Describes the struggles children of multiracial families face in their daily lives and at school where they commonly experience the social isolation of not belonging to a defined group. The commentary, "Shades of Grey," explores the debate over racial categories, explaining its base in changing social standards. (SLD)

Debates the use of concepts from cognitive psychology to explain the structuring of attitudes and opinions. The debate zeroes in on the structures of cognition, the reflexivity of attitudes, the function of the social context, the effect of ideology on the structures of vocabulary, the communication process, the role of ideology in organizing…

Used a standard picture-ranking task to assess preschooler's attitudes about orthopedically handicapped individuals. Found that children as young as preschool age can hold a functionally related preference for a normal over a physically handicapped person. Children who held this preference interacted differently in social situations than children…

Challenges physical education professionals to be realists who name the conditions around them that divide according to group identity and thus perpetuate injustice; to be radicals who work to change conditions; and to build and follow a rainbow path to a future where social justice, human rights, and the human condition are first priorities. (JB)

Examines whether children are receiving less than their share of public resources, considering (1) how the economic situations of children and the elderly have changed; (2) effects of insufficient resources and causes of disparities in treatment of young people; and (3) proposals for increasing society's investment in children. (SLD)

Argues that feminist considerations must be central in classroom pedagogy, teaching broader notions of democratic struggle and social justice. The focus is on how a critical feminist pedagogy can address crucial areas of schooling (constructing a feminist classroom, developing critical discourse, rethinking student voice and experience, and…

This commentary offers 10 critical characterizations of contemporary special education and 5 major implications for the future of the field. It urges special educators to turn their attention unambiguously and forcefully to empirical research to generate reliable common knowledge of effective instruction of students with disabilities. (Author/CR)

Reports that St. Francis Central Catholic School (West Virginia) has been building a full-time counseling program for the last eight years. Stresses the importance of academic, developmental, emotional, and moral guidance for all students, noting that success has more to do with emotional well-being than intelligence. (NB)

In this article, the author shares some of the lessons learned from a tenure review experience. The tenure experience convinces the author that too few of the people with power to influence the course of Native communities act from a Native ethos that is deeply concerned with reproducing Native values into the future. Because too many "leaders"…

Placed in the current political context of growing liberalization within China, this essay describes the Shanghai Hotline for Sexual Minorities. Funded by agencies outside the government, these services target LGBTs toward self-acceptance and AIDS/STD education while seeking to reduce social prejudice.

A special theme issue of this biannually published journal illustrates a range of topics that public folklorists in New York state have addressed in their work. The first article, "Forty Years before the Mast: Sailing the Stormy and Serene Seas of Public Folklore" by Bruce R. Buckley, introduces the volume by setting public folklore in…

The potential intended and unintended impact of parental rights initiatives on public education and child welfare agencies and on existing laws demands further scrutiny of the legislation and of its proponents and their motivations. Proponents assert that parental rights initiatives would guarantee parents' rights to direct the upbringing of their…

This brief address was given by a Australian dairy farmer, who served as a parent representative on a committee of teachers at a local school. The speaker draws his observations from his experience "bridging the gap" between teachers' understanding of school operations and the views of rural parents. Rural values, or "peasant…

This monograph is based on an international survey of approximately 60 individuals/organizations concerning the nature of disability and disability awareness. The survey was part of a project of the International Exchange of Experts and Information on Rehabilitation which is attempting to make information about disability issues from other…

Although Allan Bloom in "The Closing of the American Mind" and Mike Rose in "Lives on the Boundary" reveal an almost endless list of obvious differences of perspective on literacy and higher education in America, both take divergent yet similar routes to create a permanent place for liberal education. Both Bloom and Rose use…