Societal Influences on Children's Psychology: The Schools in Iceland and Singapore Promote Prosocial Values, Positive Self-Concepts, and Achievement in Young Adolescents

Autor/in	Stiles, Deborah A.
Titel	Societal Influences on Children's Psychology: The Schools in Iceland and Singapore Promote Prosocial Values, Positive Self-Concepts, and Achievement in Young Adolescents
Quelle	(2005), (44 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Values; Democracy; Cognitive Development; Early Adolescents; Social Influences; Child Psychology; Child Development; Cultural Influences; Social Values; Educational Environment; Prosocial Behavior; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Academic Achievement; Interpersonal Relationship; Educational Practices; Comparative Analysis; Individual Characteristics; Iceland; Singapore + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Wertbegriff; Demokratie; Kognitive Entwicklung; Sozialer Einfluss; Kinderpsychologie; Kindesentwicklung; Cultural influence; Kultureinfluss; Sozialer Wert; Lernumgebung; Pädagogische Umwelt; Schulumwelt; Schülerverhalten; Schulische Motivation; Schulleistung; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Bildungspraxis; Personality characteristic; Personality traits; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Island; Singapur
Abstract	In most ways the island nations of Iceland and Singapore could not be more different from each other: Iceland is sparsely populated, located near the Arctic Circle, and a very free and individualistic democratic society; Singapore is densely populated, located near the equator, and a very regulated and collectivist meritocracy. But both nations promote the optimal education and development of children. These two countries are child-centered and responsive to the physical, psychosocial, and cognitive development of young people. This monograph describes the societal conditions, cultural values, and school contexts in Iceland and Singapore that have led to prosocial values, enthusiasm for learning, and academic achievement among young adolescents. Sources of information were observations, interviews, questionnaires, drawings, cultural experts, academic studies, and international government reports. In international comparisons, adolescents from Iceland scored second of twenty-eight countries and significantly higher than youth from the USA on measures of reading engagement. Adolescents from Singapore scored first of forty-one countries and significantly higher than adolescents from the USA on tests of mathematics. Surveys and drawings were collected from 791 young adolescents in order to understand their values, ideals, and school experiences. The participants were 380 Icelanders (mean age = 13.9) and 411 Singaporeans (mean age = 13.2). Icelandic youth expressed desires for positive interpersonal relationships, learning, enjoyment, and individuality and Singaporean youth valued positive interpersonal relationships, hard work, seriousness, and family harmony. The final section of the paper suggests implications for the USA. (Contains 8 figures and 3 tables.) [This research was supported in part by a Messing Award, a Beatrice and David Kornblum Institute for Teaching Excellence grant, and Center for International Education grant.] (Author).
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10