This paper speculates on difficulties in making American formal education an active force for conscious cultural change rather than a passive force for unconscious cultural stasis. Two questions central to discussing any educational system which purports to be a conscious force for cultural change are posed: Can a society conscious of its own…

Value orientations of members of younger and older age strata in 2 subcultural systems--one urban and one rural--are examined. The author looks at age stratification in a vertical sense (i.e., assessing differences existing between members of younger and older age strata), as well as in a horizontal sense (i.e., comparing the value orientations of…

A questionnaire requesting subjects to rank 16 occupations according to "how you perceive their social standing" (prestige ranking) was administered to 154 undergraduate students. From an analysis of the rankings, students were labeled Traditional (N=73) and Non-Traditional (N=74) and were then compared on demographic and attitudinal variables.…

Provides an overview of the philosophical approaches to the relationship between work and education and how these two concepts function best in a democracy. Recommends a return to the philosophy of John Dewey, who advocated a symbiosis of education and work resulting in a life of meaningful activity. (MJP)

Dominant social, economic, and political philosophies manifested in the recent debate over the University of Costa Rica general studies curriculum reforms are discussed. It is concluded that the debate is really about the university's role in an environment that values privatization, individual (contrasted with social) benefits of higher…

Outlines power relationships that exist in the schools of a small-scale, Zuni (New Mexico) community. Describes complex set of insider-outsider relationships, analyzes their effects, and provides support for McDermott's notion of collusion. Highlights complexities teachers face in providing culturally responsive pedagogy in a small-scale,…

US majority (European-American) and minority (African-American, Latin-American, Asian-American) children were interviewed regarding race-based and non-race based reasons for exclusion in interracial peer contexts (N = 685), evenly divided by gender at 9, 12, and 15 years of age (4th, 7th, and 10th grades) attending 13 US public schools. All…

The nature of some of the relationships and interactions between black youth and mental health professionals are explored by this paper. It is organized into the following four discussions: (1) a portrait of black youth, given as background information; (2) specific portions of deviance theory as it relates to black youth; (3) black youth as…

The special language of particular occupations, the role playing of those who practice them, and the terms in which the communications media and the general public refer to them evoke problematic cognitions about occupational functions and practitioner traits that determine an occupation's high or low social standing. Perceptions of occupations…

The essence of transmitting culture is associated with the evaluation and selection of teachers to make sure their views and cognitive orientations comport with the values of the given social order. Argues for a research agenda to unveil ideology in teacher education, especially as it relates to the selection of minority students. (BJV)

Asserts that, although there is widespread agreement that civic education is a worthy educational goal, there is little agreement about its content or appropriate instructional methods. Maintains that effective moral education must involve discussion of substantive civic-moral issues and consideration of moral alternatives. Recommends using the…

This paper presents a historical overview of the gradual shift in the moral and philosophical foundations of American society as reflected in the content of textbooks. Working from the premise that textbooks mirror changing social values, the paper cites various studies that trace the trend, over the past 200 years, away from an emphasis on…

A summary is presented of the literature on motivation relating to achievement in the classroom. Special attention is given to how values, ideology, and various cultural patterns may serve to enhance motivation to achieve in the classroom. In considering what determines motivation and personal investment in educational pursuits, the following…

A project regarding the interpretability of data on vocational education outcome data was done (1) to determine how different definitions of the vocational student and relatedness of training to employment might affect the interpretability of vocational education impact data; (2) to synthesize the current literature and approaches measuring job…

Popular culture in America is comprehensively reviewed in this book. The book is designed for either high school or college level social studies or English courses and includes a variety of graphic illustrations that provide a thread of continuity throughout. Basically the author has developed a method of analysis that reveals how popular culture…