High-Context Cultures

1a

cultures that rely upon more subtle forms of communication, such as nonverbal facial and hand gestures, than explicit verbalizations. For example, Asian cultures are perhaps best known for practicing a high-context style of communication. High-context cultures stand in contrast to low-context cultures.

1b

Low-Context Cultures

2a

cultures that rely upon more direct verbal communication than subtle forms of nonverbal communication. Individuals who practice this type of communication are most likely to come from the United States, Western Europe, and Australia. Low-context cultures stand in contract to high-context cultures.

2b

Self-Efficacy

3a

a “yes I can” attitude that is reflected in one’s perseverance, even when challenges arise

3b

Mastery Experiences

4a

the sense of self-efficacy we experience when we reflect upon our mastery of even small successes. In short, “success builds success.”

4b

Vicarious Experiences

5a

Our sense of self-efficacy is reinforced when we have mentors who give us constructive criticism as we try out new skills. Role playing different professional situations with our mentors is one example of a vicarious experience. Keeping a journal in which we document what we learn from our mentors is another type of vicarious experience.

5b

Social Persuasion

6a

one strategy for building our sense of self-efficacy. Social persuasion involves our mentors persuading us that we have the ability to succeed. This is most effective when we are given honest but supportive feedback about our skills and behavior.

6b

Supportive Scaffolding

7a

parents and teachers provide supportive scaffolding when they help children acquire new knowledge and skills at comfortable but increasingly challenging levels.

7b

Zone of Proximal Distance

8a

the distance between a child’s actual developmental level (tasks completed independently) and his or her level of potential development (tasks completed with adult support or the support of more capable peers).

8b

Family Knowledge

9a

knowledge based on the life experiences and hobbies of individual family members.

9b

Professional Knowledge

10a

the knowledge that teachers acquire through teacher-training programs.

10b

Skills Development Resources

11a

the cognitive and academic skills that children need to succeed in the classroom.

11b

Motivational Development Resources

12a

three personal resources influence parents’ motivation to support their children’s education: (a) their belief that they need to be involved in their children’s education, (b) their sense of self-efficacy that they can be effective in supporting their children’s education, and (c) invitations from teachers for parents to support their children’s education.

12b

Process-Focused Attitudes

13a

parents exhibit process-focused attitudes toward their children’s academic performance when they emphasize the pleasure of educational pursuits and reinforce their children’s efforts in accomplishing classroom tasks.

13b

Person-Focused Attitudes

14a

parents exhibit person-focused attitudes toward their children’s academic performance when they emphasize the importance of specific outcomes like receiving a certain grade or recognition.

14b

Positive Beliefs

15a

displayed by parents when they express confidence in their child’s ability to overcome learning challenges.

15b

Negative Beliefs

16a

displayed by parents when they ignore or down-play their child’s ability to meet a learning challenge.

16b