Considers the validity of applying common assessment instruments and scales to assess the language skills of Australian school-age language learners from different first-language backgrounds. Findings reveal a strong relationship between home exposure to the language and the level of performance on the listening and reading components of the…

This study investigated differences in predisposing factors, enabling factors, reinforcing factors, and smoking behavior among middle school students in rural, urban, and suburban areas of Shanghai (China). Surveys in 11 schools indicated that students' smoking behavior was affected strongly by enabling factors and reinforcing factors related to…

Questions 70 politically involved evangelicals on liberal and conservative issues. Discovers a surprising lack of negative correlation (in this instance defined as a strong oppositional belief to positions at the other end of the political spectrum). Discusses possible reasons for this and implications for future research. (MJP)

Examines the role of public officials, social scientists, and educational planners in New Deal programs for Navajo Indians. States that resistance to community schools and stock-reduction policies caused the failure of New Deal programs. Concludes that the Navajo experience can help social planners deal more effectively with other social groups.…

Discusses French colonial rule of Cameroon between World War I and World War II and the establishment of schools specifically for the sons of Cameroon chieftains. Asserts that, like all French education, these schools were elitist. Contends that the French failure to understand African culture doomed these schools to failure. (CFR)

Studies the involvement of 15 Chinese immigrant parents or guardians at 1 school in southern California, and provides information on home/school communication. The study determined, through additional interviews with 10 elementary teachers, at which levels of participation did parents and teachers see themselves working and the kinds of…

Compares mathematics achievement of children in Taiwan and the United States by analyzing the arithmetical learning contexts of each. Interviews with parents and teachers identify cultural beliefs about learning arithmetic; interviews with students identify level of sophistication of arithmetical concepts. Found greater understanding by Chinese…

Describes the role and influence of Mellonee Burnim on U.S. music education. Discusses the origins and impact of African American gospel music. Includes a list of selected resources and two lesson plans featuring gospel music. (CFR)

Asserts that moral education in Singapore has been aimed pragmatically at forging together, by shared values, the four major racial and cultural communities of that nation. Maintains that moral education also has been used to preserve a cultural and national identity against the perceived erosion of Asian roots by Western education. (ACM)

Within the context of German history and reunification, considers what occurs when a traditionally authoritarian culture is exposed to freedom. Explores the impact of this cultural change on education and the development of a free press in Eastern Europe. Examines issues of minority rights, antisemitism, and nationalism. Provides questions and…

Reports on the author's year as a Fulbright Hays Exchange teacher at a bilingual secondary school in Hungary. Describes changes in society, politics, and education since the end of the Cold War. Contends that the school curriculum has deemphasized vocational education and provided more autonomy for teachers. (CFR)

The school lives of culturally diverse young adolescents identified as potential dropouts were studied ethnographically. Data collected across two years indicated that teachers who students considered most successful in helping them learn used practices based on knowledge about students' home cultures and knowledge about the impact of students'…

Posits a distinction between cultures motivated by individualistic value systems (idiocentric) and collectivistic value systems (allocentric). Study reveals that Mexican American adolescents describe themselves in more allocentric terms, while Anglo American adolescents choose idiocentric terms. Suggests a correlation between idiocentric values…

This article discusses the efficacy of early intervention services and programs for young children with special needs, early intervention federal legislation, factors that can affect culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) caregivers' participation in early intervention, and culturally and linguistically sensitive skills and behaviors for…

This chapter examines the unique contributions and strategies of minority-serving institutions that successfully serve and graduate students of color.