NERA 2008

Children’s Weekend Activities across Cultures: A Dissertation Proposal

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Children’s out-of-school time activity patterns and profiles reveal important information about their individual and emotional development. Studying the structure and the schedule of children’s weekend activities across cultures is valuable in the understanding of developmental processes as well as the role of culture in human development. In addition to looking at activity profiles of children from four different cultures, this dissertation will test the relation between adult-structure in activities and specific outcomes of emotional development. Fourth grade students’ adult-structured weekend activities and their relation to enjoyment and anxiety in children from Bulgaria, Taiwan, Turkey, and United States will be discussed.

Keywords: Out-of-school activities, cross-cultural psychology, anxiety, enjoyment

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2008, October). Children’s weekend activities across cultures: A dissertation proposal. Paper presented at the 39th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Rocky Hill, CT, USA.

UAlbany ISSS

Asil Ozdogru awarded International Student Leadership Award for 2008

Congratulations to Asil Ozdogru for winning the International Student Leadership Award for 2008 (shown here with Margaret Reich, Director of International Student and Scholar Services). Asil is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology who has given a large amount time and energy to improving the lives of students here at the University at Albany.

In 2004, he served as an Orientation Assistant in the International Student & Scholar Services program for new international students. He and a group of friends, then, started the Turkish Student Association in the Spring of 2006. They have organized various cultural events open to the entire University, including movie screenings, a painting exhibition, a cooking class and a graduation party, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Organization.

Asil volunteers his time to assist international students in many ways, such as transporting them to and from airports in Albany and New York City, helping to move furniture, and helping them find apartments or roommates. He also advises them on writing papers and introduces them to new friends from different cultures. He has started two email groups, one for people interested in playing pick-up soccer at UAlbany and the other for Turkish people within the University and the local community, both quite successful with 74 and 84 members respectively.

Asil has taken the initiative to develop ways to help people connect here at the University. Although his main concern has been international students, helping to ease their cultural transition to living in Albany, his activities have benefited the larger community by introducing them to Turkish culture and providing an outlet for physical activity.

Published online in the International Student and Scholar Services Web site
http://www.albanyinternationaleducation.com/iss/article.php?articleid=13

TASSA 2008

The Case of “Hurried Child” in Different Cultures: A Dissertation Proposal

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Fast pace of modern times requires effective time management skills. In terms of parenting, it translates into efficient use of children’s time in wide array of activities that are enriching and preparing children for a competitive economic system. Some scholars argue that this form of parenting is harmful for normal child development and label these children as hurried or overscheduled children who are rushed through one activity to another. Some others defend organized activities for their skill-building and protective features. This study proposes to look at fourth grade students’ adult-structured weekend activities in relation to enjoyment and anxiety associated with these activities in Bulgaria, Taiwan, Turkey, and United States. Preliminary findings show that children from these four cultures spend different amount of time in activities like watching television, studying academics, and playing sports. Gender differences also offer valuable insight for parenting and socialization in cultures with different value orientations.

Keywords: Cross-cultural psychology, parenting, out-of-school activities, anxiety

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2008, April). The case of “Hurried Child” in different cultures: A dissertation proposal. Poster presented at the 4th annual conference of the Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association, Boston, MA, USA.

FYI 2008

The aim of science is, on the one hand, a comprehension, as complete as possible, of the connection between the sense experiences in their totality, and, on the other hand, the accomplishment of this aim by the use of a minimum of primary concepts and relations.

Albert Einstein (1936) Physics and Reality


Perceptions are guided by preconceptions. … [Individuals'] expectations not only channel what they look for but partly affect what features they extract from observations and how they interpret what they see and hear.

Albert Bandura (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action

View of Earth from Moon in 1969 © 2008 NASA