Search results for: language and gender

Authors: Revital Sela-Shayovitz

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There is growing evidence that female rates of criminal nonlethal violent offending have increased during the 1990s. However, the debate regarding whether the gender gap in violence is closing is ongoing. This paper examines the trends in juvenile violent offending in Israel between the years 1996 and 2012. The findings indicate that female-to-male offending rate ratios have increased over time for simple assaults, aggravated assault, and knife crime. Moreover, the closing of the gender gap among youth (ages 12 to 14 years), principally results from the increase in female rates of offending, which is greater than the rise in male rates of offending. These findings are discussed in the context of existing research on the gender gap in the perpetration of violence with reference to future directions in research.

Keywords: gender violence, youth violence, crime rates, juvenile delinquency, crime policy

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Authors: Yuying Liu

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Despite the increasing popularity of Chinese and the recognition of the growing commodifying ideology of Chinese language in many contexts (Liu and Gao, 2020; Guo, Shin and Shen 2020), the ideological orientations of the Chinese diaspora community towards the Chinese language remain under-researched. This research contributes seeks to bridge this gap by investigating the micro-level language ideologies embedded in the Chinese complementary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Informed by Ruíz’s (1984) metaphorical representations of language, 11 Chinese complementary schools’ websites were analysed as discursive texts that signal the language policy and ideology to prospective learners and parents were analysed. The results of the analysis suggest that a move from a portrayal of Chinese as linked to student heritage identity, to the commodification of linguistic and cultural diversity, is evident. It denotes the growing commodifying ideology among the Chinese complementary schools in the Republic of Ireland. The changing profile of the complementary school, from serving an ethnical community to teaching Chinese as a foreign language for the wider community, indicates the possibility of creating the a positive synergy between the Complementary school and the mainstream education. This study contributes to the wider discussions of language ideology and language planning, with regards to modern language learning and heritage language maintenance.

Keywords: the Chinese language;, Chinese as heritage language, Chinese as foreign language, Chinese community schools

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Authors: Carol C. Opara, Olukemi E. Adetuyi-Olu-Francis

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The teaching of French language, like every other language, has its numerous challenges. A multilingual community, however, is a linguistic environment housing diverse languages, each with its peculiarity, both pros, and cones. A foreign language will have to strive hard for survival in an environment where various indigenous languages, as well as an established official language, exist. This study examined the challenges and prospects of the teaching of French as a foreign language in a multilingual community. A 22-item questionnaire was used to elicit information from 40 Nigerian Secondary school teachers of French. One of the findings of this study showed that the teachers of the French language are not motivated. Also, the linguistic environment is not favourable for the teaching and learning of French language in Nigeria. One of the recommendations was that training and re-training of teachers of French should be of utmost importance to the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education.

Keywords: challenges, french as foreign language, multilingual community, teaching

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Authors: Rojan Afrouz

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Introduction: The immigration is a complex process of transitioning and transformation. Immigrants are more likely to come from the patriarchal and hierarchical society with traditional gender roles and women’s stereotypes. Changing the perception of women’s gender roles may result in challenges between women and their family and community. In this article, Afghan women’s perspectives on gender roles and stereotypes have been investigated as well as their experience of changes in the new context of Australia. Australian initiatives of challenging gender roles have provided the opportunities for Afghan women to emancipate from the traditional gender roles and pursue the value of gender equality. In this process, they may face many challenges in intersectional levels within their family, community and wider society which is a complex conflate of oppressive factors that may not be addressed easily and straightforward. Methods: This qualitative study has been conducted among Afghan women who have lived in Australia less than ten years. Semi-structured interviews either face to face or by phone have been used to collect data for this study. The interviews have been audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Nvivo software has been used for data analysis. Findings: Many participants mentioned that they had been taught that a good Afghan woman is devoted, obedient and loyal to their family and community. They believed that for many Afghan families, Afghan women's natural place was inside the home as a housewife, mother, daughter involving so many responsibilities and expectation of making sacrifices. Many women stated that their attitudes toward gender roles and their feeling of being a woman had been changed since they came to Australia although the process of change for women was complex and diverse. Some had to deal with conflicts with their stereotypes, traditional gender roles as well as strong disagreement with their family and community. Conclusion: Moving to a different country with more gender equality is an opportunity for Afghan women to change their perceptions of gender roles and stereotypes. However, challenging traditional stereotypes and gender roles in the new context is a complex process comprising intersectional levels.

