Cultural Dialogue and Schooling in Schoenhausen and Roseville: A Comparative Analysis

Spindler, George; Spindler, Louise

doi:10.1525/aeq.1987.18.1.04x0758d

Cited by 35 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In sharp contrast to the theory of national cultures is the theory of cultural dynamics found in comparative anthropological studies (e.g., LeTendre, 2000;Spindler & Spindler, 1987a;1987b;Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1989). 1 In this model local, regional, and national cultures are produced through a continual process of cultural change (see Spindler, Spindler, Trueba, & Williams, 1990), which, both over time and across place, is often deliberately initiated by members of the culture to further their own political ends (see also Comaroff & Comaroff, 1992;Wolf, 1992).…”

Section: Global Cultural Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Teachers’ Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan

LeTendre

Baker

Akiba

et al. 2001

Educational Researcher

106

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Policy debates in the U.S. are increasingly informed by use of internationally generated, comparative data. Many arguments revolve around whether or not such comparison makes “cultural sense” or whether specific educational activities that appear successful in one nation are “culturally appropriate” in another. These arguments clash with the work of anthropologists and sociologists who demonstrate that global cultural dynamics influence national patterns of schooling around the world. Using both the survey and case study data from the Third International Math-Science Study (TIMSS), we examine the working conditions and beliefs of teachers in Japan, Germany, and the U.S. in order to assess the relative merits of competing theoretical perspectives. We find some differences in how teachers’ work is organized, but similarities in teachers’ belief patterns. We find that core teaching practices and teacher beliefs show little national variation, but that other aspects of teachers’ work (e.g., non-instructional duties) do show variation. We show that models of national cultures of learning or “national teaching scripts” may overemphasize cultural differences and underestimate the impact of institutional isomorphism in schooling. We argue that rather than change values, educational policy will be best served by identifying specific features of teacher work and analyzing how to improve these working conditions.

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Section: Global Cultural Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Teachers’ Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan

LeTendre

Baker

Akiba

et al. 2001

Educational Researcher

106

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Before this encounter began, Xiaohui had sat down at her desk to begin a series of tasks that the experienced teacher had tailored to her individual learning needs. Spindler and Spindler 1987). This encounter began when she took the book to Ms. Mills (TM), the student teacher, for more directions.…”

Section: Third Gradementioning

confidence: 99%

Learning from Student Teachers' Cross‐Cultural Communicative Failures

Kleifgen

1988

Anthropology & Edu Quarterly

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In a study of instructional interaction between classroom teachers and limitedEnglish proficient international children, student teachers were observed to be less successful communicators than their cooperating teachers. This was due largely to the student teachers' failure to draw on sociocultural and experiential elements necessary for the construction of meaning. The elements were the children's differing values, beli+, and attitudes about schooling and their prior knowledge and experiences, both in and out of school. This article describes the patterns of communicative failure, as well as the elements that can contribute to successful interactions, even without a common language. TION, CHlLDREN CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNlCATlON, CLASSROOM INTERAC-Concerns about the quality of teaching and the preparation of teachers have been emphasized anew with the Holmes Group (1986) report and in recent issues of educational journals, such as the Harvard Educational Review. Because teaching is preeminently a linguistic process (cf. Green 1983), teachers and teacher educators appropriately turn to the research in culture and language in education in order to better understand the processes contributing to success or failure in instructional communication. For example, research in the field of interactional sociolinguistics (cf. Gumperz 1982; ed., 1982) has examined cross-cultural communication among adults speaking varieties of the same language (e.g., Blom and Gumperz 1972; Erickson and Schultz 1982; Tannen 1984). Studies also have been carried out to analyze communicative failure between adults and children in and out of school (e.g., Dumont ). While teachers and teacher educators may learn much about linguistic processes from this work, they seldom find direction about ways to overcome the barriers to successful instructional communication. The present work attempts to suggest, through the analysis of communicative interaction in classrooms, a twofold strategy for preventing failure: increased awareness of the factors involved in communicative interaction and increased purposeful interactional practice.In a recent study examining the interactions between teachers and limited English proficient pupils in three classrooms (Kleifgen 1986), Jo Anne Kleifgen is currently on the faculty of Teachers College, Columbia University. 218 Kleifgen Student Teachers' Communicative Failures

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“…One way to approach a cultural analysis of tracking is to apply Spindler and Spindler's theory that culture is, in some sense, a dialogue about certain issues and that some groups dominate the dialogue (Spindler 1974(Spindler , 1987Spindler & Spindler, 1990). This kind of analysis highlights the factors that determine which topics people agree, or refuse, to argue about.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Is Tracking? Cultural Expectations in the United States, Germany, and Japan

LeTendre

Hofer

Shimizu

2003

American Educational Research Journal

171

113

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On the basis of the TIMSS Case Study Project data collected in the United States, Japan, and Germany in 1994-1995, this article examines the phenomenon of tracking as part of curricular differentiation and student placement practices in public K-12 school systems. The authors document clear national differences in differentiation and placement measures and summarize the history of conflict over those measures. Analysis of respondent perceptions and beliefs about differentiation and placement (what people think "tracking" is) shows that nation-specific values and attitudes (i.e., cultures) determine which forms of curricular differentiation are legitimated and which contested. Dominant cultural beliefs about what students are capable of and the role that schools should play in educating them create different points of conflict over tracking. . Her areas of specialization are culture, cognition, and schooling; learning strategies and motivation; and beliefs about knowledge and knowing (personal epistemology). HIDETADA SHIMIZU is an Associate Professor in the

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Cultural Dialogue and Schooling in Schoenhausen and Roseville: A Comparative Analysis

Cited by 35 publications

References 8 publications

Teachers’ Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan

Teachers’ Work: Institutional Isomorphism and Cultural Variation in the U.S., Germany, and Japan

Learning from Student Teachers' Cross‐Cultural Communicative Failures

What Is Tracking? Cultural Expectations in the United States, Germany, and Japan

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