Since its earliest applications to vocational psychology, self-efficacy has been recognized for its utility with diverse populations, attributable to its attention to environmental influences. Somewhat paradoxically, then, it has also been criticized as being limited in its applicability with people from other cultures, because of its focus on…

This article presents an account of how the author has made cultural diversity a powerful pedagogical resource for teaching rather than a burden. It is suggested that such an approach can deliver real educational benefits, rather than simply being a protocol to meet the requirements of "political correctness" or commercial imperatives. The issues…

Generic power is the ability to anticipate elements in a predictable sequence in a communicative event. The article examines the role of such power in a crucial situation--the admission interview in the Republic of Singapore--and argues that generic conventions cannot be divorced from the institutional and cultural constraints peculiar to a speech…

This paper explores intersections among art, action, and community. It describes sociopolitical aspects of the author's art therapy work with survivors of repressive regimes living in Brazil, China, and Denmark and considers ways that unique historical and social processes influenced her conceptualization and practice of social action art therapy.

America is a true melting pot, as exemplified by the diversity of students in our classrooms. Many are concerned with how teachers are providing instruction for the diverse groups of students they teach. Failure to embrace multiculturalism allows members of society to continue to promote disenfranchisement. For example, proponents of the complex,…

This article emphasizes the need for concrete descriptions of supervision to promote diversity-competent group work and presents an application of the supervision of group work model (SGW) to this end. The SGW, a supervision model adapted from the discrimination model, is uniquely suited for promoting diversity competence in group work, since it…

Culturally responsive standards-based (CRSB) teaching can help bring diverse school communities together and make learning meaningful. Unlike multicultural education--which is an important way to incorporate the world's cultural and ethnic diversity into lessons--CRSB teaching draws on the experiences, understanding, views, concepts, and ways of…

This article synthesizes selected historical, philosophical, and empirical research of Asa G. Hilliard, III and discusses theoretical linkages between that body of research and empirical studies of learning and development among African American youth in the field of Black psychology. (Contains 6 notes, 1 table, and 1 figure.)

Although English Language Learners (ELLs) quickly acquire basic interpersonal communication skills, most struggle for several years with reading and writing academic content in English. In particular, in English-only mathematics classes, children are likely to have difficulty reading and comprehending text, reading word problems, and giving…

Identifies the limits of the traditional view of reflection, asserting that reflection is an artifact and a practice embedded in a larger process (teacher learning) and outlining basic notions of a cultural-historical vision of learning as praxis in which reflection is embedded. The paper also asserts that a new vision of critical, situated…

Describes a motivational intervention, based on the transtheoretical model, to promote recovery from illegal drug use among African Americans. The culturally sensitive intervention featured a needs assessment and service referrals. Participants completed motivational intervention or standard assessment-referral protocols. Interview data indicated…

Discusses family therapy as one means of intervening in the social decay that is rapidly occurring in the Virgin Islands and Caribbean community and that is manifested in the antisocial behavior of young people, focusing on the evolution of this antisocial behavior and the therapist's and the community's role in maintaining juvenile delinquency or…

Describes the Cherokee Language Renewal Program that was designed to help Cherokee elementary school children learn to function in the dominant culture without sacrificing their own cultural heritage. Explains how the program got started, and reports on how it helps restore a cultural identify to a people who are at risk of losing their identity.…

A short-term, insight-oriented intervention for American Indian adolescents--the Dream Catcher Meditation--aims to help clients express unconscious conflicts and facilitate differentiation and healthy mutuality. Twelve sessions, including goals and sample questions, are described, during which the steps in making a dream maker are linked with key…

Textbooks can only provide a glimpse into the challenging profession of caring for young children. Stories generate new levels of personal understanding for differing perspectives in life, increasing teachers' ability to be of service as professionals in this field. In this article, the author discusses how storytelling can be a key to effective…