The effect of cultural background knowledge on comprehension and on the language of recall was investigated using an oral presentation. Fifteen Aboriginal women in northern Australia and 15 American women in an adult education class in Illinois were matched in age and educational level. Two stories were read aloud to the subjects, each based on…

This document represents a comprehensive summary of current research and theory on the sources of innovation and creativity, both in individuals and organizations. Based on the recurring concepts in the existing literature, the document concludes with some recommendations for how education systems can best foster these attributes in students. Both…

Describes the value of nonparental adult-child relationships for infants and toddlers and outlines specific steps that American and Italian educators from relationship-oriented programs rely on to expand on children's relationship dances with their parents. Suggests that educators should initially take the initiative to become attuned to the child…

Compares theories of knowledge and strategies for cultural transmission in Pohnpei (Micronesia) and U.S. models of education. Extensive interviews and observations demonstrate the awareness of the people of Pohnpei of the potential of U.S. education to transform their traditional chiefdom hierarchy and the content and nature of traditional…

Japan's economic success may have its origins in its educational system, which instills the values of persistence and hard work in children. This process is begun by Japanese mothers, continues throughout preschool and school, and is reinforced by cultural beliefs and practices. In one study, task persistence was significantly greater among…

Assessed multiple features of social support provided by mothers, fathers, siblings, and friends to Indonesian and U.S. elementary and junior high school students. Found that Indonesian youth ranked family members higher and friends lower on companionship and satisfaction than did U.S. youth. Friends were seen as the primary sources of intimacy in…

A fair and valid assessment for every child, as mandated by legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 and the Improving America's School Act of 1994, must consider the complexity inherent in assessments for subgroups of students. Due to the rapid growth of the population of English language learners (ELLs) in the United…

We examined how mother-child emotional reminiscing is affected by culture, gender, and the valence of the event. Thirty-one Euro-American and 30 Chinese middle-class mothers and their 3-year-old children discussed 1 highly positive and 1 highly negative experience. Mothers and children in both cultures used a greater variety of negative emotion…

This paper examines the strong relationship between American universities and Iranian institutions of higher education from 1960 to 1980 and beyond. A review of comparative literature indicates that these relationships have had a lasting impact on Iranian education. The paper begins with a brief history of education in Persia beginning around 700…

This theme issue of the Bernard van Leer Foundation's "Newsletter" is devoted to approaches to working with disadvantaged children up to 3 years of age. An introduction describes the crucial period from before birth to 3 years, noting that although the mother's body provides the an essential part of the environment, other easily…

The purposes of this study are to compare school and non-school acquisition of knowledge as perceived by Australian and American elementary school children, and to determine if children acquire more knowledge about their own country than foreign children do. A total of 156 American 5th and 6th graders and 100 Australian 6th and 7th year students…

To explicate the relevance of cultural context to educational administration practices, this paper contrasts United States cultural attitudes and administrative practices with those of Latin America. Drawing on Leslie A. White's definition of culture, the author presents the Weberian model of administration as exemplary for the United States,…

A study to obtain data concerning values for child behavior from a sample of Mexican adults from Guadalajara (Jalisco, Mexico), and to compare and contrast these data with those obtained in previous research with subjects from the United States, used a sample consisting of 40 males (mean age 31.1 years) and 40 females (mean age 20.1). The subjects…

A research project concerned with the development of English as a school subject in the Norwegian elementary and junior high school identifies and describes British and American influences on the theoretical climate of foreign language teaching in Western Europe from the 1950's to the 1970's. A distinct British influence, the so-called Palmer,…

Survey responses from 1,620 subjects in the United States, Greece, India, Peru, and Taiwan provide information on cross-cultural role perceptions. Study data reveal (1) the principal factors accounting for the variance in role perception in each culture, (2) those factors that are the same in all cultures, (3) the equivalent factor scores that…