Keywords: stereotypes, gender role, immigration, Afghan women

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Authors: Souhila Belabbas

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This paper focuses on the Kabyles’ multilingual practices in the UK, within the Kabyle/Amazigh Cultural Organisation in London, on online platforms and at home. The Kabyles have roots in northern Algeria and associate their language, Kabyle, with a pre-Arabized history of northern Africa. Drawing on ethnographic research with this community, this study brings together their post-migration language preservation activisms as well as their dynamic multilingual practices and situational language choice into a dialogue. This shows the enduring significance of the heritage language for social, cultural and historical identity. It also demonstrates that the current survival of the “mother tongue” hinges on multilingual and multi-sited language activisms, which bear the hallmarks of both new creativities and diminishing fluencies in multilingual spaces. These multilingual repertoires also included a range of ideological stances, expressed as cultural, moral, and political attitudes to the “mother tongue” and to other, potentially more dominant, languages in their lives, involving both inclusive and exclusive instances. The Kabyles in the UK practice everyday forms of multilingualism in the dynamic terms whilst making strong identity claims to an endangered heritage language. Crucially, their language contact experiences were not a post-migration novelty but part of their pre-migration lifeworlds. The participants involved in this study shared a commitment to Kabyle identity activism. They expressed this differently, varyingly foregrounding cultural, social or political issues. These differences were related to their North-African cultural background, live, gender, religious and/or political affiliation, as well as to their different migratory trajectories. Among these ethno-conscious individuals, the use of Kabyle was often particularly vibrant in informal domains of casual conversations and mixed in with French, English and often Arabic. During community events and festivals, though, many made special efforts to converse in Kabyle as if to make a point about their commitment to a shared identity.

Keywords: ethnography, language ideology, language choice, heritage language, migration trajectories, multilingual repertoires

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Authors: Souhila Belabbas

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the Kabyles’ multilingual practices in the UK, within the Kabyle/Amazigh Cultural Organisation in London, on online platforms and at home. The Kabyles have roots in northern Algeria and associate their language, Kabyle, with a pre-Arabized history of northern Africa. Drawing on ethnographic research with this community, this study brings together their post-migration language preservation activisms as well as their dynamic multilingual practices and situational language choice into a dialogue. This shows the enduring significance of the heritage language for social, cultural and historical identity. It also demonstrates that the current survival of the “mother tongue” hinges on multilingual and multi-sited language activisms, which bear the hallmarks of both new creativities and diminishing fluencies in multilingual spaces. These multilingual repertoires also included a range of ideological stances, expressed as cultural, moral, and political attitudes to the “mother tongue” and to other, potentially more dominant, languages in their lives, involving both inclusive and exclusive instances. The Kabyles in the UK practice everyday forms of multilingualism in the dynamic terms whilst making strong identity claims to an endangered heritage language. Crucially, their language contact experiences were not a post-migration novelty but part of their pre-migration lifeworlds. The participants involved in this study shared a commitment to Kabyle identity activism. They expressed this differently, varyingly foregrounding cultural, social or political issues. These differences were related to their North-African cultural background, live, gender, religious and/or political affiliation, as well as to their different migratory trajectories. Among these ethno-conscious individuals, the use of Kabyle was often particularly vibrant in informal domains of casual conversations and mixed in with French, English and often Arabic. During community events and festivals, though, many made special efforts to converse in Kabyle as if to make a point about their commitment to a shared identity.

