This collection of three conference papers explores the myth of the educational excellence of Asian Americans. "The National Perspective" (L. Wright) contends that the educational success of Asian Americans is not a myth and that lessons drawn from the example of the academic achievement of Asian Americans can be applied to American…

Teachers can and should use the insights of ethnographic research responsibly in their teaching. Ethnography is an attempt to understand cultures or parts of cultures from the point of view of those who participate in them. It is in the discontinuity between home and school uses of literacy that most ethnographers who study literacy locate the…

Following a brief discussion of some characteristics of the Amish culture and schools, data from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills are reported for 23 pupils in grades 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8 in Pleasant Hill School near Bloomfield, Iowa. Thirteen pupils scored at or above the fifteenth percentile in mathematics concepts; 17 were at or above that level in…

Achievement assessment has recently become an issue of major public concern. Concurrent with demands which have placed increased reliance on measurement and assessment have been criticisms of present testing practices. The effects of sociocultural and motivation variables on achievement patterns of 7,000 Illinois school children were investigated.…

The study described in this report was conducted to test the connection between patterns of organization and functioning of individual Afro Asian families in Israel and the achievement of their children in formal educational settings. The 177 working class families studied were mostly from Morocco, Iraq, and Iran and lived in neighborhoods…

The investigation examined 2 issues: (1) how the values of the subculture influence the underachievement of the Mexican American boy and (2) what happens to him if he is placed into a new educational strategy. The overall purpose of the research was to ascertain promising instructional procedures for underachieving (as measured by standardized…

Two questions were investigated in this study: (1) Does the low socioeconomic Mexican American perceive himself as he is portrayed in literature? and (2) Are there relationships between educational achievement, perceived cultural characteristics, and the 7 specific themes: 1) ethnic isolation, 2) Spanish language, 3) fatalism, 4) present day…

A study of Norwegian elementary school children found that in fourth to eighth graders, low academic achievement was associated with low self esteem and strong perceived parental pressure for boys, but not for girls. In eighth graders, low achievement was associated with low perceived value of school for girls only. (GC)

This study investigated whether generational status and concern with family would moderate the effect of personal goals and goal structures on high school students' self-regulation and English achievement. Participants included first-, second-, and third-generation Americans who completed questionnaires examining personal goal orientations,…

This book contains a collection of essays by Dutch and American scholars on the complex relationship between structural and cultural forces shaping the life chances of ethnic minorities. The papers are: (1) "Introduction: The Role of Culture in Explanations of Social Mobility" (Hans Vermeulen); (2) "Introduction: The Persistence of…

Investigates the locus of control orientation of Fijians and Fiji-Indians and examines its influence on academic performance. States that locus of control, a culturally influenced factor, is one variable underlying the disparity in achievement between the two groups. (CMG)

This study correlated socioeconomic status as measured by parents' education and material prosperity, with academic achievement and self-confidence scores in 2293 Ugandan students. Self confidence did not correlate to socioeconomic status, as it has been found to do in industrialized societies. Possible reasons for this difference are considered.…

Noting the relationship between educational philosophy and the cultural context in which it is implemented, discusses what American Montessori elementary teachers must do to create a classroom environment responsive to the Montessori notions of child-centeredness, multiage grouping, and community building, while meeting minimum performance…

Presents an ecological model for examining the educational and familial contexts that influence the educational achievement of language minority students. The framework outlines conceptual and philosophical bases to serve as guiding principles for urban school reform efforts committed to developing multicultural, pluralistic environments where all…