motivation, based on interview data, with both index values and values on each of the three intrinsic motivation criteria. As can be seen there was a small decline in intrinsic motivation (index) from 5 years to 7 years, significant at the 5% level (p < .049). The increase from 7 to 9 years

Table 3. Students' Sense of Social Acceptance-Percentage of Answers of Value 4 (complete correspondance with statement) According to Age Level AGE 5 years

6 years

7 years

8 years

58.8

Has a lot of friends to play with

51.9

51.6

50.0

A lot of kids will lend him their toys

44.9

47.6

57.5

60.3

Has a lot of friends in preeschool/ school

64.2

53.2

50.0

60.3

Clever inventing things when kids play

62.9

53.2

50.0

42.6

Has a lot of friends to play with outside preeschool/ school

53.3

37.9

45.8

52.9

Tries to include others when playing with dolls/toys

56.2

52.4

53.8

57.4

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373

of age was not significant. A decline in children's intrinsic motivation at the time of school entrance should of course be a reason for worry. On the other hand, the level of intrinsic motivation was fairly high. Furthermore, Figure 2 also depicts results concerning the three different criteria of intrinsic motivation separately: preference for challenges, preference for independent mastery, and the extent of curiosity/interest in new things. A significant decline was found in M-value from 5 to 7 years, regarding preference for independent mastery (p < .027) and a non-significant difference in the same direction as to preference for challenges (although close to the 5% level, p < .065). For curiosity/interest no significant differences were found. T-test analyses of differences of M-values between 7 and 9 years of age, uncovered just one significant difference: a strong increase in preference for independent mastery. It seems that preference for independent mastery contributes most to the decline in intrinsic motivation from 5 to 7 years; but preference for independent mastery increases again from 7 to 9 years. These results were interpreted as follows: In Norway children around 7 years seem to have some worries about challenges, particularly when related to school evaluations. Children's need for independent mastery, to participate in decisions of activity and choose among alternatives in interaction with others, increases from 7 to 9 years of age. Even if there is a decreasing interest for independent mastery from 5 to 7 years, children's need for independent mastery seems to represent the best potential for stimulating intrinsic motivation during the first grades in school, provided there is some caution at the school start. This does not seem to be the case with the preference for challenge. As we know from a number of research studies optimal challenge can generate motivational energy, but too demanding challenges can easily produce worries and anxiety. This seems from one perspective to support recent research examining the relation between achievement motives and relative autonomy (Cock & Halvari,

4,--------------------------------------------------3

2

1M-index

Preference for challenge

Figure 2.

Independent mastery

Curiosity' interest In new things

Intrinsic motivation (interviews).

.-----~

1l!iI5 years 1117 years 09 years

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O.F. LlLLEMYR

2000). For that reason the exchange between play and learning activities, will provide an excellent opportunity for children to explore challenging situations when there is no evaluation attached to it, as in play. This could be especially useful for students from different sociocultural groups, a perspective that was not examined in these studies. The results presented indicate that this is of particular importance in the transition years, in Norway between 5 and 7 years of age. Would this be the case with school entrance students in other countries as well?

Student Interests in Play and Learning Students' development of interests can be seen as a consequence of their level of sense of competence, and their intrinsic motivation or task orientation, though closely related to contextual variables. Figure 3 discloses the interest profile of 5-year olds (n = 68), according to their interest in each of the four kinds of play and learning. As can be seen, free play is the most popular activity; then free learning. Teacher-directed learning is 100

80

60 40

20

o

Free play

Figure 3.

Teacher-directed play

Free learning

Teacher-directed learning

Interest in play and learning-5-year olds (interview).

100 liVery much Fairly much II Not so much Ii!! Not at all

o

80

60 40

20

o

Free play

Figure 4.

Teacher-directed play

Free learning

Teacher-directed learning

Interest in play and learning-6-year olds (interview).