Keywords: ethnography, language ideology, language choice, heritage language, migration trajectories, multilingual repertoires

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Authors: Luisa Carrer, Lorenzo De Masi

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In this paper, we exploit the massive amount of information from Facebook to build a measure of gender attitudes in Italy at a previously impossible resolution—the municipal level. We construct our index via a machine learning method to replicate a benchmark region-level measure. Interestingly, we find that most of the variation in our Gender Norms Index (GNI) is across towns within narrowly defined geographical areas rather than across regions or provinces. In a second step, we show how this local variation in norms can be leveraged for identification purposes. In particular, we use our index to investigate whether these differences in norms carry over to the policy activity of politicians elected in the Italian Parliament. We document that females are more likely to sit in parliamentary committees focused on gender-sensitive matters, labor, and social issues, but not if they come from a relatively conservative town. These effects are robust to conditioning the legislative term and electoral district, suggesting the importance of social norms in shaping legislators’ policy activity.

Keywords: gender equality, gender norms index, Facebook, machine learning, politics

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Authors: Nagwa Soliman

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Women for centuries have undergone gender discrimination under the pretext of patriarchy which is engraved in the culture and tradition of some societies. It is important to highlight that this condition has been encoded by the male gender to dominate and manipulate women. It is therefore necessary to draw attention to this important obstacle that stands in the way of women’s achievement of their full potential and humanity in the face of these cultural traditions. The appropriate style that was chosen for this literary analysis is a qualitative research method that relies on the feminist technique using Freud’s psychological theories. This article explores patriarchy and gender discrimination as portrayed in Ahdaf Soueif’s In The Eye of the Sun (1992) and Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s The Girl from the Coast (2002). It could be argued that those two novels describe a society that is feminist, patriarchal, and gender discriminatory. Moreover, it is important to assert that patriarchy and gender discrimination are part of the system’s social order which compels the female characters to adjust to society’s norms and conventions. This social order is supported by traditional and cultural masculine attitudes and results in sustaining gender inequality, female stereo typing and patriarchy which suppress women’s beliefs and dreams.

Keywords: gender discrimination, patriarchy, feminism, stereotype

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Authors: Shilpa Vasavada

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One of the 17 SustainableDevelopmentGoals focuses on gender equality. The paper is based on the learning derived from working with two Corporate Social Responsibility cases in India: one, CSR of an International Corporate and the other, CSR of a multi state national level corporate -on their efforts to integrate gender perspective in their agriculture and livestock based rural livelihood programs. The author tries to dissect how ‘gender equality’ is seen by these two CSRs, where the goals are different. The implications of a CSR’sunderstandingon ‘gender equality’ as a goal; versus CSR’s understanding of working 'with women for enhancing quantity or quality of production’ gets reflected in their orientation to staff, resource allocation, strategic level and in processes followed at the rural grassroots level. The paper comes up with examples of changes made at programmatic front when CSR understands and works with the focus on gender equality as a goal. On the other hand, the paper also explores the differential, at times, the negative impact on women and the programmes;- when the goals differ. The paper concludes with recommendations for CSRs to take up at their resource allocation and strategic level if gender equality is the goal- which has direct implication at their grassroots programmatic work. The author argues that if gender equality has to be implemented actually in spirit by a CSR, it requires change in mindset and thus an openness to changes in strategies and resource allocation pattern of the CSR and not simply adding on women in the way intervention has been going on.

Keywords: gender equality, approaches, differential impact, resource allocation

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Authors: Yuan Zhang, Xin Fu, Yixin Tan

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Gender role conflict is a key factor influencing the mental health condition of adolescents. It has a strong connection with the noticeably growing mental health crisis of high school students. This study elucidates the relationship between gender role conflict and reports of subjective well-being of teenagers through mixed-methods empirical research based on surveys conducted in two Chinese cities, namely Shenzhen and Yuxi. These two cities are from two provinces of very distinct economic and cultural backgrounds. We believe a comparison between the two cities reveals the unequally distributed social conditions in China. We found that teenagers who possess a higher degree of gender role conflict tend to exhibit more negative emotions and that this relationship is conditioned upon other important factors such as gender, only child status, and socio-economic factors. Furthermore, we discovered that the social environment that is more progressive and open to various gender roles is correlated with higher levels of subjective well-being of teenagers in Shenzhen and Yunnan.

