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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Student Surveys; Qualitative Research; Statistical Analysis; Expectation; Elementary School Students; School Choice; Parent Attitudes; Intergroup Relations; Student Diversity; Learning Problems; Learning Processes; Friendship; Peer Relationship; Language of Instruction; Developing Nations; Outcomes of Education; Chinese; Code Switching (Language); Ethnic Diversity; Religious Cultural Groups; Religious Factors

Abstract:
This study surveys 200 Malay students enrolled in three Chinese primary schools in relation to three issues, i.e., parental choice of schooling, learning processes and inter-ethnic friendship patterns. The three issues are explored through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Parental expectations for their children's learning and academic outcomes emerge as the dominant factor influencing Malay enrollment in Chinese primary schools. Unfortunately, the Malay students are unable to meet these high expectations due to learning difficulties that stem from the lack of proficiency in the Chinese-medium of instruction, despite intervening measures by the school authorities. Their learning difficulties are also compounded by the lack of parental inputs as well as the limited use of code-switching by teachers. Meanwhile, the fostering of inter-ethnic friendships is impeded by ethnic differences, the rise of Islamic awareness and the increased numerical size of Malay students. However, there is a willingness among the Malay students to interact with the Chinese students through task-related activities, indicating that the fostering of inter-ethnic friendships needs to be guided by a convergence of interests. (Contains 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Factor Analysis; Reliability; Learning Motivation; Foreign Countries; Construct Validity; Factor Structure; Chinese; Measures (Individuals); Academic Achievement; Correlation; Self Concept; Asians; Networks; Cross Cultural Studies; High School Students; Mastery Learning

Abstract:
The aim of this study is to assess the cross-cultural applicability of the Chinese version of the Inventory of School Motivation (ISM; McInerney & Sinclair, 1991) in the Hong Kong context using both within-network and between-network approaches to construct validation. The ISM measures four types of achievement goals: mastery, performance, social, and extrinsic goals. A total of 697 high school students participated in the study. Results of the within-network test showed that the ISM had good internal consistency reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized four-factor structure. In addition, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses showed factorial invariance across students of different genders, year levels, and school types. The between-network test indicated that the achievement goals assessed by the ISM correlated systematically with different aspects of students' self-concepts. These findings provide evidence of the applicability of the ISM among Hong Kong Chinese students. Implications for cross-cultural research are discussed. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure, and 3 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Memory; Teaching Methods; Foreign Countries; Correlation; Chinese; Visual Perception; Reading Research; Meta Analysis; Effect Size; Reading Skills; Reading Processes; Verbal Ability; Elementary School Students

Abstract:
This paper used meta-analysis to synthesize the relation between visual skills and Chinese reading acquisition based on the empirical results from 34 studies published from 1991 to 2011. We obtained 234 correlation coefficients from 64 independent samples, with a total of 5,395 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that visual skills as a global construct had a medium correlation effect size (r = 0.32) associated with Chinese reading acquisition. The various visual processing skills differed in their relation to Chinese reading acquisition in different stages. Visual perception, speed of processing visual information, and pure visual memory had low-to-moderate correlations with Chinese reading acquisition in the lower grades (i.e., below second grade), whereas these relations did not retain their magnitude for children in the higher grades (i.e., second through sixth grades). By contrast, visual-verbal association skill was found to account for 34 and 41 % of the variance in children's Chinese reading acquisition in both lower and higher grade levels, respectively. Greater attention to this construct can significantly benefit reading research and instructional practice. No regional differences between studies in Mainland China and Hong Kong were found in the meta-analysis. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Older Adults; Creativity; Retirement; Well Being; Quality of Life; Cross Cultural Studies; Aging (Individuals); Attitudes; Predictor Variables; Mental Health; Health Conditions; Interviews; Mandarin Chinese; Chinese; Group Activities; Physical Activities; Measures (Individuals)

Abstract:
This study examined a total of 140 elderly Chinese from China and the United States to investigate the relationship between attitude toward aging, daily activities, general health, education, and other demographics and rated creativity as measured by collage making and storytelling. The result of this study shows that creativity declines with age. However, education, general health status, daily activities, and the attitude toward aging are also found to be decisive factors of creativity. The implications of the findings are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Factor Analysis; Foreign Countries; Burnout; School Counselors; Factor Structure; Validity; Translation; Chinese; Comparative Analysis; Scores; Cross Cultural Studies; Measures (Individuals)

Abstract:
This study investigated the cross-cultural validation of the Chinese translation of the Counselor Burnout Inventory (CBI) with a sample of school counselors in Hong Kong. Specifically, this study examined the CBI's factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis and calculated the effect size, to compare burnout scores among the counselors of 4 countries (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and the United States). Results indicated that a 5-factor model was the most appropriate to accommodate the data. In addition, the results showed that the levels of Hong Kong counselors' burnout were similar to those of U.S. counselors, but differed from counselors in Japan and South Korea. (Contains 1 figure and 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Acculturation; Social Isolation; Structural Equation Models; Second Language Learning; Language Proficiency; Language Usage; Stress Variables; Interpersonal Communication; Foreign Students; Foreign Countries; College Students; Chinese; Native Speakers; Communication Problems; English (Second Language); Role; Financial Problems