PLAY AND LEARNING IN SCHOOL

375

more popular than teacher-directed play at this age. In Figure 4, the interest profile of 6-year olds (n = 77), we can see that the two forms of learning is about the same in popularity. Free play is still the most popular kind of activity. These results clearly indicate the educational potential of play for teaching the first grade. In Norway, starting school at six now, it seems from these results particularly import to be aware of the possibilities that free play can provide. Although, students' interest in free and teacher-directed learning should not be ignored. Figure 5 shows the interest profile of 7year olds (n = 73). Free play seems still to represent an area of great potential. It is especially worth commenting that students' positive interest ("very much" and "fairly much") in free learning dropped dramatically from what we saw in the profile of children aged 6 years, from 51 % among 6-year olds to 25% among 7-year olds. Figure 6 presents the interest profile of students aged 8 years (n = 21). Here all the tendencies seen from the profiles of 5-, 6- and 7-year olds seem to continue. Students' positive interest in free learning has again dropped, and is now just around 14%. Free play is still very popular (67%), and a very high interest in teacher-directed learning can be noted (81 %). Maybe this is caused by the fact that students at this 100

l1li Very much

o Fairly much

80

l1li Not so much Ii!! Not at all

60 40 20

o

Free play

Figure 5.

Teacher-directed play

Free learning

Teacher-directed learning

Interest in play and learning-7-year olds (interview).

100

80 60 40 20

o

Free play

Figure 6.

Teacher-directed play

Free learning

Teacher-directed learning

Interest in play and learning-8-year olds (interview).

376

O.F. LlLLEMYR

stage have perceived from the school environment a rather narrow expectation of school learning? Our results as to 9-year olds are unsure because of the low amount of children included (n= 13), for which reason they are not presented here. Students' interests in play and learning in the "free" category are of particular concern in this presentation, since student autonomy and choice were in focus in the theoretical framework. Figure 7 depicts students' interests (interviews) in free play across age levels. Here data with 9-year olds are included to disclose the age tendency. As can be seen, from a very high interest among 5-year olds there is a weak decrease to 6 and 7 years, but then a weak increase again up to 8 and 9 years of age. From this documentation it seems that children apparently have a strong need for free play during the first school years. In Figure 8 students' interests in free learning shows a strong decrease from a high level among 5-year olds to a fairly low level among 6-year olds and a low level among 7- and 8-year olds. This was interpreted as follows: Students do not expect much free learning to take place in school, for

100

I!lI Not at all • Not so much o Fairly much • Very much

80

60 40 20

o

5 years

7 years

6 years

Figure 7.

8 years

9 years

Interest in free play (interviews).

100

I!lI Not at all • Not so much

80

o Fairly much • Very much

60 40 20

o

5 years

6 years

Figure 8.

7 years

8 years

9 years

Interest in free learning (interviews).

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377

which reason they do not have high interest in free learning, for example, learning where experimentation, invention and creativity are typical. This seems to correspond to results found in other Nordic studies with entrance students (Eide & Winger, 1996; Pramling et al., 1995). Importantly, this piece of result more or less contradicts the intentions of Reform 97 and the curriculum guidelines, encouraging creativity, experimentation, etc. in student learning. T-test analyses of M-values of student interest in play and learning were computed for the groups 5 and 7 years. These are depicted in Table 4, with all differences significant at the 5% level. Teacher-directed learning is the only aspect where 7-year olds hold a stronger interest, compared to the 5year olds. It can be concluded that 5-year olds, soon to start school, were found to have a higher interest than 7-year-old students in both types of play, and in free learning. The interest results of free play and teacherdirected learning were confirmed by analyses of observation data (not presented here). It was assumed that teacher evaluations of students' interests would influence the students' development of interests. Therefore, students' interests of play and learning (interview data) were compared with teacher evaluations of student interest based on observations; at the age of 6 years and at the age of 7 years. In both sets of data four categories were used: very much interested, fairly much interested, etc. In the analysis the four categories from interview and observation data were simplified into two categories: a positive category ("like") and a negative category ("do not like"). As can be seen from Figures 9 and 10, strong tendencies were found for the teacher to overestimate student interests in play and learning. The strongest tendencies of overestimation were found in teacher-directed play and free learning, for which reason these are depicted in Figures 9 and 10. It seems that the teachers have a hard time really knowing of student interests in play and learning. Maybe this could change if the teachers took the time to observe students during play, as in the presented vignette story.

Table 4.