Keywords: gender role conflict, mental health conditions, subjective well-being, social environment

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Authors: Duygu Alptekin

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Patriarchal social structure is based on a gender-based discrimination. Due to confrontational nature of discrimination; in a patriarchal society men and women exists in a based on contrasts and inequalities interaction patterns and this situation continues as socio-cultural with dominant gender perception in society. In this context gender perception of youth is a required vision tool for multidimensional understanding and resolving of gender discrimination problem and making projections about future. The aim of the study is explaining the gender discrimination by helping of Ambivalent Sexism Inventory and hostile benevolent sexism which are subdimensions of (ASI). Additionally the sexism perception of youth will be try to analyse ın the context of conflict of conventionalism and modernism. For that purpose survey have carried aout with the participation of students at the Selcuk University and the conclusions revealed that reached ampirically Young people's perceptions about the hierarchy of power revealed between men and women; sexual, economic and occupational segregation by pointing to statements about male-female relationships commitment, guardianship, gratitude, expressions containing highlights the superiority of socio-psychological (ASI) where results are determined by the application. The results of the factor analysis performed in this direction with the detection of the previous studies were evaluated by blending.

Keywords: ambivalent sexism inventory, gender discrimination, youth, conventionalism

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Authors: Tahar Djebbar Aziza

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The American society, like all societies, is fractured by social divisions between different groups of people. It is divided by race, class, gender, and other social and cultural characteristics. Social divisions affect the way and the manner welfare is delivered for citizens within the American society. The welfare state exists to guarantee the promotion of well –being for all the different components within a society without taking into account their age, gender, their ethnicity/race, or their social belonging (class). Race, class, and even gender issues are the main factors that affected the formal structure, the nature, as well as the evolution of the American welfare state and led to its uniqueness. They have affected the structure and the evolution of the American welfare state since its creation in the 1930s, and led to its uniqueness in an international level. This study aims therefore at enhancing the readers’ awareness of social divisions: race, class, gender and their implications for the distribution of welfare resources and life chances in the USA from the early 1930s to the late 1990s.

Keywords: African Americans, class, gender, minority groups, race, social divisions, social policy, U.S. welfare state

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Authors: K. Usanova

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This study contributes to the conceptual and empirical understanding of how gender diversity management (GDM) is integrated into talent management (TM). Following the grounded theory, we interviewed 40 HR managers and talents from the space industry in Luxembourg. We provide a nuanced picture of what attitude on the GDM in TM organizations have, what strategies and practices they conduct, and how they differ from each other. Based on these differences, we developed three types of GDM integration to TM and explained the talents’ view on this issue. To the author's best knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of GDM in TM in the space industry that integrates both the TM executives' and TM receivers' views on gender equality in TM.

Keywords: gender diversity management, high-technology industry, human resource management, talent management

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Authors: H. N. Cheung

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Self-compassion encourages one to accept oneself, reduce self-criticism and self-judgment, and see one’s shortcomings and setbacks in a balanced view. Adolescent self-compassion is a crucial protective factor against mental illness. It is, however, affected by gender. Given the scarcity of self-compassion scales for adolescents, the current study evaluates the Self-Compassion Scale for Youth (SCS-Y) in a large cross-cultural sample and investigates how the subscales of SCS-Y relate to the dimensions of depressive symptoms across gender. Through the internet-based Qualtrics, a total of 2881 teenagers aged 12 to 18 years were recruited from Hong Kong (HK), China, and the United Kingdom. A Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) model was used to evaluate measurement invariance of the SCS-Y, and differential item functioning (DIF) was checked across gender. Upon the establishment of the best model, a multigroup structural equation model (SEM) was built between factors of SCS-Y and Multidimensional depression assessment scale (MDAS) which assesses four dimensions of depressive symptoms (emotional, cognitive, somatic and interpersonal). The SCS-Y was shown to have good reliability and validity. The MIMIC model produced a good model fit for a hypothetical six-factor model (CFI = 0.980; TLI = 0.974; RMSEA = 0.038) and no item was flagged for DIF across gender. A gender difference was observed between SCS-Y factors and depression dimensions. Conclusions: The SCS-Y exhibits good psychometric characteristics, including measurement invariance across gender. The study also highlights the gender difference between self-compassion factors and depression dimensions.