Abstract:
Although much research has focused on the influence of second language (L2) proficiency on L2 use and on outcomes of intercultural adaptation, these two strands have remained largely separate. This study examines the impact of willingness to communicate in the L2 (L2 WTC) on the daily hassles and stress of international students, with the aim of demonstrating a conceptual overlap of the L2 WTC model with theories of stress and cross-cultural adaptation that focus on a transactional person-environment fit. Participants included 104 Chinese-speaking students attending a British university. Structural equation modeling supported a model in which L2 WTC played a significant role in the experience of daily hassles related to communication difficulties, social isolation, and time and financial constraints. A second, similar model is also advanced in which communication difficulties, in particular, are afforded a unique role. Results support the appropriateness of locating L2 WTC within a general transactional framework of cross-cultural adaptation. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Chinese; Second Language Learning; Control Groups; Writing (Composition); Measures (Individuals); Writing Evaluation; Case Studies; Language Proficiency; Reliability; Error Patterns

Abstract:
This study investigates measures for second language (L2) writing development. A T-unit, which has been found the most satisfactory unit of analysis for measuring L2 development in English, is extended to measure L2 Chinese writing development through a cross-sectional design in this study. Data were collected from three L2 Chinese learner groups (n = 116) at different proficiency levels determined by institutional status, namely year of study and a native control group (n = 66). A T-unit in Chinese is firstly defined and then solutions for questions of practicality faced in extending T-unit analysis to Chinese are provided. In order to confirm the reliability of T-unit length as a measure for Chinese, T-unit analysis is applied to L1 Chinese before it is used to measure L2 Chinese development. With T-unit length being established as a reliable measure in L1 Chinese, three specific T-unit measures, namely T-unit length, error-free T-unit length, and percentage of error-free T-units, are extended to measure L2 Chinese writing development. Percentage of error-free T-units is found to be the only measure that discriminates between all levels of this learner cohort. Significance of the findings and relevance to measurements of L2 writing development in general are discussed. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Family Literacy; Foreign Countries; Socialization; Ideology; Bilingualism; Language Planning; Case Studies; Literacy; Chinese; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Public Policy; Language Acquisition; Cultural Context; Comparative Analysis; Family Environment; Cultural Background; Learning Experience; Parenting Styles; Academic Aspiration; Language Usage

Abstract:
This article reports a case study of two Chinese-English bilingual families in Singapore and illustrates the importance of incorporating two hitherto disconnected fields of research--family language policy and family literacy practices--to an understanding of early language and literacy acquisition in the familial milieu. Specifically, this work illuminates how such language socialization processes as prolepsis, syncretism, and synergy mediate the influences of the larger sociocultural context on the focal children's bilingual and biliteracy learning at home. A comparison of the two families reveals similarities and differences in the way they drew on language practices from multiple resources to involve their children in an array of bilingual/biliteracy activities and to align these activities to the current and projected future needs of the children. The study shows how the family members' cultural backgrounds, past experiences of learning and parenting, educational beliefs, and aspirations for the children shaped language ideology, language practices, and language management at home. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Reading Skills; Age; Dyslexia; Foreign Countries; Control Groups; Syntax; Metalinguistics; Reading Comprehension; Chinese; Junior High School Students; Short Term Memory; Regression (Statistics); Predictor Variables; Correlation; Morphology (Languages)

Abstract:
This study investigated the relative contribution of syntactic awareness to Chinese reading among Chinese-speaking adolescent readers with and without dyslexia. A total of 78 junior high school students in Hong Kong, 26 dyslexic adolescent readers, 26 average adolescent readers of the same age (chronological age control group) and 26 younger readers matched with the same reading level (reading-level group) participated and were administered measures of IQ, syntactic awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, working memory, word reading, and reading comprehension. Results showed that dyslexic readers scored significantly lower than chronological age but similarly to reading level control groups in most measures, especially in the areas of syntactic skills. Analyses of individual data also revealed that over half of the dyslexic readers exhibited certain aspects of deficits in syntactic skills. In regression analyses, syntactic skills were the strongest predictors of ability in word reading and reading comprehension measures. This study highlights the uniquely important correlates of syntactic skills in Chinese reading acquisition and impairment. (Contains 5 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Language Planning; International Schools; Bilingual Education; War; Monolingualism; Foreign Countries; Educational Policy; Chinese; Educational Development; Educational Change; English (Second Language); Indonesian; Language of Instruction; Language Variation; Educational Finance; Nationalism; Educational History; School Segregation

Abstract:
The two decades from 1950 to 1970 were a crucial period of educational reorganization in Malaysia that stemmed from the decolonization after the Second World War. This educational reorganization sought to address the perennial issue of nation building via educational language policy. The development of Chinese education was under severe threat as the British colonial government opted for a national school system that used English and Malay as the media of instruction in place of the segregated vernacular school system that had existed during the colonial period. Much to the relief of the Chinese, the national school system failed to materialize due to the lack of financial resources to reorganize the entire educational system. But the Chinese were unable to maintain the Chinese school system within the ambit of the national educational system advocated by the postcolonial Alliance government. The Alliance government had only allowed the Chinese to undergo Chinese education at the primary level. At the secondary level, it opted for a monolingual system of education based on Malay as the main medium of instruction in order to foster national integration through a common language. The Chinese had to switch to this medium of instruction if they wanted to remain in mainstream education. Such a system of transitional bilingual education was aimed at incorporating the Chinese into the nation building process. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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