User:SERPELL

Robert Serpell is a Visiting Professor, Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.

From 2003 to 2006, Professor Serpell was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zambia, where he had previously served on the academic staff (1965-1989), was promoted to the rank of Professor of Psychology in 1981, and served as Director of the Institute for African Studies (1977-1983). From 1989 to 2002, he worked in the USA, where he held the post of Professor and Director of Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Serpell's publications include the following books: Serpell, R. (1976) Culture's influence on behaviour. London: Methuen. (144 ps.)(Translations of this book were published in 1977-78 in Finnish, Hungarian, Portuguese, SerboCroatian and Spanish.)

Serpell, R. (1993) The significance of schooling: life-journeys in an African society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ( 345 ps.)

Serpell, R., Baker, L., & Sonnenschein, S. (2005). Becoming literate in the city: the Baltimore Early Childhood Project. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ( 310 ps.)

He has also published peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic journals and chapters in a number of edited books, including the following major publications: Serpell, R. (1974) Aspects of intelligence in a developing country. African Social Research, 17, 578-596. Reprinted (1979) in B. Turok (ed.), Development in Zambia: a reader. London: Zed Press, 227-241.

Serpell, R. (1977) Estimates of intelligence in a rural community of eastern Zambia. In F.M.Okatcha (ed.) Modern psychology and cultural adaptation (pp.179-216). Nairobi: Swahili Language Consultants and Publishers.

Serpell, R. (1978) Learning to say it better: a challenge for Zambian education. In L.N.Omondi & Y.T.Simukoko (eds.), Language and education in Zambia. Institute for African Studies Communication No. 14 (pp.29-57). Lusaka: University of Zambia. Reprinted (1983) in abridged form in J.B. Pride (ed.), The New Englishes. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House.

Serpell, R. (1978) Comprehension of Nyanja by Lusaka schoolchildren. In S.I.Ohannessian & M.E.Kashoki (eds.) Language in Zambia (pp.144-181). London : International African Institute.

Serpell, R. (1979) How specific are perceptual skills? A cross-cultural study of pattern reproduction. British Journal of Psychology, 70, 365-380.

Serpell, R. (1980) Linguistic flexibility in urban Zambian children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol.345 (Studies in Child Language and Multilingualism, edited by V.Teller & S.J.White), 97-119.

Serpell, R. & Deregowski, J.B. (1980) The skill of pictorial perception: an interpretation of crosscultural evidence. International Journal of Psychology, 15, 145-180.

Serpell, R. (1982) Measures of perception, skills, and intelligence: the growth of a new perspective on children in a Third World country. In W.W. Hartup (ed.), Review of Child Development Research, Vol. 6 (pp. 392-440). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Serpell, R. (1984) Research on cognitive development in subSaharan Africa. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 7, 111-127.

Mittler, P. & Serpell, R. (1985) Services: an international perspective. In A.M.Clarke, A.D.B.Clarke & J.M.Berg (eds.) Mental deficiency : the changing outlook. Fourth Edition (pp. 715-787). London: Methuen.

Serpell, R. (1986) Specialized centres and the local home community: children with disabilities need them both. International Journal of Special Education, 1(2), 107-127.

Serpell, R. (1988) Setting priorities for a University research institute in Southern Africa: the example of IAS in Zambia. In M.M. Sefali (Ed) Southern Africa: research for development (pp.251-267). Roma, Lesotho: Institute of Southern African Studies, National University of Lesotho.

Serpell, R. (1988) Childhood disability in sociocultural context: assessment and information needs for effective services. In P.R.Dasen, J.W.Berry & N.Sartorius (eds.) Health and crosscultural psychology: towards applications (pp. 256-280). Newbury Park, California: Sage.

Serpell, R., Zaman, S.S., Huq, S., Ferial, S., Silveira, M.L.M., Dias, A.M.C.de S., de Campos, A.L.R., Narayanan, H.S., Rao, P.M., Thorburn, M.J., Halim, A.J., Shrestha, D.M., Hasan, Z.M., Tareen, K.I., Qureshi, A.A. & Nikapota, A.D. (1988) Assessment criteria for severe intellectual disability in various cultural settings. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 11 (1), 117-144.

Serpell, R. (1989) Dimensions endogenes de l'intelligence chez les AChewa et autres peuples Africains. In J.Retschitzki, M..BosselLagos & P.Dasen (eds), La recherche interculturelle, Tome II (pp.164 -179). Paris, France: Editions l'Harmattan.

Serpell, R. (1990) Audience, culture and psychological explanation: a reformulation of the emic-etic problem in cross-cultural psychology. Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, 12 (3), 99-132.

Serpell, R., Mariga, L. & Harvey, K. (1993) Mental retardation in African countries: conceptualization, services, and research. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 19, 1-39.

Serpell, R. (1994) Negotiating a fusion of horizons: a process view of cultural validation in developmental psychology, Mind, Culture and Activity, 1, 43-68.

