Hyeyoung Bang

Understanding International Graduate Students' Acculturation Using Q Methodology

When students from other countries come to the United States to study, social, cultural, and often academic adjustments are necessary to foster their successful integration into college and university life. Using multiple theories of personal adaptability (social, emotional, cultural, communication), a Q sort of 47 statements was sorted by 21 international students studying at a Midwestern land-grant university. The procedures of Q method were followed to yield 3 resultant factors, which were interpreted as Confident, Appreciative, and Apprehensive Optimists. Implications for student development and programs to facilitate success for international students are evident.

Wisdom and Ego-Identity for Korean and American Late Adolescents

Overcoming identity crises during adolescence may help adolescents understand the world around them. Although adolescents may have developmental potential for wisdom, little is known about the direct relationship between wisdom and ego-identity or any cross-cultural effects. Wisdom dimensions (cognitive, affective, and reflective) and ego-identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion) among 639 Korean and American late adolescents (aged 18 to 22) were investigated. The findings suggest that (a) age contributes to reflective wisdom, (b) identity achievement associates with wisdom among Korean but not among American adolescents, and (c) foreclosure and diffusion statuses are negatively associated with wisdom. This highlights school curriculum trends and emphasizes reflective wisdom for holistic adolescent development. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution.

Exploring Korean and American Teachers' Preferred Emotional Types

Understanding the emotional energy of teachers may provide evidence for the nature of the learning environment. Herein, the concept of overexcitabilities (OEs) was used to explore the ways that teachers of general and gifted classes describe their own intensities or emotional preferences. Q methodology was used with 24 teachers from American and Korean classrooms. The Q sort was constructed of 47 statements based on the five areas associated with overexcitabilities. Results indicated a four-factor solution indicating a common emotion of compassion for students and their learning among all teachers. The differences in the factors were interpreted as work-oriented compassion, thoughtful compassion, undemanding compassion, and sensitive compassion. Implications for further research and potential for classroom climate are discussed.

The function of wisdom dimensions in ego-identity development among Chinese university students.

This study investigates the relationship between wisdom and ego-identity among university students in China. Using Marcias ego-identity statuses and Ardelts wisdom dimensions as the theoretical and conceptual framework, the study investigates 356 university students in China. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, four factors from wisdom and five factors from ego-identity were retrieved. A structural equation model was then conducted to analyse the relationships. The findings were: (1) among wisdom dimensions, cognitive, and reflective wisdom, especially perspective-taking best predicted achievement, (2) all three dimensions of wisdom predicted moratorium, but reflective wisdom was the most pronounced predictor, (3) all three dimensions of wisdom predicted diffusion, but resentment items from reflective wisdom were the most pronounced predictors, and (4) gender was a significant predictor of ego-identity achievement and diffusion. These findings suggest that efforts to build reflective wisdom might contribute to healthier ego-identity formation.

Factorial Invariance of an Integrated Measure of Classroom Sense of Community in Face-to-Face and Online Courses

The aim of the present study was to develop a more integrated measure of classroom sense of community (SOC) while testing factorial invariance of the measurement structure across face-to-face and online courses. We incorporated two existing SOC measures to capture both context-specific and context-general characteristics of SOC and developed an integrated scale of classroom SOC with a four-factor structure. Tests of measurement invariance indicated that the new measure of classroom SOC has equivalent patterns of factor loadings, strength of factor loadings, and intercepts across the two course delivery modes, thus making this a viable measure to examine potential differences across these contexts. Latent mean analysis indicated that students in an online course perceived a lower level of SOC.

The securitisation of refugee flows and the schooling of refugees: examining the cases of North Koreans in South Korea and Iraqis in Jordan

Drawing on data collected in South Korea, Jordan and the USA, this paper examines the degree to which security concerns impact the schooling of North Korean refugees in South Korea and Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Operating from a framework examining the intersection of migration and securitisation, the authors find that accounts of negative images of and identity concealment among North Korean students present the most compelling linkages to a larger phenomenon of societal securitisation. At the same time, South Korean perceptions of North Koreans’ level of preparedness for working in a capitalist society present the most compelling linkages to economic securitisation. With respect to Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan, plausible connections can be drawn between societal security and an Iraqi identity generally. With respect to economic concerns in Jordan, measures taken to restrict Iraqi integration into the labour force can be seen as security actions.

African American Undergraduate Students’ Wisdom and Ego-Identity Development: Effects of Age, Gender, Self-Esteem, and Resilience

The present study provides valuable insight into African American youths’ ego-identity and wisdom development. The study examines the relationship between wisdom dimensions (cognitive, affective, and reflective) and ego-identity statuses (achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion), and age and gender differences among 198 African American college students (age 18-25 years). The study also examines how self-esteem and resilience are related to wisdom and ego-identity. The results show that (a) age contributes to reflective and affective dimensions of wisdom, (b) there is no association between identity achievement and wisdom, (c) moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion are negatively associated with wisdom, (d) gender does not predict wisdom, but does affect foreclosure and diffusion, (e) reflective and affective wisdom are related to resilience and self-esteem, and (f) both resilience and self-esteem are related to identity achievement. This study provides insight into the importance of fostering reflective and affective abilities for holistic development among young African Americans.

Understanding what teachers gain from professional development at historic sites

ABSTRACT Despite decades of formal work with teachers, little is known about what they gain from professional development at and with historic sites. This article presents the first data-set from a 3-year Institute for Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant project designed to develop a broad-based assessment for understanding what teachers learn in historic site-based professional development. The centerpiece of this project is an assessment tool based in Q methodology. This round of study focuses on the pre-post Q sorts and interviews of 29 teachers in a history-focused institute regarding how they see their work at historic sites affecting their professional development. Contrary to advocates’ assertions, results indicate that only a small number of participants specifically set out to seek historical disciplinary expertise and analysis, while greater emphasis was placed on working with content-area peers, developing pedagogical practices, and the power of place.

Educational gaps and their impact on Iraqi refugee students’ secondary schooling in the Greater Detroit, Michigan Area

In this piece we examine educational gaps among Iraqi refugee students while living in Iraq and while in transitional countries, challenges resulting from those educational gaps since they have arrived in the United States, and Iraqi students’ needs to overcome their challenges for school adjustment. Thirty Chaldean Iraqi refugees who attended various high schools in the greater Detroit area, their parents, and their teachers participated in interviews and focus groups. Educational gaps in Iraq are due to precarious conditions involved in access to schooling, and threats and dangers experienced as Chaldean religious minorities. Gaps in transitional countries are due to lack of access to schooling due to residency restrictions, discriminatory treatment, and financial difficulties. Iraqi students are highly anxious about academic failure and their ability to obtain a high school diploma. We recommend educational policies and practices that might best address the serious problem of educational gaps.

Education fever: Korean parents’ aspirations for their children’s schooling and future career

Abstract Korean parents set high academic expectations for their children. Utilising Takeuchi’s and Clark’s theoretical framework and Q methodology, this study explores Korean parents’ education fever as aspiration for their children’s schooling, and how socio-economic status influences this phenomenon. Thirty-six parents in Busan, South Korea, participated in sorting 47 Q statements. The four resultant factors are interpreted as Autonomy Supporters (middle income), Study Supremacists (high income), and Apologetic Supporters and Value Enthusiasts (both low income). Autonomy Supporters support whatever their children want and focus on extra-curricular activities, while Study Supremacists believe that hard work guarantees quality education and employment. Apologetic Supporters feel guilt for being unable to support their children, and Value Enthusiasts believe that character and value education is most important. Each type represents a form of overheated, cooling down, and cooling out educational aspiration and educational stratification phenomenon.