Volume 11, Issue 1 -

The present research investigates the differences in attitudes toward multiculturalism and the level of ethnic identification among Arab and Jewish students in Israel. In addition, ethnic group effects on the relationship between the two variables were examined. Based on a sample of 142 college students, the findings indicated that Arab students showed more positive attitudes toward multiculturalism and a higher level of ethnic identity. Furthermore, the ethnic group had a significant effect on the relationships between ethnic identity and multiculturalism. For Jewish students the effect of ethnic identity on overall multiculturalism was significantly negative, while for Arab students it was positive, but not significant. These findings stress the importance of understanding the college multicultural climate at both interpersonal and institutional levels and of assessing its impact on both dominant and non-dominant culture students.

In this paper, the authors deconstruct commonly held mythologies about immigration to inform the critical discourse and support those educators who strive to be fair brokers of an inclusive educational system addressing the distinct needs of immigrant students. We (teacher educators and a community organizer) emphasize and clarify verifiable information that in fact refutes seven prevalent mythologies often articulated in the public debate. In our observations and experiences, this misinformation impacts decisions and fosters biases about Latina/o immigrants in the educational field, particularly impacting students from Mexico and Latin American countries. By debunking misinformation, we seek to inform a thoughtful discourse as advocates engaged to positively influence how these students are viewed by educators. This paper highlights evidence needed to advance the learning and educational success of Latina/o students. The hope of the authors is for a more thoughtful recognition of the immigrant student plight in the face of a nationally politicized and criminalized immigration stance.

The purpose of this research was to develop a new tool for assessing multicultural and international competency in faculty teaching through vignette scenarios of university classroom critical incidents – across disciplines of clinical and forensics psychology, business, and education. Construct and content validity of the initial draft vignettes and the associated scoring rubric was established by a panel of experts who approved the vignettes as consistent with current teaching models and multicultural and international competency models. Each vignette presented a critical incident needing resolution – a rupture in the relationship between the instructor and students vis-à-vis a diversity issue. These hypothetical ruptures took place in university classrooms in four different disciplines: clinical and forensic psychology, business, and education. The authors recruited ten faculty participants for the online study, who were personally known to the authors as interested in competency-related issues and who were teaching in graduate programs. Each participant responded to three questions for each vignette, which prompted their written feedback on (a) process and content issues surrounding the critical incident as well as (b) coaching for the hypothetical instructor on how to resolve the incident. Five scorers rated the participants’ written responses according to a five-point scoring rubric. In the data analysis, once statistical conclusion validity and interscorer reliability was established (Krippendorff’s α = 0.887), content validity was again explored by assessing whether the written responses were indeed captured by the guiding models. The results, which indicated preliminary validity and reliability of the vignettes and the rubric, suggest that the vignettes are worthy of further testing. These vignettes can also be used as discussion tools to stimulate dialogue in competency trainings for faculty.

This qualitative study explores the sources of the self-efficacy development of five Chinese doctoral students’ use of English as a second language in a southeastern university in the United Sates. Although individual differences were reported, common themes were also recognized. Consistent with the self-efficacy theory and previous studies in this field, the major factors that influenced the participants’ self-efficacy beliefs to use English are (1) past performance, (2) peers’ and advisors’ influence, (3) social persuasions, (4) emotional and physiological states, (5) self-awareness of English proficiency, (6) familiarity with and the difficulty level of the tasks, and (7) interest. The uniqueness of this study is that western individualism and Chinese collectivism were considered in the discussion of self-efficacy development. In order to improve Chinese students’ self-efficacy beliefs in learning English as well as to enhance their academic attainments and professional performance, it is necessary to explicitly understand which factors and components play significant roles in the development of their self-efficacy beliefs.

Through the article, I share the theoretical foundations, structure, knowledge acquisition, and outcomes of a cultural leadership course. The process for course development integrates several theories and research methods into practice: L. Dee Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, and Portraiture/Phenomenology. This course has been piloted at two universities and represents a partnership between the Student Affairs Division and the College of Humanities & Social Sciences at both institutions. This article explores the importance of culture, examines knowledge production on leadership outside of traditional academic venues, and paints a portrait of culture and leadership in the lives of college students.

The central purpose of this article is to explore research, issues, and perspectives on the implementation of service learning programs to improve student achievement in at-risk student populations. The implementation of service learning programs takes place within multiple contexts and across several terrains. The complexities of implementing service learning are captured in a framework of “contextual dynamism” which consists of six interrelated terrains: the political, the economic, the accountability, the financial, the demographic, and the staffing. In this article, the authors explore each of the terrains, ending with recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.