Keywords: self compassion, gender, depression, structural equation modelling, MIMIC model

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Authors: Roger G. Pagente Jr.

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This study seeks to investigate the language learning experiences of the thirty-nine AB-English majors who were selected through fish-bowl technique from the 157 students enrolled in the AB-English program. Findings taken from the diary, questionnaire and unstructured interview revealed that motivation, learners’ belief, self-monitoring, language anxiety, activities and strategies were the prevailing factors that influenced the learning of English of the participants.

Keywords: diary, English language learning experiences, self-monitoring, language anxiety

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Authors: Tia Claridge

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The aim of this study was to explore whether there are gender differences in how early childhood educators view and facilitate rough and tumble play in England. A qualitative approach was used to carry out semi-structured interviews with female and male early years educators. The key rationale for this study was to examine the significant lack of males working in early years education and the consequent impact this has on pedagogical practice. The findings illustrated that there are some gender differences in educators’ perspectives of rough and tumble play. These include how educators use their own childhood experience to inform their professional practice as well as identifying a need for tailored training to upskill and develop confidence in early years staff with regard to this type of play. The most surprising finding was the influence that urban and rural settings had on educators’ perceptions on weapon play, regardless of gender. Awareness of educator positionality was significant throughout the study for male participants, whereas females rarely commented their own gender. These findings indicate that further research is needed to understand the complex narratives underpinning gender and rough and tumble play.

Keywords: rough and tumble play, educators, gender, early years, pedagogy

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Authors: Lillie Lum

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Focusing on the role of official language in immigrant integration, this paper will first report the results of a literature review and demonstrate that there is no doubt on the necessity of adequate language skills for newcomers to successfully settle, adapt, and integrate socially, culturally and economically in Canada. This paper attempts to synthesize the literature in order to shed light on the language policy terrain which is not easy to navigate. Then, by outlining what is currently available in the language policy environment, it will ask if the current state of language training in Canada is adequate to assist newcomers in their language acquisition process. At a deeper level, it aims to continue to raise questions in this policy area. Are current policy responses likely to improve linguistic capabilities in the future, particularly for immigrant workers with poor language proficiency? This paper is timely given the magnitude of the language issue and the value of immigrants for Canada’s economic, social, and political vitality.

Keywords: official language education, immigrant integration into Canada, economic factors, policy implications

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Authors: Nanyonjo Juliet

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Across Sub-Saharan Africa, it’s increasingly becoming an absolute necessity for either parents or governments to encourage learners, most particularly those attending high schools, to study a second or foreign language other than the “official language” or the language of instruction in schools. The major second or foreign languages under consideration include but are not necessarily limited to English, French, German, Arabic, Swahili/Kiswahili, Spanish and Chinese. The benefits of learning a second (foreign) language in the globalized world cannot be underestimated. Amongst others, it has been expounded to especially involve such opportunities related to traveling, studying abroad and widening one’s career prospects. Research has also revealed that beyond these non-cognitive rewards, learning a second language enables learners to become more thoughtful, considerate and confident, make better decisions, keep their brain healthier and generally – speaking, broaden their world views. The methodology of delivering a successful 2nd language – learning process by a professionally qualified teacher is located in motivation. We strongly believe that the psychology involved in teaching a foreign language is of paramount importance to a learner’s successful learning experience. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore and show the importance of motivation in the teaching and learning of a given 2nd (foreign) language in the local Ugandan high schools.

