Learning in Cultural Context

This volume focuses on the cultural aspects of learning and cognitive processes, examining the theory, methods, findings, and applications in this area. The chapter authors cover such topics as family context, peer interaction and formal education.

What events take place at the intersection of cultural identity, education, and experience? How can they be measured, replicated? How can teachers use such personal phenomena to enhance student performance?

Extensively researched, Learning in Cultural Context explores vital links between informal education and academic progress through a variety of ethnic lenses. This timely volume focuses on three interrelated areas: cultural and learning practices at home, culture-based teaching strategies in preschool education, and more nuanced methods used with middle and high school students, among them:

     •A home/school model for bolstering reading and math readiness in at-risk children
     •In-depth studies linking ethnic awareness and academic skills in native Hawaiian 
     preschoolers
     •Comparative views of teaching and learning from Mexico and Costa Rica
     •Demonstrations of effective teaching in a multicultural high school program
     •Language socialization and moral training in an ethnically diverse dancing class.

The range of students represented across cultures and age groups affirms the relevance of such methods across the curriculum. And by following learning processes, measurable results, and student self-esteem at the preschool, primary, and adolescent levels, readers gain both developmental and cultural perspectives regarding identity and learning.

The book's 18 contributors offer practical ideas to benefit teachers working with new populations and provide new insights where pupils' cultural practices have traditionally been encouraged. Learning in Cultural Context is significant reading for psychologists and educators in our increasingly inclusive society.