This annual journal issue contains 22 papers on issues of faculty development, diversity, adult learners, and instructional improvement in higher education. Many of the papers were developed for the annual conference of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD). The papers are: (1) "What Theories…

An ethnographic study in an urban high school in California examines the ways in which immigrant students adapt in a community that is becoming increasingly multicultural. Individual biographies explored the shaping of self and each other for 10 female students and 5 teachers. Interviews and day to day observations were used to gain a picture of…

Disparities between Whites and African Americans exist in many areas in U.S. society. These disparities are exacerbated by social ills, including the Persian Gulf conflict. Positive change on the part of African American educators is required to combat these problems. The following four postulates for teaching African American youth are provided:…

The basic tenet of this paper is that the difference between black and white children on IQ measures is not due to genetics but describes the cultural distance between the two groups. The cultural distance approach is described as an amalgam of the environmental and social psychology points of view. It holds that any subculture operating according…

Although the integration movement of the 1960's and the demands for cultural pluralism in the 1970's addressed the issues of racial unity and minority civil rights, a new consciousness of cross-cultural unity among all ethnic groups must be achieved if racial tension is ever to be abated. Accordingly, cultural differences must not be viewed as the…

The word "underclass" has become popular, but it is nebulously defined. The focus of discussions on the underclass is not on economics but behavior. The poor are scapegoats for drug problems and the crime rate. The concept of "underclass" ignores the conflict between the dynamic of tokenism and the reality of capitalism. (BJV)

Over the past few decades, social reproduction theorists have criticized achievement ideology as a dominant and dominating myth that hides the true nature of class immobility. Social reproductionists' primary criticism of achievement ideology is that it blinds the working class, regardless of race or gender, to the possibilities of collective…

Showing evidence of planing multicultural education in curricula is required by the National Council of Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) for accreditation of professional education programs. This paper presents discussions on this issue over the last three decades, points out the increasingly diverse student population in the United…

Considers maintenance of African-American/white status relationships through educational policy in four Cleveland (Ohio) elementary schools. Although African-American and European American children begin with equal potential, that potential is developed to a lesser extent in African Americans. Discusses ways of countering challenges to…

Recent studies indicate that the production of socioeconomic differences in health status by socially disadvantaged is equivalent in the United States and Britain, even though the traditional emphasis in Britain has been on social class and in the United States has been on educational status and race. (SLD)

It is critical to differentiate between desegregation and integration since only the latter denotes interaction between equals. Integration should be the goal for our schools while desegregation is one possible vehicle which may move us in that direction. To achieve integration, the issues which must be addressed are community involvement and…

Issues related to ability testing and affirmative action are discussed, including the fair use of tests in academic and occupational selection, the effects of testing upon the tested individual, and implications of the issues for the major participants. Types and functions of ability tests, both aptitude and achievement, are described. Studies of…

The central purpose of this book is to help leaders and professionals in government, education, business, philanthropies, and the media think about what needs to be done to ensure that minorities reach educational parity with the majority population as soon as possible. Chapter 1 discusses society's interest in the educational advancement of…

Few preservice and beginning teachers are prepared for the diversity of today's classrooms. Educators must be aware of the many ways in which people are diverse and recognize that diversity is an enormous advantage. By 2010, 40 percent of students will be minorities. U.S. teachers are predominantly middle-class European Americans, yet one in four…

Proposes a structural model of intelligence based on the significant aspects of Blacks' cognitive development. Discusses alternative perspectives on the understanding of macro-level activities, modifications in the general approach to cognitive assessment, and the formulation of pedagogical guidelines. (FMW)