From an individual's viewpoint, it is argued, culture establishes a meaningful context of social institutions, ecological practices, and personal rules of conduct which provide each group member with a blueprint for social existence. But, behavior is also conditioned by unconscious internalized patterns, which tend to be accepted by everyone as…

A case example involving a Native American family referred to a child welfare agency illustrates social work intervention strategies that encourage cultural competence, recognize power differences between cultures, promote understanding of role variations and belief systems, consider alternative approaches for helping clients with drug or alcohol…

This paper describes an effort to find ways to respond to the challenges of supporting student and faculty diversity by providing data about the experiences of Latino undergraduates at the University of Michigan. Data were collected from a random sample of 73 Latino undergraduates and a comparison group of 24 non-Latinos. The Latino group…

This book explores why students from other cultures often find it difficult to learn academic writing and understand its purpose in a U.S. university. The book discusses how these students' writing is influenced by cultures where people communicate indirectly and holistically, value the wisdom of the past, and downplay the individual in favor of…

Supporters of the teaching of "standard English" maintain that permitting students to retain their own dialects leads to chaos, hampers communication, and promotes ignorance. Those supporting the rights of students to retain their own dialects focus on the concept that language is constantly changing, expresses the thoughts of living people, and…

The author lists steps for constructing a research study guaranteeing "statistically significant results when comparing two populations which differ linguistically." Many of these steps are direct quotations from typical research reports--choose a control group as much like yourself as possible; assume your own dialect is standard; encode all…

Discusses the concept of nationalism and seeks to analyze whether "Latin-Americanism" can serve as a lever for a nationalistic type of social movement. In spite of separate national group identifications going back 150 years, research indicates that the socio-psychological preconditions of a Latin American supranationalism do exist. (CS)

Asserts that U.S. global awareness has been heightened significantly during the past decade. Contends that increasing economic interdependence has been a primary reason for this trend. States that the objectives of the world studies program at City University of New York Queens College help student understanding of global interdependence and…

This essay provides an historical perspective on conflict and discusses the relationship of prejudice and ethnocentrism to intergroup conflict, prejudice and conflict resolution in childhood, as well as approaches to conflict resolution in society. History is full of hateful and destructive indulgences based on religious, racial, and other…

Ethnic differences are valuable to the well-being of society, but it is difficult to determine how to transmit this cultural value from one generation to another. The development of the value of cultural pluralism is dependent upon the development of both a comprehensive theory of cultural pluralism and a model of cultural transmission which focus…

One of the basic problems men and women confront in any complex is the limitation imposed on their access to institutions of their society. How the problem of of institutional or structural access is related to ethnicity and ethnic studies is the focus of this essay. Concern for ethnicity and ethnic studies in education can be traced to the…

With Indigenous knowledges being increasingly available via different media, there is the risk of these knowledges becoming disengaged from the peoples who imparted them. A consequence of this disengagement is that it creates the conditions for the creation and perpetuation of misunderstanding and misuse of Indigenous peoples' lifeworlds. This…

Intended to provide students in grades 6-12 with a global perspective, these ready-to-use activities deal with the concept of cultural differences. The materials can fit into courses dealing with cultures, American cultural diversity, and human relations. There are five parts. The activities in part 1 will help sensitize students to a…

In the twentieth century, both the need and the opportunities for acquiring a foreign language have greatly increased. However, even today, foreign language instruction has not been firmly established worldwide as an essential element of basic education. In Great Britain, enthusiasm for foreign language instruction has risen and fallen repeatedly.…

Suggesting the educational value of the television production of James Clavell's "Shogun," this pamphlet offers a synopsis of the story and a viewer's guide to responding to "Shogun." Following synopses of the five television broadcasts that comprise "Shogun," five units are presented for a viewer's educational study…