Kimber, T. R. (2012). The role of spiritual development in the cross-cultural reentry adjustment of missionaries. Journal of psychology and theology, 40(3), 211-219.
Kimber points out that while there is much research on the adaptation of missionaries to a new culture, there is no research on return to the home culture and the feelings of missionaries. The author emphasizes that he established strict criteria when selecting research participants, such as age, time of residence in another country, time of return to the United States, the United States is considered the homeland. This selection did not include missionaries who returned home as a result of discipline problems, forced layoffs, and other staff problems, which provided the most accurate data on participants’ adaptation to the home culture. Kimber also takes into account a study that has not been previously conducted, namely, the attitude of the messengers to God after an extended stay in a foreign culture and returning to their home country. Concerning the relationship with God and the transition of change, the results showed a positive correlation between the TCS and SAI awareness scale. It indicates that missionaries who were aware of God’s presence during their return during the transition period also reported greater awareness of the change itself. The results also showed a significant relationship between TCS and questions developed by the researchers resulting in many participants feeling secure in their relationship with God during the second transition. The results of this study show that missionaries who knew about changes in themselves during re-entry also reported awareness of God’s presence and that they felt safe in their relationship with God.
Vasquez-Salgado, Y. & Chavira, G. (2014). The transition from middle school to high school as a developmental process among Latino youth. Hispanic journal of behavioral sciences, 36(79), 79-94. Web.
Vasquez-Salgado and Chavira emphasize that the transition from high school to high school has a negative impact on young academics, leading to lower school performance, as well as the effect of gender on grades. The authors conclude that the differences in academic performance among Latino youth are due to girls’ greater educational aspirations and teachers’ expectations of boys ‘and girls’ academic performance. Differences also lie in cultural values and norms, which are overwhelmingly followed by migrant families, placing greater responsibility on girls, leading to a gender gap in educational performance for both genders. The innovation of the study is that the authors consider high school, transition and high school, which allows for a closer look at the changes in academic performance among girls and boys in Latino youth. Thus, the results of the study lead to the fact that students with higher academic performance in middle school decline faster than students with lower academic performance. Overall, both results point to a disadvantageous position for young people with high achievement levels in secondary school and transition to secondary school, yet students follow a stable academic trajectory in middle school. The study proved that throughout the entire period of school, girls show a decrease in academic performance, while boys, on the contrary, increase academic performance, nevertheless, they equalize by the 10th grade. Despite the clear difference in the performance of boys and girls, the study concluded that by grade 10 Hispanic youth scores equalize.