Broussard, Rolland L. (1985). An Evaluation of the Cultural Bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment. The cultural bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment, Form AA-l (APLA) was examined. The potential influence of cultural differences on scores of a major ethnic group, Acadians or Cajuns, was investigated. Assessment items most prone to produce differences in scores were isolated and administered to selected groups. No significant differences were found between the scores of the selected ethnic group of native Acadians and non-native Acadians. It was therefore concluded that the APLA was free of cultural bias relative to the ethnic or culturally different group identified as native Acadians. This conclusion applies only to the group of persons (reading levels from 4.0 to 9.0) attending adult education programs in Louisiana, since the entire population of native and non-native Acadians was not sampled. Further research with other ethnic groups would contribute to greater knowledge of the instrument's freedom from cultural bias, thus having a positive influence on its validity….

Hoskins, Marilyn W. (1980). Various Perspectives on Using Women's Organizations in Development Programming. Women in Development. The Women in Development (WID) office of the Agency for International Development held a series of conferences and meetings inviting representatives from less developed countries, women's organizations, private voluntary organizations, and donor groups to discuss current activities and the future potential of women's organizations to implement projects, deliver services, and cooperate with poor women (the majority of the world's poor are women) in identifying, developing, and carrying out WID programs. Participants in these meetings supported the idea of working with women's organizations as one important WID programming approach. Conference proceedings, interviews, and additional literature review are used to present a synthesis in light of future donor programs. The first part of the report summarizes descriptions of expectations, activities and needs of users, of intermediaries, and of donor programming through women's groups and organizations. The second part explores ways the… [PDF]

Cresswell, Anthony M.; And Others (1979). Budgeting and Bargaining Interactions in School Districts: An Ethnoscientific Approach to Field Research. Budgetmaking and bargaining are central resource allocation processes in schools; this study examines how they affect one another. Ethnoscientific techniques were applied in nine Illinois school systems. The results were analyzed to show the flow of the decision process and construction of detailed plans of action. The structure and power relationships among the actors were explored. The results show that interaction between these processes depends on the power relationships between unions and management and on the political and economic environment. A detailed description of the process and questionnaire were developed. (Author)…

Hunter, David E. (1967). Research Report on Dixwell Legal Rights Association, New Haven, Connecticut, Summer, 1967. A 1967 study of the Dixwell Legal Rights Association, New Haven, Connecticut, assessed the goals of the DLRA (training of legal service agency personnel and of nonprofessional neighborhood workers, legal rights education of the poor, social change) and their realization. DLRA services to clients were highly respected. Its militancy and aggressiveness had produced results unattained by other organizations, and of all the regular legal and social service agencies it was most in contact with the alienated ghetto poor. Perhaps its greatest contribution to ghetto self-help was the example of its workers–undereducated ghetto residents actively promoting their own and their neighbors' legal and human rights. A vital function was to uncover and remedy problems arising from existing institutional structures, and DLRA succeeded greatly in this area. Successes were attributed to direct Office of Economic Opportunity financing, small size, and the use of ghetto residents. Success in agency…

Berman, Gerald S.; And Others (1971). Bridges and Ladders: A Descriptive Study in New Careers. Rehabilitation Occupations for the Disadvantaged and Advantaged. Three issues related to New Careers have been explored among a group of college students who are in the main children of lower white collar and blue collar parents, including some with poverty or ghetto backgrounds. The New Careers program has two major components: helping the poor through meaningful employment and opportunity for career ladder advancement in the human services, and helping professionals in social agencies through making available a supply of subprofessional indigenous workers, capable of bridging the gap between staff and clients by cross-interpreting agency and community. The three issues are: (1) Are the poor or those with restricted occupational choices responding to New Careers opportunities? (2) What is the effect of high mobility aspirations on New Careers' interest; is the career-ladder idea sufficient to hold those from lower-class backgrounds? and (3) Is the bridging function congenial to New Careerists, and how does it jibe with the idea of job… [PDF]

(2000). Murra: Guidelines for the Evaluation of Indigenous Content on the WWW. There are over 600 sites on the World Wide Web with substantial Australian Indigenous content. This guide provides strategies for determining which Indigenous sites may be useful in an educational context. Section 1 deals with finding Indigenous content on the World Wide Web. The three main types of search engines are keyword, directory, and meta-search. The differences are explained, and examples are given for each type. Subject lists are descriptions of sites that are compiled by real people. Four examples of subject-specific lists with an Indigenous or educational focus are presented. Search strategies can be refined by making the search as specific as possible, using the advanced search on search engines, using multiple search engines and comparing results, bookmarking good sites, and asking colleagues what online resources they have used. Section 2 concerns site evaluation and discusses who published the site; the importance of including Indigenous authors; author credentials;… [PDF]

