Search

In this paper, the nature of educational studies is considered and discussed. Following some introductory comments, the paper deals with philosophy, psychology and sociology in relation to education. This is followed by a section on social psychology and the paper ends with a section on the history of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the authors' reply to commentaries on their article The Family Realm: Theoretical Contributions for Understanding Its Uniqueness. We believe that life within the family realm is a unique part of the human experience and that having a concept that helps us recognize and articulate this will be a helpful addition to the field. The main purpose of our paper was to demonstrate that when our perspective starts by focusing on familial phenomena we see things differently than when our perspective starts from one of the older disciplines. A family realm perspective helps us realize that some family phenomena are more fundamental than the social and historical factors that influence, shape and mold families. Thus far, we have not entirely ascertained which aspects of the family realm are inherent and which are developed by cultural and social conditions. It is only in the family realm that people are connected through generations. The other characteristics of the family realm that we identify in our essay are relatively unique to this sphere. This means that relationship permanence, concern for the total person, emotionality and so on, exist in nonfamily realms but they are experienced in very differently ways in the family part of life.

ABSTRACT This paper considers how our understanding of religious identifications may be enriched through social psychological theorizing on group identity. It reviews a range of work (for example, sociological and social psychological) concerning Islam and Muslim identities and develops the case for viewing religious identities as constructed in and through argument. It then seeks to draw out the implications of such an approach for understanding group relations. Although minority religious identifications are often assumed to undermine social cohesion, the social networks within and between groups can contribute to inter-group harmony. For example, reciprocal relationships characterized by trust and reciprocity can constitute forms of social capital that facilitate civic integration. Yet, how such social networks are used and how relationships are developed depends on group members' understandings of their collective identity. As this is contested, it follows that analyses of intergroup relations must attend to group members' identity-related arguments and the strategic concerns that lie behind them. The utility of this perspective is illustrated briefly with empirical material (arising from interviews conducted with Muslim activists) which hints at the importance of investigating social actors' own theories of social capital and how it can be developed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social psychology and social network research are both centrally concerned with human sociality. Despite some historically significant interactions between the two, these areas of investigation have not been usefully deployed together in recent research endeavours. The present paper attempts to bring out some points of both theoretical and methodological contentions, to characterize the gap between them, to traverse briefly the trajectories of their historical development, and to provide some concrete instances of these differences. Intellectual resources available to Asian social psychology are reviewed, which may help bridge the gap between the two areas of research. We conclude by calling for a greater integration of social psychology and social network perspectives in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]