Keywords: second language, foreign language, language learning, language teaching, official language, language of instruction, globalized world, cognitive rewards, non-cognitive rewards, learning process, motivation

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Authors: Soumia Hebbri

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English language has become a major medium for communication across borders. Nowadays, it is seen as a communicative medium not only for business but also for academic purposes. Some scientists describe English language as a way to enjoy an admired position in many countries. It is neither a national nor an official language in North Africa; it is considered as the most widely taught foreign language at the educational system. In order to achieve mastery of a foreign language, learners must develop the four principal language skills: Reading, writing, listening and speaking. However, being able to interact orally with others, using effectively the target language, is nowadays very important. People who cannot speak a foreign language cannot be considered effective language users, even if they can read and understand it. The teachers’ role in promoting foreign language acquisition is very important, as they are responsible for providing students appropriate contexts to foster communicative situations that allow students to express themselves and interact in the target language. So, we should understand the student’s reasons of their reluctance in oral participation when dealing with oral communicative tasks, in order to get insights about the possible motivating factors that may improve their involvement and participation in the classroom.

Keywords: EL, EFL, ET, TEFL, communication

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Authors: Meenakshi Dahal

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Generally, children start verbal communication by the age of eighteen months. Though they have difficulties in constructing complete sentences, they try to make their thought s understandable to the audience. By the age of 36 months, when they enroll in preschool, their Language and communication skills are enhanced. Children need plenty of classroom experiences that will help them to develop their oral language skills. Oral language is the primary means through which each individual child is enabled to structure, evaluate, describe and to express his/her experiences. In the context of multi lingual and multi-cultural country like Nepal, the languages used in preschool and the communities vary. In such a case, the language of instruction in the preschool is different from the language used by the children to communicate at home. Using qualitative research method the socio-cultural aspect of the language learning has been analyzed. This has been done by analyzing and exploring preschool activities as well as the language of instruction and communication in the preschools in rural Nepal. It is found that the language of instruction is different from the language of communications primarily used by the children. Teachers seldom use local language resulting in difficulties for the children to understand. Instead of recognizing their linguistic, social and cultural capitals teachers conform to using the Nepali language which the children are not familiar with. Children have to adapt to new language structures and patterns of usage resulting them to be slow in oral language and communication in the preschool. The paper concludes that teachers have to recognize the linguistic capitals of the children and schools need to be responsible to facilitate this process for all children, whatever their language background.

Keywords: children, language, preschool, socio-culture

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Authors: Abdullah A. H. Alzahrani, Majd Zohri Yafi, Fawaz K. Alarfaj

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Unified Modelling Language (UML) is a software modelling language that is widely used and accepted. One significant drawback, of which, is that the language lacks formality. This makes carrying out any type of rigorous analysis difficult process. Many researchers attempt to introduce their approaches to formalize UML diagrams. However, it is always hard to decide what language and/or approach to use. Therefore, in this paper, we highlight some of the advantages and disadvantages of number of those approaches. We also try to compare different counterpart approaches. In addition, we draw some guidelines to help in choosing the suitable approach. Special concern is given to the formalization of the static aspects of UML shown is class diagrams.

Keywords: UML formalization, object constraints language, description logic, z language

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Authors: David Abad, M. Encarnación Lucas-Pérez, Antonio Minguez-Vera, José Yagüe

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We examine explicitly the relation between the gender diversity on corporate boards and the levels of information asymmetry in the stock market. Based on prior evidence that suggests that the presence of women on director boards increases the quantity and quality of public disclosure by firms, we expect firms with higher gender diversity on their boards to show lower levels of information asymmetry in the market. Using a Spanish sample for the period 2004-2009, proxies for information asymmetry estimated from high-frequency data, and a system GMM methodology, we find that the gender diversity on boards is negative associated with the level of information asymmetry in the stock market. Our findings support legislative changes implemented to increase the presence of women on boards in several European countries by providing evidence that gender diverse boards have beneficial effects on stock markets.

Keywords: corporate board, female directors, gender diversity, information asymmetry, market microstructure

