In the West, science is assumed to be an integral part of Western culture. What interests Western educators and policy makers is achievement in science, particularly the comparative achievement in science among students of different Western nations plus Japan. Americans are constantly asking whether or not our students know as much science as…

The construct of locus of control formulated by Rotter (1966) is being increasingly emphasized in personality functioning, since it appears to be related to several classes of behavior. It is also being considered as an important construct in cross-cultural research. Cross-cultural comparisons are particularly important, not just because they may…

American and German children were asked to judge and talk about different mass media--television, radio, and picture books--and their use of each media. Analyses of the data indicated that five- and six-year-olds have qualitatively different concepts of media characteristics and functions than three- and four-year-olds, i.e., the younger children…

Using items from the Second International Study of Mathematics (1984) and the "effective teaching" literature, this study found differences between Tokyo and Hawaii junior high school teachers in terms of background, instructional behavior, teaching load, use of time, emphasis of objectives, and use of calculators. Hawaii teachers spent…

A study was made of cross-cultural patterns of achievement motivation in relationship to the mathematics achievement of Japanese and American boys and girls approximately 16 years of age. Sample sizes were 9,582 for the United States subjects (specifically, from Illinois) and 1,700 for the participants from Japan. Data came from performance on the…

Examines the strange-situation procedure among Japanese mother-infant pairs and analyzes their behavior by comparing them with the data reported in the book by M.S. Ainsworth and others. (HOD)

Examines the similarities and differences in beliefs about the effective teaching of mathematics held by teachers from two different sociocultural backgrounds. Data were collected using a part of the Teacher General Classroom Process Questionnaire of the second IEA Mathematics Study. (Author)

Investigates patterns of sex differences for responses to problems across the countries involved in the Second International Mathematics Study. Reports no substantial gender effects on any of the content areas using the median polishing method. (YP)

States that the relationship between mathematics and physics in the first year college level might be similar for populations from different national and cultural backgrounds. Reports student responses in two schools on topics covered by a mathematics test. The similarities and differences between the two groups are discussed. (YP)

Compares self-report measures of depression and psychological distress in U.S. and Japanese university students. Reassesses sex differences on these measures for U.S. students and examines sex differences for Japanese students. Finds that Japanese students had higher scores on depression measures but not on psychological distress. (Author/ LS)

Compares relative test anxiety of urban seventh- and eighth-grade students in North America and Chile. Finds the following: high-SES students from both cultures had lower test anxiety than low-SES students; Chileans had higher test anxiety than North Americans; low-SES females in both cultures had more test anxiety than low-SES males, but high-SES…

Finds that, among 46 Inuit and 11 White 10-16-year-old students in the Northwest Territories (Canada), Inuit students had less modern values than their white peers, but Inuit scores varied considerably both within and among the 5 value orientations examined. Contains 34 references. (SV)

Maintains that events in France during and after World War II are still controversial political and social issues. Describes the program and activities of U.S. teachers during a summer seminar on French literature and filmmaking during the German occupation years. (CFR)

This document presents the final report of the International Conference on Education, attended by 128 Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, as well as representatives from 9 inter-governmental organizations (INGOs), 36 international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and one foundation. A total…

This bulletin contains five essays on the theme of expanding the challenge of improving the quality of education to encompass the curricular, administrative, institutional, and teaching levels. The articles include: (1) "Educational Assessment Systems in Latin America: A Review of Issues and Recent Experience" (Robin Horn; Laurence Wolf;…