Despite the deleterious mental health and health consequences experiences of perceived discrimination can have on ethnic and racial minorities in the United States, a dearth of qualitative studies exist to develop a better understanding of such experiences. As part of a larger study examining psychosocial stress events, and in an effort to fill…

This article examines the relationship between the mathematical knowledge of 438 K-8 California teachers and the demographics of the schools in which they work. To measure mathematical knowledge, we used a series of multiple-choice problems meant to represent both the content teachers teach and the specialized knowledge of mathematics that…

While the task of defining and counting the Hispanic population is very complex and existing data is inconsistent, several trends emerge with implications for public education policy. Between 1970 and 1980, California's Hispanic population increased by 50% to 4.5 million, 19.2% of the state population, and is expected to increase to between 24.4%…

The study examined performance of limited-English proficient Hispanic students on a battery of psychometric instruments designed to appropriately assess linguistic minority students. Subjects consisted of three groups: 44 nonhandicapped, 45 learning-disabled, and 39 mildly mentally retarded elementary-level students. Instruments included the…

School environments dominated by high socioeconomic status levels have a negative effect on ethnic self-attitudes and on ethnic salience in self-identification, but Anglo-dominated school environments alone do not. In a test of the effect of different levels of Anglo dominance in schools on the ethnic self-attitudes of Hispanic elementary…

Facing mounting evidence that California has fallen behind on many key indicators of educational performance, policymakers and the public share considerable interest in exploring whether California should expand public funding for preschool education. This expanded funding will be most effective if resources can be directed to their most efficient…

School environments conducive to equal status relations appear counter-productive to assimilation, according to a study of the relationship between school status characteristics and assimilation levels achieved by Hispanic sixth graders. A prior study provided data for this research from 10 desegregated elementary schools in California regarding…

This booklet presents the proceedings of a conference on the relationship between bilingual education and desegregation in California. The topics covered by the speakers at the general session were: (1) Desegregation and Bilingual Education: A National Perspective; (2) Legal Requirements Related to Desegregation and Bilingual Education; (3) Role…

This report compares California with other states in how the problem of low achievement by minority students is being confronted. The severity of the achievement gap is assessed, as well as the steps being taken to close the gap. The topics considered are: (1) the changing demographic profile of racial and ethnic minorities in California;…

A growing number of American students are nonnative English speakers. These students are vulnerable to early school exit and schools are facing more and more such students each year. Presently, about 56% of all public school teachers in the United States have at least one English language learner (ELL) student in their class, but less than 20% of…