This book sets forth a process for implementing effective education and counseling strategies for culturally diverse populations. In particular, it helps to identify characteristics of cultures, to make comparisons between the dominant culture and culturally different groups, and to develop strategies or interventions for students or clients. Key to this work is a model presented in the first chapter for understanding the role of culture in the life of the individual and for exploring ethnic differences. This model finds the individual at the center of concentric half circles surrounded first by family, community, culture, and global influences. In this model, self-awareness is fundamental as a first step toward understanding culture's role. The cultural influence circle contains concepts of acculturation, poverty, history of oppression, language and the arts, racism and prejudice, socio-political factors, child rearing practices, religious practices, family structure, and cultural values and attitudes. This chapter also describes the dominant culture of the United States as "Anglo-Saxon." Subsequent chapters in this book describe the cultures of the following people: (1) African Americans; (2) Amish; (3) Native Americans; (4) Japanese Americans; (5) Chinese Americans; (6) Vietnamese; (7) Korean Americans; (8) Mexican Americans; and (9) Puerto Rican Americans. Most chapters offer references. (JB)