Recognizing the persistence of the cultural underlay permeating West Virginia life styles today, the research covered three areas: (1) cultural values identified with Appalachian culture endorsed by West Virginia Extension Agents and reflected in their work, (2) cultural values that reflect a distinctive Appalachian subculture, and (3) to what…

The purpose of this report is to clarify the concept, main features, and objectives of the "recurrent education" issue and to spell out the implications that this approach will have for educational and socio-economic policy making. It is suggested that acceptance of the "recurrent education" proposal implies not only a major turning point in…

Discusses the societal values and behavior patterns that Chinese preschools reinforce and instill in children. (HOD)

Recent developmental theories of sex differences in the valuing of social relatinships and individual achievement help in understanding the nature of sex discrimination in educational institutions. These theories also help to identify ways in which such discrimination may be eliminated. (GC)

Discusses some of the broader cultural influences that precede (and go beyond) ethnic influences in children's behaviors and attitudes and teachers' interpretations of them. Those influences that affect students' as well as teachers' behaviors and attitudes include perpetuation of the conflicting values of individualism and cooperation, locale,…

A survey of attitudes of upper middle class American and Israeli youth reveals pronounced differences. Whereas the Israelis tend to view their society as an extension of their own family and acknowledge their obligations to both, the Americans trust only the family, regarding it as more important than any other social entity. (Author/JM)

Naming a building after a person further implies that the person honored possesses the appropriate qualities necessary to be recognized in such a permanent fashion, and that the individual was, in some respects, the embodiment of the community's shared values. Here, Moran analyzes the naming of public school buildings in Kansas City MO between the…

In an effort to explain the spatial patterning of violence, we expanded Sutherland's (1947) concept of differential social organization to include the level of deviance exhibited by neighboring areas. To test the value of this extension, the geographic clustering of Japanese suicide and homicide rates is assessed using 1985 and 1995 data for…

Since the mid-1960s, the work of Alexander Astin--Allan M. Cartter Professor of Higher Education at the University of California-Los Angeles and director of the Higher Education Research Institute--has served as both bellwether for and mirror of the American college and university system. He was there to study and shed light on the student…

The present article focused on two types of communicative intent (directing behaviour vs. eliciting talk) expressed by mothers and teenagers during everyday family interactions in Estonian, Finnish, and Swedish mono- and bicultural families. Three monocultural groups consisted of 17 Estonian, 19 Swedish, and 18 Finnish families living in their…

The voices of African American students reveal sociocultural factors that influence their achievement in science and mathematics classes. Using a sociocultural theoretical framework (Mercer & Covey, 1980), this ethnographic study interpreted the perspectives of five African American students as they discussed their learning experiences in science…

Among the various attempts to identify the social roots of antifeminism, two theories in particular are prominent. The first argues that for both men and women, anti-abortion and anti-Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) sentiments have disproportionate appeal among lower socio-economic status, rural, and older constituencies. The second asserts that for…

This research report examines the components of modernity that deal with women's roles and values and their impact on fertility rates. The life style identified as modern is clearly multidimensional, yet three items -- power, segregation, and containment -- are chosen to study the fertility rates. The hypothesis is that in a family in which the…

As an international language, English is being used to produce fresh, exciting, and relevant new literature--some of which is coming from Africa. An excellent introduction to African literature are the four novels of Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian. "Things Fall Apart" concerns events at the turn of the century with the arrival of British Colonials,…

Examines the effects of culture on educational practice in Japan, focusing on three salient aspects of the cultural basis for achievement: (1) teachers and parents stress educational environments conducive to learning; (2) achievement is attributed to effort, not to innate ability; and (3) group expectations and standards are considered paramount.…