This paper is the result of an inter-university educational innovation project developed between the University of La Laguna (Spain) and the Autonomous University of Baja California (Mexico). Students from both institutions, studying at the equivalent level to become future primary education teachers, analysed the way in which primary school…

Instructional time for social studies has been reduced nationwide, particularly in the elementary grades. Yet states continue to promote content standards in history, economics, civics, and geography for young learners. Purposeful integrative content that is appropriate for grades K-6, while sometimes difficult to find, seems to many elementary…

The ability to identify the emotional content of vocal expressions was examined for Canadian and Mexican boys, ages 6-11. The Mexican children performed better overall, although children from both countries did better with the Mexican speech samples. Performance was found to improve with age. (JMB)

This study explored the manifestations of what was called "dialogical critical thinking" in elementary school students aged 10 to 12 years as they engaged in philosophical exchanges among peers. The characteristics of dialogical critical thinking and how it develops were studied over an entire school year among eight groups of students…

Questionnaires given to (n=60) Mexican elementary students revealed that the use of teaching strategies (exposition, examples, feedback, and positive reinforcement), the possession of proenvironmental competencies, and the exhibition of academic skills were significant determinants of the ability to distinguish environmental facts from opinions.…

Although a recent Mexican survey found that schooling was the public institution that inspired the most confidence, Mexican government figures for the past decade reveal high dropout rates, particularly at the primary level. This book casts light on this paradox by detailing various social relationships of schooling in two elementary schools in a…

Describes the Hands across the Border Cultural Exchange Program between the communities of Palominas, Arizona, and Arizpe, Sonora, Mexico. An Arizona fifth/sixth grader studies Mexico prior to hosting a visitor from Mexico and enjoying a reciprocal visit to the Arizpe student's home. Highlights the program's unique features and benefits. (DMM)

Examines preimmigration education of Mexican immigrants using an ethnographic case study of a rural Mexican primary school. Discusses the implications of a high-quality national curriculum and instructional methods emphasizing teacher direction, verbal interactivity, and group orientation for immigrant students in American schools. (FMW)

This paper examines the language dominance and oral bilingual proficiency of Tarahumara-Spanish speaking students from Chihuahua, Mexico, within the framework of Cummins' model of bilingual proficiency development. Cummins' model distinguishes between basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive academic language proficiency…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2013 proceedings: (1) Teaching About Asia in a Social Science Education Program (Cyndi Mottola Poole and Joshua L. Kenna); (2) Teaching Students about…

Development of self-concept, self-esteem, and self-ideal was examined in second, fourth, sixth, and eighth graders (approximately 50 boys and 50 girls in each grade) from Chile, Mexico, and the United States. Results suggest there are substantial similarities in such development across national groups; there is a tendency for differences between…

Analysis of achievement data for over 20,000 Mexican primary school graduates shows that mathematics and Spanish achievement were significantly related to being male, being younger, having better educated parents, and living in states with developed educational systems. Student preschool experience increased achievement scores, particularly in…

Describes a unique exchange program between Mexico and California in which poets go to the foreign country to teach poetry writing, with local poets, to elementary school children. Provides samples of exercises in poetry writing and excerpts of children's poetry, translated from Spanish into English. (KEH)

This paper discusses the question of whether, in a multilingual society, the child's first or second language is best as a language of instruction in primary school. Reviewing eight case studies from seven countries in which initial primary schooling was given either in the second or first language, the discussion compares achievement in reading…

Presents instructional aspects of elementary education classrooms in Mexico. Topics addressed are conditions of instruction, instructional priorities, types of instruction, evaluation of instruction, teacher-pupil relationships, and home-school relationships. Implications are given for teachers in the United States who teach transfer students from…