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Authors: Eirini Arvanitaki

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Romance has incrementally grown in popularity over the last century. The first Mills & Boon romance novel was published in 1909 and since then romance has not only survived but it has become a long standing genre. There are several reasons behind its durability and success. First, its ability to please and appeal to a mass audience. Romance novels are products of commercial success situated in large scale production, especially if one takes into account the high volume of romance novels published, translated and distributed all around the world every month. Second, what has also contributed to keeping the romance genre alive is the content of the books and their effect on the reader. These are stories of two heterosexual individuals who meet, fall in love, face obstacles and successfully overcome them. Through the love plots, the books address anxieties, concerns and everyday troubles that the average reader can identify with. Additionally, the romance novel is a means of escapism from everyday life and responsibilities as well as a short-lived opportunity to enjoy personal time/space and focus on one’s self. Third, the genre’s ability to adapt to the periods and societies in which it is published has also assisted in prolonging its longevity. This paper discusses the ways in which popular romance authors write and engage with the body. Despite the claim that popular romance narratives adjust their contents in accordance with different time periods and social phenomena, the paper highlights the dissimilarities between writing the female and male body and suggests that women romance writers are yet to break free from phallogocentric law. The examination of the projections of the body and the language used to describe it indicates that these narratives are flexible enough to adjust to twenty-first century but only within the limits of their own conventionality.

Keywords: body, gender, language, literary representations, popular romance narratives, taboo

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Authors: Reza Khani, Ziba Hosseini

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This study was an attempt to investigate the difference between learners of Iranian Kurdish–Persian bilingual language and Persian monolinguals, regarding language strategy use (LLS). The participants of the study were 120 monolingual Persian and 120 bilingual Kurdish studying English as a foreign language (EFL). Data were collected using strategy inventory for language learning SILL. The results show bilingual reported higher use of language learning strategies in all categories of SILL except memory strategies.

Keywords: language learning, memory, monolingual, comparative study

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Authors: Shanaj Parvin Jonaki

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After the first wave of the feminist movement, gender has become one of the most important issues to be researched in social science. Many gender theories have been invented and opened a new window to look at. These works showed how gender is a social construct, how gender has been used to oppress, how to rule. While it's the education system’s duty to guide students to understand the concept of gender, it sometimes shows gender-based discrimination. Transgenders exclusion from educational institutes of Bangladesh justifies this very statement. This study aims to figure out how people perceive transgenders’ identity, their inclusion in secondary schools, as well as the underlying barriers in the pathway of inclusion in the context of Bangladesh. A qualitative approach was taken to explore different perspectives towards transgender inclusion from several stakeholders such as students, parents, and teachers of secondary schools and transgenders as well. Data were collected through focus group discussion and interview by convenient sampling. 15 students, 10 parents, and 5 teachers were selected from Bangla Medium school as well as from Madrasha. Collected data were analyzed thematically and were run by experts of gender, education, and psychology to identify the core barriers of inclusion. The study revealed that most of the students, teachers, and parents lacked the knowledge of non-binary gender identities, and they showed unwillingness towards the inclusion of transgender in schools because of the cultural context of Bangladesh. Moreover, this study suggests future initiatives to be taken to ensure the inclusion of transgenders in a secondary school in our country and analyzes it through the lens of feminist theories.

Keywords: education, gender, inclusion, transgender

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Authors: Smriti Mary Gupta

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This article intends to show how literature may be used in language classes to develop student’s knowledge of English. First, we examine the evolution of literature in the language classroom, then we give account of some reasons that justify its use in language classes, of the role of reading in language development, and of the way poetry is treated in the ESL classroom. This paper aims to emphasize the use of literature as a popular tool to teach language skills (i.e. reading, writing, listening and speaking), language areas (i.e. vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation) as well as moral teachings, which is the necessity in present time. Reason for using religious literary texts in foreign language classroom and main criteria for selecting suitable religious literary texts in foreign language classes are stressed so as to make the reader familiar with the underlying reasons and criteria for language teachers, using and selecting religious literary texts. Moreover, religious literature and teaching of language skills, benefits the different genres of religious literature (i.e. poetry, fiction and drama), and also gaining knowledge of a particular religion through language teaching but some problems had been observed by language teachers within the area of English through religious literature (i.e. lack of preparation in the area of literature teaching in TESL/TEFL programs, absence of clarity in objectives defining the role of literature in ESL/EFL), language teachers not having the background, training and appropriate knowledge in religious literature, lack of pedagogically-designed teaching material that can be used by language teachers in a classroom.

