The goal theory of achievement motivation maintains that the goals stressed by schools influence children's self-efficacy and willingness to try hard. This paper examines the applicability of goal theory to a Navajo school and community and widens the focus to encompass a range of potential culturally relevant goals. Interviews were conducted at…

A study undertaken in China investigated the attitudes of 512 students of English as a Second Language, aged 18-52, in 15 colleges and universities. A two-part, semi-structured, open-ended questionnaire, was administered in 1988 and 1989. The first part, the Chinese Values Survey, was designed to examine cultural values from an Eastern rather than…

Few researchers who study political socialization have examined the attitudes, values, and beliefs of low ability, at-risk students. This seems unfortunate if, as is often claimed, the goal of civic education is to deal with all students in such a way as to motivate them to play their part as informed and effective members of a modern democratic…

Based on 134 undergraduate student responses to two dilemmas, one concerning Affirmative Action programs and the second concerning minority student admission to college, it was discerned that these students largely held viewpoints that were consistent with conceptions of a "uniform" culture as opposed to conceptions of diversity and pluralism. In…

The most striking feature of the Japanese social studies curriculum at the elementary level is its role as the instructor of Japanese national values and attitudes. The social studies curriculum has gone through four major revisions since World War II. In the most recent revision, in the early 1980's, the focus has been on instituting new teaching…

The focus of this study was upon the congruence of responses between parents and their children to items pertaining to functions of schooling, school evaluation, school problems, and other school issues. Paired comparison data is reported for parents and students from 25 secondary schools. The interpretive frame of reference for this study stemmed…

The study identified what influence university laboratory attandance had upon cognitive and attitudinal dimensions of gifted secondary school students (IQ's above 125). Tests from the Guilford battery, a self concept scale, and an adaptation of the Coleman Attitude Scale were administered to both the laboratory and the secondary school populations…

The problem undertaken by this study was the assessment of social, psychological, and philosophic factors present in the educational climate of an urban ghetto high school (Denver, Colorado Manual High School), as a preliminary step to the diagnosis and development of an enhanced educational program. Seventy-eight teachers and 798 students…

Presents the results of a study that surveyed a number of U.S. and Scottish undergraduates on the relative acceptance of myths involving sexual assaults. Results suggest that a lower incidence of sexual assaults corresponds to a diminished belief in myths involving rape. Includes statistical analysis of variance. (MJP)

International students in American colleges may have learned an accepted international variety of English, rather than British or American forms. Errors may persist because students want to retain their variety of English and cultural identity. Teachers need to address these errors only if they interfere with communication in the academic context;…

Efforts of 10 Japanese and 9 American teachers in Chiba City (Japan) and Ann Arbor (Michigan), respectively, to socialize their students and the 407 Japanese and 207 American students' judgments of norms were compared. Four domains of classroom life were studied: academic performance; academic procedures; social procedures; and morality. (SLD)

Analysis of 642 slang terms that college students use to characterize peers at Holy Cross College (Massachusetts) and University of California, Davis suggests that undergraduate slang usage is socially complex, the language is reflective of campus and academic life, and that it portrays undergraduate life from the perspective of dominant student…

Discusses issues related to ethical instruction in relation to cultural pluralism. Asserts that increased understanding may serve to intensify differences and that toleration may slide into indifference. Provides a background for teaching about cultural differences and concludes that it is possible to be moral and multicultural at the same time.…

A study investigated beliefs, attitudes, and values upper-division college students have about gender and sexuality and how language is a medium by which these ideologies are created, challenged, and maintained. Further, it looks at how these ideologies are interdependent and interrelated, how symbolic systems of the campus interact as students…

Moral contradictions and cross-purposes in society make formal moral training in the schools difficult. A discussion is presented of the pressure on the schools to provide values education at a time when society itself is unclear about values. The examples provided by parents, television, and other influences in the lives of young people are…