Explanation pertaining to individuals' cognitive development and learning approaches is a recurring theme in the areas of education and psychology. The work of Okagaki (e.g., Okagaki, 2001; Okagaki & Frensch, 1998), for example, has provided both theoretical and empirical insights into the structuring and situational positioning of individuals…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2011a; 2011b), the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report revealed that African American and Hispanic students with disabilities continue to score well below their White and non-disabled counterparts in all areas tested and across all grade levels. Researchers…

In a rural community there is a risk that readers will not find connections to their own lives, which may affect the pleasure gained from reading. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the use of literature in a small rural elementary school, focusing on how sociocultural factors affect how students connect to and access literature.…

Provides a rationale and interdisciplinary framework for integrating work and other dimensions of life by: reviewing relevant changes in society and the career development and counseling profession; describing one holistic career-planning model, Integrative Life Planning; and discussing questions and issues surrounding narrow versus broad…

Educational researchers should expand their methodology to include the student's voice and to consider the impact of the student's environment when defining being "at-risk of failure" or "at-risk of dropping out of school." Current definitions of who is at-risk place the onus of at-riskness entirely within the student.…

The traditional model of multicultural education views the child as the product of culture. Proposes an alternate model that focuses on the unique set of experiences each child brings to school. The alternate model includes factors (race, culture, gender, and disability) considered in traditional multicultural models plus several additional…

Discusses the influence of external environments on the functioning of families as contexts for child development. Describes studies on the interaction of genetics and environment, on relationships between the family and hospital care, day care, peers, schools, parental employment and support networks, the community, and major transition life…

Examines the pattern of career choice among 23 female and 17 male Korean-American college students in California, and analyzes how this pattern reflects their immigrant parents' cultural model of success and subsequent educational strategies. Explores the model as a family and community force, and considers its costs. (SLD)

Social scientists have adopted two different views on the influence of the community and home on academic achievement of lower-class and minority students. The first is the deficit perspective, or the failure-of-socialization hypothesis. The second is the difference perspective, or the cultural-discontinuity/failure-of-communication hypothesis.…