Students' Interest in Play and Learning-M-values for 5 and 7 Years of Age AGE

5 years

7 years

Interest in free play

3.4

2.9

P < .003*

Interest in teacher-directed play

2.1

1.6

P < .022

Interest in free learning

3.2

2.0

P < .000

Interest in teacher-directed learning

2.4

2.9

P < .030*

Note:

* Result confinned by analyses of observation data.

Sign

378

O.F. LlLLEMYR

100 80 60 40 20 0 Teacher about 6-year olds

6-year olds

Figure 9.

Teacher about 7-year olds

7-year olds

Interest in teacher-directed play.

100 80 60 40 20

o

Teacher about 6-year olds

6-year olds

Figure 10.

Teacher about 7-year olds

7-year olds

Interest in free learning.

We have to be careful generalizing these results to the population of students at this age level in Norway, and in discussing the results in relation to research on students' motivation and learning in other countries or with different cultural groups. For that reason qualitative research studies like the one reported here, should be replicated in different settings in Norway and other countries, to test its sociocultural relevance to increase the research knowledge in the field. Based on results from a broader perspective of studies we can examine children's play in school in different countries and with students from different sociocultural groups.

DISCUSSION

Our studies indicated a decline in sense of social competence and a significant decline in intrinsic motivation at the age of school entrance. The decline in sense of social competence was assumed to be the reason for the decline in intrinsic motivation; according to the theories (Deci & Ryan,

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379

1991; Harter, 1978). Will such tendencies show up in research data from school-starters of other cultural backgrounds and across countries as well? Interest profiles from our studies indicated that play represents a great potential for teachers and schools in order to obtain intrinsic motivation and personal investment in learning among students. The results seemed partly to confirm the guiding theories, and partly to confirm results from other Nordic studies (Brostrom, 1998b; Eide & Winger, 1996; Germeten, 1999; Pramling et al., 1995), though the perspective interests in play and learning were not included in a similar way in those studies. To some extent results and indications from our studies in Norway (Lillemyr et al., 1998) were supportive of the results from studies in other countries (cf. Eccles, Wigfield, Harold, & Blumenfeld, 1993; Hartmann & Rollett, 1994; Patrick & Townsend, 1995; Stipek et al., 1995) focusing on student motivation in early years of school. Still, there is a general scarcity of studies investigating motivation in early years, and few studies have yet directed students' interests along the dimension of free versus structured play and learning. In recent years some research has been focusing on the transitions in school. In this regard some have pointed to students' intrinsic motivation or motivational orientation (goals) as a main concern (Anderman & Midgley, 1996; Chapman & Tunmer, 1995; Grolnick & Ryan, 1987; Leibowitz & Chates, 1995; Patrick & Townsend, 1995; Pramling et al., 1995; Skaalvik, 1997). Others have been first of all concentrating on how students understand learning, how they perceive competence, and how they thrive in school. Some research has directed the sociocultural influences on school motivation, but surprisingly found motivational profiles of diverse cultural groups to be more similar than different (McInerney, 1998; McInerney, Roche, McInerney, & Marsh, 1997). Few research studies examined play and learning, which should be important when looking at student motivation in a sociocultural perspective (Brostrom, 1998b; Cooney, 1995; Eide & Winger, 1996). Based on several research studies, it is clear that in the first years of school children should build a platform of fundamental competencies or develop a preparedness for meeting challenges in a broad sense of the word. This platform would have to be anchored to self perceptions and feelings of meaning and self-determination and the basic competence developed in preschool. Some research indicates that such work must build upon students' sense of social and cognitive competence, according to psychological needs (Anderman, Maehr, & Midgley, 1999; Deci & Ryan, 1991), although little attention has been directed to the primary school level in this concern. School experiences are to be seen as closely related to children's desire for independent mastery, participation in decisions and making choices, in order to feel self-determined (cf. Deci & Ryan, 1994, 1995; Harter, 1992) and to ensure personal investment in learning. It would be of particular interest to examine such tendencies among young students of different sociocultural backgrounds (Maehr, 1998; McInerney, 1998).

380

O.F. LlLLEMYR

According to the new motivational approach to education in Norway, opening up for play in the instruction is of great importance. But the school has seldom been seriously concerned about children's play, when self-regarded, personal or task-oriented learning is at stake. For this to happen we will have to direct more research attention to student interests in play and learning activities and student-appreciative teacher attitudes. In the Nordic countries, based on the early childhood education tradition, this has now become a compelling and challenging task. This has to be more strongly reflected in research, in particular when focusing on sociocultural aspects of student motivation, if the cultural backgrounds of students are to be taken seriously in organizing the content in school.

