High- and low-achieving Mexican American students were selected from a database that included 2,169 Mexican American students in three California high schools. A sense of belonging to school was the only significant predictor of student grades, but family and peer support and certain cultural influences also contributed to resilient outcomes.…

The relationship of Spanish-language background to achievement among first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican American high school seniors was examined. Data from the national High School and Beyond study were used. Spanish-language variables were only intermittently related to achievement, with personal aspirations far more influential. (TJH)

Misconceptions about educational testing and school assessment are ingrained in U.S. society and in the knowledge structure of educational professionals. Tests and assessments are highly ethnocentric, ignoring knowledge valued by many cultures. The article examines misconceptions and makes recommendations for an informed discourse on using testing…

Presents a review of trends in student achievement by socioeconomic status and gender within ethnic groups. Suggests that patterns of achievement are alarmingly congruent over time and over studies. Contains 33 references. (DDR)

This developmental and cultural study investigates the impact children's attributions and affects have on their willingness to help in achievement contexts. Findings support Weiner's (1980) attribution-emotion-action model, although interesting developmental and cultural differences were revealed. Classroom implications and directions for future…

European American and second-generation Chinese American 1st and 2nd graders, their parents, and teachers participated in Time 2 data collection of this longitudinal study to assess whether the formal academic environment provided by Chinese American parents is linked to poorer social adjustment in their children. Regressions showed that parents'…

Argues that out-of-school factors have enormous, perhaps decisive, influence on student achievement and examines the role ethnicity, parents, peers, and culture play in student attitudes and academic performance. Findings are presented based on survey data gathered from 20,000 high school students over a 3-year period. (GR)

Reports a cross-sectional investigation of the behavioral and academic correlates of victimization in Chinese children's peer groups. Structural equation models indicated that peer victimization was associated with poor academic functioning, submissive-withdrawn behavior, aggression, and low levels of assertive-prosocial behavior. Findings suggest…

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latino students accounted for 18% of the school population in 2003, and the larger Latino population had reached 41.3 million as of 2004. With a yearly growth rate of 3.6%, Latinos continue to be the fastest growing population group in the nation. As Latinos continue to shape the diversity in the schools, many…

Although much research has been done on bilingual students from a variety of backgrounds, little research has been done specifically on the needs of K-12 Hmong students. Hmong students are refugees and children of refugees who immigrated to the United States since 1975, leaving their home country of Laos. California public schools have…

In this paper, we examine some modern myths of poverty and special education. Mythology has been a staple of curriculum for many years, particularly in the early grades. Students study mythology to understand historical societies, unearthing cultural values and mores communicated through fables. Not so benign are myths related to poverty and…

This cross-sectional study examined Japanese children's action-related beliefs about school performance and compared them with comparable data available from studies of German, Russian, and American cultures. A total of 817 Japanese children aged 8 to 13 years completed the Control, Agency, and Means-Ends Interview (CAMI), which assesses general…

The increasingly diverse ethnic composition of the nation's children poses new opportunities, but also serious challenges, to the nation's education institutions, including the early childhood programs that lay the foundation for children's school experience and achievement. In light of the controversy on this subject, its significance for…

Recent changes in policy and research regarding immigrants and schools in France are examined in this paper. The first part discusses changes in France's social and political context--in the immigrant population and in educational policies. The second section reviews theoretical explanations of immigrant school performance with regard to social…

Tremont Consolidated Grammar School (Maine) has changed little in the past 50 years. The wisdom of Paulo Freire and other educators shows that student empowerment, critical thinking, and parent involvement are necessary for true education, particularly for oppressed people. An ecological approach to education involves the family, the community,…