Opening in 1981 to moviegoers in Japan, France, and the United States, "The Gods Must Be Crazy" became an international hit. Set in Botswana, the film covers a relatively small geographic area yet nevertheless can open classroom discussions about how many cultures and how much cultural diversity can exist in a small area. It has three…

This paper deals with Latino audiences in the United States and explores how socially beneficial research agenda can deal with their communication needs and result in better and more programming on public broadcasting services. Latino audiences are defined as persons of Spanish language heritage, regardless of surname or country origin. A…

Group- and self-identity are issues that have concerned sociologists and psychologists over time. Although the importance of group attitudes has been well established theoretically as an element in self-evaluations, empirical evidence has lagged. To investigate the relationship between racial and gender stereotypes and self-concept, black (N=51)…

Research indicates that dialect is used in children's books to suggest the geographic background, social class, educational level, and intelligence of literary characters. Several studies show, however, that young readers develop negative attitudes about characters who speak nonstandard dialects and that these attitudes are intensified if the…

Sex and ethnic differences in the use of social power were investigated using role theoretical and attributional perspectives. Performance and self-attribution processes of power usage were related to ascribed versus achieved role characteristics. One hundred and sixty subjects, equal numbers of Chicano and Anglo males and females, participated as…

Communication media are among the many "systems" Latinos confront in working to improve their lives in the United States. Latino encounters with media systems have generally taken place on three levels: Anglo media, Spanish language media, and bilingual/bicultural media. The English language or Anglo media have portrayed the Latino with…

Addresses the problem of writing and producing plays that do not meet the needs of a multicultural audience with varied backgrounds and values. (JC)

This paper presents a series of interactive activities designed to help educators make diversity awareness part of their teaching. The activities are: "Best Friends," which helps people recognize the role race plays in their perceptions of people and in their values; "Conclusion Jumping," which helps people identify common stereotypes and raise…

A study examined what journalism and mass communication programs have done to prepare students to understand and relate to a multicultural, multiethnic, multiracial and otherwise diverse society. Responses to a 34-question survey were returned by administrators of 216 undergraduate journalism/mass communication programs listed in the 1992-93…

This study investigated patterns of social interaction among four preservice teachers and kindergarten children in the context of literacy-enriched play centers. Specifically, the study addressed the following questions: Is there a relationship between preservice teachers' beliefs about children's literacy knowledge and the way in which they…

This paper discusses the means by which youth of conflicting nationalities may be taught to live together in Israel with mutual understanding and respect. The first part of the paper focuses on relations between Jewish and Arab youth, and suggests guidelines for designing a cross-cultural learning project to improve the relations between these…

Occupational stratification based on ethnic group membership is still a part of American society. In the past, ethnic stratification was perceived in conjunction with ethnic succession and it was assumed that no group would be permanently relegated to low occupational status. Today, however, flaws in the system are showing. The idea that at the…

This paper draws on the stereotype threat hypothesis and social identity theory to examine the influence of positive and negative ability beliefs on Navajo students' achievement goals. Data were collected on 829 Navajo students in two reservation high schools. The results support the notion that Navajo students hold both positive and negative…

Theories and selected research on stereotyping and cognitive automaticity are presented as a resource base for multicultural counselor educators. Three multicultural competencies are identified: (1) personal beliefs/attitudes; (2) cultural knowledge; and (3) multicultural skills. The objective is to make self-awareness of covert prejudicial…

This is a report of a survey conducted to explore the relationships between dating patterns, dating preferences, and stereotypes of black and white Americans, among black college students on predominantly white campuses. Seventy-eight single black college students, ranging in age from 17 to 22 years old, and attending two predominantly white…