The quality of teacher-student relationships greatly affects students' academic life. Students need to be recognized by their teacher. One way through which such need may be fulfilled is receiving strokes (teacher attention). In a broad sense, stroke is known to be a unit of human recognition (Berne, 1988). Accordingly, the current mixed-methods study aims to investigate the differences among English, Persian, and Arabic school teachers in Iran pertaining to their stroking behavior and and see how the three groups of teachers differ in this regard. To fulfill the first aim, 300 eighth-grade female students completed an 18-item questionnaire and the questionnaire data were analyzed through one-way ANOVA. The results revealed that Arabic teachers stroke students more than English and Persian teachers. As for the second aim, nine English, Persian and Arabic teachers were each observed for three sessions. The analysis of the observations demonstrated that English teachers outstroke students. Finally, these findings have been discussed in the context of language instruction.

Supportive teacher-student relationships play a significant role in the trajectory of studentsí academic life. Teachers may use various strategies to improve this relationship, one of which is teacher stroke (teacher encouragement). The stroking behavior of teachers might be influenced by several factors, including the socioeconomic status (SES) of students. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate the differences among female English language teachers at three different school districts (i.e., upper, middle, and lower socio-economic class) in Mashhad, Iran, with regard to their stroking behavior. To fulfill this aim, 300 eighth-grade female students responded to an 18-item questionnaire and the collected data were subsequently analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. The results revealed that teachers tend to stroke high-SES students more frequently. The second aim of this study was to find out if there is a significant correlation between teacher stroke and studentsí GPA. The results indicated that all the sub-components of stroke significantly correlate with studentsí GPA. Moreover, the results of a stepwise multiple regression test indicated that two of the sub-components of stroke, namely valuing and classroom activities, strongly predict studentsí GPA. Finally, the findings of the study have been discussed in light of the existing literature and implications have been provided for language teaching in the formal context of education.

<p>This is the first systematic study of the experiences of Middle Eastern children and their parents in the context of New Zealand early childhood centres. Using a two-phase sequential mixed-method approach involving an online questionnaire sent to Middle Eastern parents across New Zealand followed by four qualitative case studies, I investigated: Middle Eastern parents’ expectations for their children’s early education; early childhood teachers’ practices and perspectives with respect to Middle Eastern families; and the challenges faced by Middle Eastern children in New Zealand early childhood centres. Using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, and drawing on constructs from hybridity theory (Bhabha, 1994), critical multiculturalism (May & Sleeter, 2010), and funds of knowledge (González et al., 2006), I argue that there is a lack of congruence between the early childhood discourses promoted by the New Zealand teachers and Middle Eastern parents’ expectations for their children’s early education. Interviews indicated that Middle Eastern parents’ expectations were often dismissed and silenced while the dominant early childhood discourses were reinforced by teachers, indicating that some of the teachers were not prepared, or knowledgeable about how, to embrace Middle Eastern families’ funds of knowledge. Additionally, teachers had different approaches for accommodating Middle Eastern families’ needs. While some teachers were keen to learn about Middle Eastern families and implement practices that were reflective of their individual needs, there were teachers who expressed essentialised views and perceived Middle Eastern families as a homogenous group with similar needs. My findings also show that Middle Eastern children at times struggled to express themselves in English and teachers adopted specific practices to support children in this regard. While most of these practices helped children develop linguistic and social competence, some social competencies promoted by the teachers – such as ways of responding to peer conflict – were incongruent with the families’ practices. Possible implications for early childhood pedagogy are suggested to meet the needs of increasingly ethnically and culturally diverse early childhood educational contexts.</p>

The comments section of news articles is intended for the public to share their views on posted news stories. Accordingly, this section has been subject to numerous analyses from a wide range of perspectives. The current study analyzes the tone and purpose of comments posted on news articles dealing with Iran’s nuclear issue. The data consisted of 150 online comments in English and 150 in Persian. The comments were taken from three news websites in English and three in Persian. These websites were chosen based on their different political leanings in order to take account of the various approaches to Iran’s disputed nuclear talks. The results did not indicate a significant difference between the tone of English and Persian comments, but the purposes intended by English and Persian comments varied extensively. It was also found that the political leaning of news agencies is a major cause of the observed differences.