This article reviews the literature on the development of literacy, showing literacy beginnings in the infant and young child within a literate family community, literacy development in a literate school community, and literacy specialization in a teacher education community. The literature is applied to preparation of teachers of students with…

Focuses on ways that the present colonial or postcolonial status of societies in Tonga influences the relationship between traditional and Western forms of schooling. The impact of having been a former colonized people incorporated into a colonizing nation is most apparent in the study of Hawaiian preschool education. (SLD)

This article considers identification and programing needs of hearing-impaired students from Afro-American, Hispanic, and Asian groups, based on experience within the San Diego (California) city schools. Addressed are demographic shifts and the dropout rate; cultural considerations; assessment; bilingual education; curriculum and instructional…

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…

Braxton County, West Virginia, is a subculture in which the norms and values of local residents are oppositional to state and national objectives for public education. Describes the role of the locally born county superintendent as a cultural change agent, and his strategies for overcoming poor community support and limited financial resources to…

Scholars, practitioners, and laypeople at one time or another have questioned what learning is and how it can be measured once it is defined. Many use the term interchangeably with growth, change, development, knowledge, education, cognition, or acquisition as it is commonly considered in educational practice. However, most generally assume a…

This review of the literature looks at family influences on the achievement of economically disadvantaged youth, with an emphasis on relationships among families, academic achievement, and gifted education. Theoretical perspectives on the study of families have focused primarily on families as static systems and families as dynamic systems and,…

This literature review focuses on approaches to measuring and improving the self-concept of young children with special needs. Two particular models dominate the debate on the self-concept construct: the perceptual model (in which self-concept is equated with a self-description formed during the preschool years) and an operational model (in which…

This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," analyzes the policies and practices for educating high-ability students in Japan, Taiwan, and China. It reports on studies over the past 11 years of East Asian children's academic achievement. In the first…

Several factors associated with academic underachievement and high attrition of minority students are discussed, based on a review of the literature. A significant problem exists in undergraduate and graduate programs with respect to the lack of representation of minority students. The three factors identified as most critical are: (1) self-esteem…

After asserting that minorities do not have the health resources available to them in quantity or quality as do members of the dominant society, this paper describes and discusses six features which should characterize appropriate mental hygiene services for minorities: (1) cultural relevance; (2) a holistic orientation; (3) an organizational…

Intended as a companion picce to volume 4 in the Method Series, Sociocultural Factors in Health Planning (CE 024 232), this fourth of six volumes in the International Health Planning Reference Series is a combined literature review and annotated bibliography dealing with social, cultural, and behavioral aspects of delivering, planning, and…

The history and use of intelligence testing are reviewed, with emphasis on the validity of intelligence tests for black populations. Different definitions of intelligence are summarized, followed by an historical review of intelligence testing. The work of Alfred Binet is discussed, as well as the validity and reliability of his scales. A…

A review of the social science literature traces the history of the construct of multiracial identity, 1890-1995. Research emphases have shifted from racial categorization to ethnicity, from behavioral observation to self-report, and from the inferiority or marginality of multiracial individuals to their phenomenological experiences. Contains 139…

Examines the notion of cultural safety in relation to the duty of care mandate assigned to child welfare workers when the state intervenes in family life, focusing on the vulnerabilities of rural and indigenous youth in New Zealand to cultural racism. Asserts that child welfare professionals have a professional obligation to enhance their cultural…