CONCLUSIONS

Students' personal involvement and teachers' student-appreciative attitudes are extremely important to the quality of teaching and to students' learning outcomes. In recent years several researchers have been emphasizing these aspects (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 1999; Deci & Ryan, 1994; Germeten, 1999; Harter, 1992; Maehr & Midgley, 1996; Ryan, Connell, & Grolnick, 1992; Wood & Attfield, 1996). Whether we attempt to focus on students' personal investment in learning or students' self-determined behavior and learning, it is learning in a personal, broad sense of the word that is the target. I agree with Urdan (2000) that these two relevant theories of motivation may be seen as complementary and not competitive. The relevance of interest as an important concept in this concern seems largely to have been ignored in much of the relevant research on student motivation, a fact that in my opinion has to be changed in the future. Furthermore, more research studies should relate to students' interests in play and learning according to a free-structured dimension when examining students' intrinsic motivation or task-orientation. Play is perhaps the most task-oriented and intrinsically motivated activity a child can attend to, and the self-worth perspective or self-determined aspect, is of course normally included in children's play. The child is in the play, a here-and-now situation, much like Csikszentmihalyi's definition of flow, a state that generates intrinsic motivation. According to Csikszentmihalyi (1985) flow is typical in play, aesthetic activities and creativity. Play is first of all a phenomenon originating from an internal interest. For this reason play contains great educational potential. Including play in the educational program obviously enriches the school environment and in the next turn can enhance students' personal investment in learning, independent of cultural background. Thus play represents a potential for increasing the quality of future education. Play in the lower grades tends to promote creativity and experimentation in the higher grades, thus increasing the personal involvement in learning. Needless to say, this will most cer-

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tainly increase students' achievements in the long run, in particular in their elaboration of knowledge and developing perception of autonomy. For these reasons it can be argued that play in some sense can contribute to the development of a broader concept of school learning. But maybe the most important aspect of including play in the school program would be that it ensures the inclusion of a sociocultural perspective, as play is an intercultural phenomenon. Interesting questions could be: Will schools and classrooms with a strong emphasis on free play and free learning activities (in addition to structured play and learning) in their instructional program, foster more task-oriented students? And would this be so with students from different sociocultural backgrounds as well? And how would this affect their achievements in school? There is obviously a need for a new and broader concept of school learning. As a consequence, research studies examining the interests of play and learning among students from different sociocultural groups seem urgent. The school needs to change its insights in school learning; accepting a broad and holistic concept. School learning has to comprise the acquisition of knowledge as well as the elaboration and application of knowledge, as seen in children's play. Learning has to encompass the whole child, which is why learning processes and personality development will interact reciprocally. Not least important, learning certainly affects the students' sense of competence, motivational orientation, and personal investment in learning (cf. Brostn'5m, 1998a; Ceglowski, 1997; Lillemyr, 1999a; Maehr, 1998). A focus on students' interests in play and learning and their decisions and choices, as seen in the studies reported (Lillemyr et al., 1998), seemed to reveal a kind of "institutionalization." Students' originally high interest in free learning faded strongly from 5 to 8 years. This indicated that students at the age of 6 to 9 did not expect much free learning in school; maybe caused by communication to them by teachers, parents, and others about what school and school learning are all about. The school as institution seems to affect the students' attitudes towards learning, or 'institutionalizes' their perception of school learning, a perspective that might be useful to investigate in students with different sociocultural backgrounds. As found by Anderman, Maehr, and Midgley (1999) and others schools can make a difference. The results from our studies indicated a possibility that supporting student autonomy, providing choices, and ensuring relatedness can contribute to weaken the effects of "institutionalization." To conclude, there is a need for the schools to provide rich opportunities of play and free learning for students, a lot more than today. If not, the school can in fact be inhibiting creativity and personal involvement in learning among students, and have a harder time adapting to students from different sociocultural backgrounds. In my opinion learning through play has an important role in this concern, a fact that should be reflected more in future research and school curriculum development.

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