Studied factors contributing to the academic achievement of nine high-achieving urban female students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Findings demonstrate the importance of a community of achievement created by these students within their school and the importance of parental expectations. (SLD)

Reports on a study of White and minority middle school and high school students' perceptions of racial tension and harmony in classrooms and schools in Louisville, Kentucky, following court-ordered busing to achieve racial desegregation. (EF)

Examined African American elementary school students' interpretations of culturally relevant teachers within urban contexts. Student responses indicated that culturally relevant teaching strategies had a positive effect on student effort and engagement in class content. Students preferred teachers who were caring, who established community- and…

Evaluated an in-school mentoring program for underserved elementary students that emphasized personal and social responsibility (self-control, respect, effort, participation, self-direction, and helping others). Student interviews and teacher and mentor journals indicated that students were able to apply the goal of effort to classroom learning…

Investigated social pressure to avoid acting white, interviewing relatively high achieving African American and Mexican American students in public and private high schools. Most did not avoid academic achievement to avoid accusations of acting white, and most reported no loss of ethnic identity. They felt strong resentment toward peers'…

Qualitative research conducted with 14 Vietnamese American students in Boston (Massachusetts) shows that social exclusion and racial conflict are daily realities. Perspectives of these students challenge the validity of the dominant black-white model that defines public understanding of race relations. (SLD)

Compared student-teacher perception of discipline and examined how ethnicity, achievement, gender, and position influenced practices. Data from 16 urban high school students and 9 teachers indicated that interpersonal conflicts were more consequential for students of color. Evidence surfaced of disparate perceptions among ethnically diverse…

Quantitatively frames time allocation preferences and temporal dominance characteristics for 308 students perceived to be at risk by teachers in large urban high schools. Comparison with 205 normally attaining students indicates strong preferences among at-risk students for nondirected, time-consuming activities and weak temporal dominance or…

A qualitative case study explored the perceptions of 37 urban secondary school students and 12 teachers about their school and community. Teachers and students worked in a landscape characterized as one of "urban abstraction," a term that helps explain the complex and contradictory fabric of current urban life. (SLD)

How students' ethnicity perceptions affect the educational process is ethnographically studied through interviews of about 50 students attending a multiethnic high school in a California city. Ethnicity's relevance varies depending on social situations and students' interpretations of events. Denial of one's ethnic identity centers around…

Discusses ongoing ethnographic research on interpersonal caring at an inner-city elementary school. Analyzes the perceptions of teachers, parents, teaching assistants, and students concerning how they describe what acting in the best interest of others means. Considers issues that may hinder the construction of shared meaning. (JB)

This study of diversity within a Catholic high school in a midwestern city examines the effect of the "caring community" on the achievement of African-American and other minority students. Through teacher, student, and parent interviews, analyzes caring and helping offered, uses of humor, and involvement in school activities. (JB)