In the study reported here, 133 subjects (Ss) were selected randomly from one elementary school. Ss were showed photographs of Bushmen performing daily activities and asked to predict whether a Bushman would prefer specific indigenous customs or their American equivalents, and then to justify the prediction. Scores for three types of predictions…

This study explored hetero- and auto-stereotyping in 23 Pakistani students studying in the United States; 21 French and 20 American college students enrolled at the University of Besancon, France; and 59 American college students who had never lived or studied abroad. All subjects completed a four-page questionnaire in their native language in…

Many universities promote cultural awareness by directly teaching sensitivity toward cultural diversity. Because students tend to be somewhat ethnocentric, which is not consonant with the display of culturally tolerant attitudes, multicultural education can help them acquire more tolerant attitudes. The paper describes the influence of a course in…

This doctoral thesis analyzes the effect of the Anthropology Curriculum Project (ACP) materials, "Concept of Culture," on the ethnocentric attitudes of fourth-grade students. Twenty-two fourth-grade public-school classes in Georgia served as the sample population. The hypotheses were that classes using the ACP materials would evidence…

Discusses ways to prevent explicit racists from becoming teachers; explains how racism affects student teachers and how to test for it using measures of ethnocentrism to screen prospective students; discusses implications of misleading analyses of racism in some contemporary literature, criticizing the approach to racism in the Swann Report…

Reporting on a pilot study of urban junior high students, this report examines the way young people acquire perceptions of their own and other nations and attempts to identify the sources of those ideas. This action research approach used a survey research instrument with a 20-item semantic differential form to measure students' knowledge of and…

This paper demonstrates with specific examples from various students' journals how subtly and, at the same time, pervasively ethnocentricity expresses itself, and offers suggestions on how to assess and combat ethnocentric beliefs through writing assignments and classroom exercises in an international business law course at Indiana University. The…

Perceptions of elementary school students in selected schools of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota toward the world, China, India, and Nigeria are investigated. The study includes a review of related literature, a review of existing research on children's attitudes toward American and other nations, and recording and interpreting approximately 300…

Discusses growing concern about negative attitudes toward Japan and Japanese people among secondary school and college students. Describes the use of quality control circles to bridge the cultural divide. Reports on the success of the program and argues that teachers have a responsibility to promote cultural understanding and diversity. (CFR)

Contends that computers and television have contributed to a sense of global connectedness. Presents reviews of a computer software program and two videotape series that focus on global issues and children in other cultures. Asserts that instructional materials such as these can help reduce ethnocentrism among students. (CFR)