Examines the importance of cultural literacy for the mastery of introductory sociology. Administers cultural literacy test to 709 undergraduate students. Finds that females and Blacks score lower than non-Black males, but women subsequently exhibit higher overall academic performance. The Cultural Literacy Test is appended. (NL)

Americans have concluded that the achievement gap is the fault of "failing schools" because it makes no common sense that it could be otherwise. After all, how much money a family has, or a child's skin color, should not influence how well that child learns to read. If teachers know how to teach and if schools permit no distractions,…

Presents a three-part lesson plan taken from It's Yours: The Bill of Rights, a student text designed to aid understanding among students of different ethnic groups. Describes cooperative learning activities about civil rights laws and discrimination. Includes a list of objectives, additional activities, handouts, and an answer key. (DK)

This guide contains two checklists for evaluating educational materials and classroom activities to ensure that they meet requirements for equity for all students. The first checklist is for teachers and administrators to use when evaluating instructional materials. It asks questions about the depiction of men and women, diverse cultural and…

This book is intended to provide insights into the role that the mass media play in the broad educational process, especially in the ways that young people develop their beliefs and feelings about human diversity. The book also offers insights and ideas for grappling with the media teaching-learning process and for understanding its implications…

State and national social studies standards have laid out what young people need to know about history, government, and other social studies subjects, but they do not provide information on what young people actually know and believe about a subject. The perspectives or frameworks of knowledge and beliefs that young people bring to their social…

In this article, the author explores the many other faces of rap that do not get the media exposure that they rightfully deserve. As this article attempts to reveal, rap music, as a form of cultural pedagogy and critical literacy, is only one way to achieve the goals of a "critical education." Rap lyrics can also be used as a tool to help the…

This book offers a tested method for utilizing groups in the English classroom. It uses theory and ethnography to document why groups succeed and how to remedy them when they are failing. Five chapters focus on: (1) "Group Work Matters" (e.g., how to make groups worth it, the need for groups, and the process of finding communication);…

This paper presents a series of interactive activities designed to help educators make diversity awareness part of their teaching. The activities are: "Best Friends," which helps people recognize the role race plays in their perceptions of people and in their values; "Conclusion Jumping," which helps people identify common stereotypes and raise…

This paper describes a cognitive and socio-moral developmental, learning style, and attitudinal study. The subjects were 168 college students enrolled in a general education "diversity core" undergraduate course on social diversity and social justice in the spring of 1990 at a large northeastern public research university. Ninety-seven students…

This annual report examines student achievement in U.S. schools, using evidence released in the previous 12 months to investigate the enormous gap between the U.S. and other nations in mathematics achievement and analyze the gap in reading achievement between the nation's best and worst fourth-grade readers. The report also explores the culture of…

Reports on a study of 305 African American and 338 white middle school students to determine whether self-beliefs underlying self-esteem are different across ethnic and gender boundaries. Finds that academic self-beliefs, as opposed to nonacademic self-beliefs were not strong predictors of self-esteem among any of the groups. (ACM)

Reports on two studies comparing learned resourcefulness among 238 black and white South African college students. Finds that black students score higher on learned resourcefulness in both studies. Discusses possible explanations. (CFR)

This article summarizes results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) that show measurement education to be a major weakness in the United States, particularly for minority students. The middle school measurement topics assessed by NAEP and TIMSS include…

This book is the definitive guide for faculty in higher education who wish to mentor both students and junior faculty. It features strategies, guidelines, best practices, and recommendations for professors who wish to excel in this area. Written in a pithy style, this no-nonsense guide offers straightforward advice about managing problem mentor…