Extensive research has suggested that there is a large rural-urban student achievement gap in China.However,less is known about the effects of family background and parental expectations on student achievement.Using a...Extensive research has suggested that there is a large rural-urban student achievement gap in China.However,less is known about the effects of family background and parental expectations on student achievement.Using a large representative sample of Chinese eighth graders,this study examines these relationships.We find that:(1)Rather than a rural/urban hukou(household registration system)type,it is variation in family background,especially family socioeconomic status(SES),which plays a significant role in student achievement;(2)although factors of family background show different patterns of influence on Chinese,mathematics,and English achievement,maternal education and home educational resources are significantly positive predictors consistently across three subjects;(3)parental expectations are significantly and positively associated with Chinese,mathematics,and English achievement.展开更多
Teaching and learning a language are influenced by an imagined community involving interaction among members in possible worlds.From an empirical standpoint,relatively little is known about how Chinese language lectur...Teaching and learning a language are influenced by an imagined community involving interaction among members in possible worlds.From an empirical standpoint,relatively little is known about how Chinese language lecturers see their possible memberships to the communities wherein students from different countries participate,or how this perception affects their teaching practice and innovative pedagogies.In order to address this gap,this study explores the teaching lives of four lecturers who teach Chinese as a second language(CSL)to foreign students in China.Drawing upon a three-year longitudinal study of interview data triangulated with journal entries and classroom observation,the findings reveal that lecturers’imagined identities may transform into practical identities due to the idea of treating foreign students as legitimate foreigners but illegitimate Chinese language users,and the intensified pressures and insecurities of being a part-time lecturer.However,the combined efforts of lecturers’perseverance,knowledge and competence,institutional support,available educational resources,and positive evolution of identity may prevent lecturers’imagined communities from collapsing,and possibly facilitate a shift in identification from“struggling teacher”to“determined teacher.”Relevant implications for teaching Chinese and teacher education are discussed.展开更多
The articles in this special issue are based on a selection of more than 40 papers on autonomy in second and foreign language education presented at the 16th AILA World Congress in Beijing in August 2011. The opening ...The articles in this special issue are based on a selection of more than 40 papers on autonomy in second and foreign language education presented at the 16th AILA World Congress in Beijing in August 2011. The opening review article,by the vip editors,explores autonomy and related constructs at a theoretical level.It is followed by seven data-based research papers from China,Britain,Finland,Mexico,and Japan,which represent the international scope of research on autonomy at the present time.Their work as a whole examines how autonomy is conceptualized in different institutional,socio-cultural and political environments,展开更多
文摘Extensive research has suggested that there is a large rural-urban student achievement gap in China.However,less is known about the effects of family background and parental expectations on student achievement.Using a large representative sample of Chinese eighth graders,this study examines these relationships.We find that:(1)Rather than a rural/urban hukou(household registration system)type,it is variation in family background,especially family socioeconomic status(SES),which plays a significant role in student achievement;(2)although factors of family background show different patterns of influence on Chinese,mathematics,and English achievement,maternal education and home educational resources are significantly positive predictors consistently across three subjects;(3)parental expectations are significantly and positively associated with Chinese,mathematics,and English achievement.
文摘Teaching and learning a language are influenced by an imagined community involving interaction among members in possible worlds.From an empirical standpoint,relatively little is known about how Chinese language lecturers see their possible memberships to the communities wherein students from different countries participate,or how this perception affects their teaching practice and innovative pedagogies.In order to address this gap,this study explores the teaching lives of four lecturers who teach Chinese as a second language(CSL)to foreign students in China.Drawing upon a three-year longitudinal study of interview data triangulated with journal entries and classroom observation,the findings reveal that lecturers’imagined identities may transform into practical identities due to the idea of treating foreign students as legitimate foreigners but illegitimate Chinese language users,and the intensified pressures and insecurities of being a part-time lecturer.However,the combined efforts of lecturers’perseverance,knowledge and competence,institutional support,available educational resources,and positive evolution of identity may prevent lecturers’imagined communities from collapsing,and possibly facilitate a shift in identification from“struggling teacher”to“determined teacher.”Relevant implications for teaching Chinese and teacher education are discussed.
文摘The articles in this special issue are based on a selection of more than 40 papers on autonomy in second and foreign language education presented at the 16th AILA World Congress in Beijing in August 2011. The opening review article,by the vip editors,explores autonomy and related constructs at a theoretical level.It is followed by seven data-based research papers from China,Britain,Finland,Mexico,and Japan,which represent the international scope of research on autonomy at the present time.Their work as a whole examines how autonomy is conceptualized in different institutional,socio-cultural and political environments,
