Kyunghwa Lee

ADHD in American early schooling: from a cultural psychological perspective

In this article, I present a study conducted with 10 Southeastern US early childhood teachers on their views concerning problem behaviour, in general, and the practice of diagnosis and pharmaceutical treatment for Attention/Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in particular. Themes that emerged from the interview data included: (1) teachers’ perceptions of problem behaviour and ADHD largely overlapped as both were framed as disruption to instruction and hindrance to a child’s and his peers’ learning; (2) while teachers had a unanimous view of gender differences, there were conflicting perceptions about socioeconomic, racial/ethnic and age differences between children with and without ADHD; and (3) teachers highlighted more positive than negative effects of the use of medication for children with ADHD. I examine each of these findings from a cultural psychological perspective in an effort to understand how these teachers’ views reflect goals, priorities and practices valued in contemporary US contexts. I conclude with implications for early childhood research and practice, arguing that future research conducted within a culture as well as across cultures by interdisciplinary researchers may contribute to developing a new framework that combines biological and cultural insights for a better understanding of child development.

Teaching children at-risk: An American preschool teacher’s folk psychology and folk pedagogy

This article examines how an American preschool teacher’s practice and her views of her practice for children considered at-risk for later academic failure are constrained by her cultural contexts. The research is framed by a cultural psychology and draws on an 18-month ethnographic and interpretive biographic study of Anita, an experienced preschool teacher. Anita emphasized: providing a controlled and predictable environment; helping children succeed in kindergarten; and promoting children’s ability to take care of themselves. Her practice and her discussion on her practice reflected European-American cultural beliefs about the independent self. We discuss how these cultural beliefs both enhance and restrict the teacher’s views of children from underprivileged families and of their development.

Independence and Community: Teaching Midwestern

This article investigates how a Midwestern early childhood teacher’s practice and her views of her practice are culturally constrained. The research is framed by a cultural psychology and draws on an ethnographic and interpretive biographic study of Mary, an experienced first-grade teacher. We explore Mary’s practice through four central themes: (a) raising independent decision makers, (b) developing self-motivated lifelong learners, (c) providing a basis for a successful life, and (d) building community. We explore how each theme is informed by a folk psychology that reflects Mary’s cultural beliefs and values. We conclude with implications for early childhood practice and research

Explicit Goals, Implicit Values, and the Unintentional Stifling of Pluralism: An Examination of a Social Studies Teacher Education Vision Statement

The purpose of this article is to evaluate a social studies teacher education vision statement as it relates to Parkers (2003) “advanced” conception of citizenship education for democratic society. The vision statement, titled “Powerful Vision of Social Studies,” was created by a group of practicing teachers and teacher educators as part of a seminar focusing on the effective mentoring of beginning teachers. It represents an attempt by the participants to answer the question of what sort of social studies practice is worth mentoring beginning teachers for. Using constructs of the “culturally acceptable self” derived from recent work in cultural psychology to guide our analysis, it is argued that the vision statement could unintentionally constrain understandings of democracy rooted in pluralism by inadvertently reflecting taken-for-granted cultural beliefs held as middle-class European-American.

Not the United Colors of Benetton: Language, Culture, and Peers

Abstract This study explores childrens social processes in a multicultural and multilingual after-school program. It extends the understanding of how culture and language affect childrens peer relations. Fieldwork was conducted over a four-month period. On average, 35 children, ages 5–11 and representing 13 cultural and linguistic groups, attended the program. Childrens peer group structures were heavily influenced by language. Nationality influenced peer groupings more than race. The presence of siblings and neighbors were contextual factors influencing peer relations. The influence of gender and age differed between groups, with cross-gender and cross-age play being more common in limited English-speaking groups than in fluent English groups. Implications for educators are noted.

Heterogeneous Associations of Second-Graders’ Learning in Robotics Class

Drawing on Latour’s (Reassembling the social: an introduction to actor–network-theory, Oxford University Press, New York, 2005), this manuscript discusses a study of a robotics class in a public, Title I elementary school. Compared with theoretical frameworks (e.g., constructivism and constructionism) dominant in the field of early childhood robotics education, the lens of ANT served to move beyond emphasizing a single element (i.e., either robotic tools or children’s work with teachers and parents) to seeing heterogeneous associations of multiple elements involved in robotics education. In these associations, human and non-human elements greatly contributed to implementing robotics activities. In particular, our analysis of three second-graders, who successfully met the instructional objectives set by our research team, revealed critical roles played by material actors (e.g., robotic manipulatives, engineer logs) and quasi-human/quasi-material actants (e.g., embodied simulation) in these children’s learning and performance. The findings of this study encourage educators to pay careful attention to multiple elements, including instructional materials and children’s bodily exploration, associated with teaching and learning.