Keywords: religious literature, teaching literature, teaching of language skills, foreign language teaching, literary competence

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Authors: Ausra Turcinskaite-Balciuniene, Jonas Balciunas, Gediminas Merkys

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The problematic of gender and socioeconomic status biased differences in academic motivation patterns is discussed. Gender identity is understood according to symbolic interactionism perspective: as a result of reflected appraisals, social comparisons, self-attributions, and identifications, shaped by social environment and family context. The effects of socioeconomic status on academic motivation are conceptualized according to Bourdieu’s habitus concept, reflecting the role of unconscious and internalized cultural signals, proper to low and high socioeconomic status family contexts. Since families differ by various socioeconomic features, the hypothesis about possible impact of parents’ socioeconomic status on their children’s academic motivation interfering with gender socialization effects is held. The survey, aiming to seize gender differences in academic motivation and self-recorded improvement-oriented efforts as a result of socialization processes operating in the families of low and high socioeconomic status, was designed. The results of Lithuanian higher education students’ survey are presented and discussed.

Keywords: academic motivation, gender, socialization, socioeconomic status

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Authors: Nefi Aris Ambar Asmara

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This paper discusses gender equality and career opportunities among female civil servants for better public services in a regency in West Java, Indonesia. Those two areas have not been considered comprehensively in terms of the goals of gender equality and career opportunities. The purposes of this paper are to describe (1) the number of available positions in relation to the number of female civil servants, (2) the socio-cultural outlook on female civil servants in relation to gender equality and career opportunities, and (3) socio-cultural views on gender equality and a career in politics. To achieve these three objectives, this paper used a qualitative approach with survey and interview techniques. The results showed that (1) only 37% of the official positions were presided by female civil servants. In contrast, male civil servants occupy 63% of the available positions, (2) the sociocultural view of female civil servants affirms that they are still regarded as male companions; (3) in addition, female civil servants do not need to compete with gender opponents, including the fact that women enter politics because the political world is considered dirty for women.

Keywords: gender equality, career opportunities, female civil servants, Indonesia

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Authors: Nefi Aris Ambar Asmara

Abstract:

This paper discusses gender equality and career opportunities among female civil servants for better public services in a regency in West Java, Indonesia. Those two areas have not been considered comprehensively in terms of the goals of gender equality and career opportunities. The purposes of this paper are to describe (1) the number of available positions in relation to the number of female civil servants, (2) the socio-cultural outlook on female civil servants in relation to gender equality and career opportunities and (3) socio-cultural views on gender equality and a career in politics. To achieve these three objectives, this paper used a qualitative approach with survey and interview techniques. The results showed that (1) only 37% of the official positions were presided by female civil servants. In contrast, male civil servants occupy 63% of the available positions, (2) the sociocultural view of female civil servants affirms that they are still regarded as male companions; (3) in addition, female civil servants do not need to compete with gender opponents, including the fact that women enter politics because the political world is considered dirty for women.

Keywords: gender equality, career opportunities, female civil servants, indonesia

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Authors: Vanessa L. Haro

Abstract:

Beginning with a historical foundation of Mexico, this marks the start of a close examination of this major Latin American country by providing the context needed to understand the reasons for Mexico’s strengths and struggles today, specific to their response to the issue of gender violence. Responding to the challenge of combating gender violence and inequality, Mexico has created social programs and initiatives in hopes of addressing these issues and modernizing their gender norms, which currently disempower and dehumanize women, while simultaneously denying women the necessary tools needed to fight back or bring balance to the gender scales. Nevertheless, women in Mexico have made their voices heard with the most salient image of that of the mothers protesting while holding the photos of their young daughters who lost their lives. This case study on gender issues in Mexico works to acknowledge the diverse forces that contribute to the issue of gender violence, and to make a statement that this is a crisis that requires a more dynamic response within Mexico’s social welfare policies, and should not be allowed to continue to progress as a normative phenomenon. As the advocacy groups and protesters cry out, “Ni una menos! (Not one less), meaning we will not lose one more woman and making the statement that all women’s lives matter.

Keywords: gender issues, Mexico, poverty, social welfare

Procedia PDF Downloads 240