Serpell, R. & Boykin, A.W. (1994) Cultural dimensions of cognition: a multiplex, dynamic system of constraints and possibilities. In R.J. Sternberg (Ed.) Handbook of Perception and Cognition, Vol.12: Thinking and Problem-solving (pp. 369-408). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Baker, L., Serpell, R. & Sonnenschein, S. (1995). Opportunities for literacy-related learning in the homes of urban preschoolers. In L. Morrow (Ed) Family literacy: multiple perspectives to enhance literacy development (pp. 236-252). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Serpell, R. (1995). Situated theory as a bridge between experimental research and political analysis. In L.Martin, K.Nelson, & E.Tobach (Eds.) Cultural psychology and activity theory: essays in honor of Sylvia Scribner (pp. 21-42). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Serpell, R. (1996/97). Social intervention and psychological theory (Lessons from some recent studies in Zambia). African Social Research, 37/38, 40-60.

Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., Serpell, R., Goddard-Truitt, V., & Munsterman, K. (1997). Parental beliefs about ways to help children learn to read: the impact of an entertainment or a skills perspective. Early Child Development and Care, 127-8, 111-118.

Serpell, R. (1997). Literacy connections between school and home: how should we evaluate them? Journal of Literacy Research, 29 (4), 587-616.

Serpell, R. & Hatano, G. (1997). Education, literacy and schooling in cross-cultural perspective. In J.W. Berry, P.R.Dasen & T.M. Saraswathi (Eds.) Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology (2nd edition), Volume 2 (pp.345-382).Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Akkari, A., Serpell, R. Baker, L., & Sonnenschein, S. (1998). An analysis of teacher ethnotheories. The Professional Educator, 21, 45-61.

Kathuria, R. & Serpell, R. (1998). Standardization of the Panga Munthu Test - a nonverbal cognitive test developed in Zambia. Journal of Negro Education, 67, 228-241.

Serpell, R. (1999). Theoretical conceptions of human development. In L.Eldering & P.Leseman (Eds) Effective early intervention: cross-cultural perspectives (pp. 41-66). New York: Falmer.

Serpell, R. (1999). Local accountability to rural communities: a challenge for educational planning in Africa. In F. Leach & A. Little (Eds) Education, Cultures and Economics: Dilemmas for Development (pp.107-135). New York: Garland.

Serpell, R. (1999). Opportunities and constraints for research on education and human development in Africa: focus on assessment and special education. Prospects, XXIX (3), 349-363. (Also published in translation by the journal in Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish.)

Serpell, R. & Mwape, G. (1998/99). Participatory appropriation of health science and technology: a case study of innovation in basic education in a rural district of Zambia. African Social Research, 41/42, 60-89.

Serpell, R. (2000). Intelligence and culture. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed), The Handbook of Intelligence (pp.549-577). Cambridge, UK & New York, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Astatke, H. & Serpell, R. (2000). Testing the application of a Western scientific theory of AIDS risk behavior among adolescents in Ethiopia. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 25 (6), 367-379.

Serpell, R. (2000). Culture and intelligence. In A.E.Kazdin (Ed), The Encyclopedia of Psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press.

Serpell, R. (2001). Cultural dimensions of literacy promotion and schooling. In L.Verhoeven & C.Snow (Eds) Literacy and Motivation (pp 243-273). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Serpell, R. (2001). Responsabilite vis-a-vis la communaute rurale: un defi pour la planification de l’enseignement en Afrique. In A.Akkari, R.Sultana, & J.-L. Gurtner (Eds) Politiques et strategies educatives: termes de l’echange et nouveaux enjeux Nord-Sud (pp. 215-243). Bern, Suisse: Peter Lang. (translation of Serpell, R. (1999), Local accountability to rural communities: a challenge for educational planning in Africa.)

Baker, L., Mackler, K., Sonnenschein, S., & Serpell, R. (2001). Parents’ interactions with their first-grade children during storybook reading and relations with subsequent home reading activity and reading achievement. Journal of School Psychology, 38, 1-24.

Serpell, R., Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., & Ganapathy, H. (2002). Intimate culture of families in the early socialization of literacy. Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 391-405.

Ka, O. & Serpell, R. (2003). Le defi d’integration des langues et cultures africaines dans les programmes de scolarisation en Afrique Noire. In Gohard-Radenkovic, A., Mujawamariya, D. & Perez, S. (Eds). Integration des minorities et nouveaux espaces culturels (pp.251-272). Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang.

Serpell, R. and Haynes, B. (2004). The cultural practice of intelligence testing: problems of international export. In R.J.Sternberg & E.Grigorenko (Eds) Culture and competence: contexts of life success (pp.163-185). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Serpell, R. (2006). Negotiating the middle ground between the ostensible and shared horizons: a dynamic approach to cross-cultural communication about human development. In J.Straub, D. Weidemann, C. Kölbl, & B. Zielke (eds.) Pursuit of Meaning: Advances in Cultural and Cross-Cultural Psychology (pp. 393-433). Berlin: Verlag.

Serpell, R. (2007). Bridging between orthodox western higher educational practices and an African sociocultural context. Comparative Education, 43 (1), 23-51.