Diatchkova, Galina (2002). The Languages of Indigenous Peoples in Chukotka and the Media. In the first half of the 20th century, the social functions of the indigenous languages in Chukotka, in northeast Asia, increased due to the development of written languages, local press, and broadcasting on radio and television. From 1933 to 1989, the local press of indigenous peoples in Chukotka was used for Communist Party propaganda. However, it also improved the indigenous peoples' lives and the development of educational institutions. The local press in Chukotka, published only in the Chukchi language until 1989, was an important forum for maintaining the social functions of indigenous languages. In the 1950s, language assimilation increased because of the language policy and influence of the Russian majority. Indigenous children had to attend boarding schools and were educated in the Russian language. Now the oral traditions are being lost because indigenous families speak mostly Russian and because Native languages are losing their function as transmitters of indigenous… [PDF]

Scheper, George L., Ed. (1999). Community College Humanities Review, 1999. Community College Humanities Review, v20 n1 spec iss Fall. This special issue of the Community College Humanities Review contains articles generated by National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes, held over several years. The institutes provided opportunities for academics from a variety of humanities disciplines and types of institutions to interact over an extended period of common study of topics associated with the encounters of European and indigenous cultures in the New World. The papers included are: (1) "Gender Relations and Political Legitimacy: Replacing Patrilineal with Ancestral Inheritance of Power in Ancient Mayan Society" (Lowell S. Gustafson); (2) "The Making of the Face and Heart: Notes on an Aztec Metaphor" (Paul Aviles); (3) "Image as Text in Post-Contact Mexican Books and Artifacts of Indigenous Origin" (George L. Scheper); (4) "Constructing Nature and Ordering Space/Spain and Mexico" (Mary Ruth Donnelly); (5) "Kiva in the Cloister" (Felix Heap); (6)… [PDF]

Clinch, Emma; McSwan, David; Store, Ron (2001). Otitis Media, Learning and Community. Education in Rural Australia, v11 n2 p27-32. A 3-year research project in Queensland (Australia) implemented educational and health strategies to ameliorate effects of otitis media at three schools in remote Aboriginal communities. The interdisciplinary model brought together health and education professionals, teacher aides, and the community, with the school being the lead agency. However, initial gains dwindled due to rapid staff turnover. (Contains 21 references.) (TD)…

White, Carmen M. (2002). Language, Authenticity and Identity: Indigenous Fijian Students and Language Use in Schools. Language, Culture and Curriculum, v15 n1 p16-29. Examines indigenous language use in schools in Fiji, where English is the language of instruction in secondary schools but where indigenous Fijian has a strong presence. Explores attitudes of indigenous Fijian secondary school students on English-language usage among peers and suggests that an indigenous group can define group authenticity independently of an oppositional identity. (Author/VWL)…

Wilson, Jim (1993). The Nedut'en Talking Dictionary Project: A QuickTime Approach to Preserving and Teaching Native Languages. Canadian Journal of Educational Communication, v22 n3 p207-20 Win. Describes a project that used QuickTime digital television to create multimedia computer programs to supplement and expand native language instruction in elementary schools in British Columbia. The Nedut'en dialect of the Carrier language is explained, computer-assisted language instruction is discussed, and technical limitations are considered. (Contains 16 references.) (LRW)…

Casper, Donna Kay (1992). Christopher Columbus: Explorer and Geographer (1492). Bulletin of the Illinois Geographical Society, v34 n1 p3-15 Spr. Presents a two-week lesson designed to begin a year-long world geography course. Provides background and information on the Age of Discovery and the study of geography. Includes maps, study guides, and student readings. (CFR)…

Weber, Jane (1992). The Plundering of a Culture. Bulletin of the Illinois Geographical Society, v34 n1 p16-26 Spr. Presents a 3-4 day lesson designed to be used in U.S. history or geography classes. Discusses the cultural effects of the encounter between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Includes maps, student readings, and recommended instructional resources. (CFR)…

Tatz, Colin (1991). Australia's Genocide: "They Soon Forget Their Offspring.". Social Education, v55 n2 p97-98 Feb. Provides an overview of the decimation of the Aborigines in Australia since 1806. Describes extent of the acts of persecution, discrimination, and victimization of these people. Says governmental policy and practice spread throughout all colonies and states and was premeditated and deliberate. Maintains Aborigines are still denied needed services. (NL)…

Eckermann, Anne-Katrin; Kaplan, Gisela (1996). Identity and Culture Shock: Aboriginal Children and Schooling in Australia. McGill Journal of Education, v31 n1 p7-24 Win. Observes the activities and characteristics of Aboriginal children in an Aboriginal school and compares these to the culture shock and alienation experienced when they transfer to a mainstream school. Identifies five major stressors of culture shock as mechanical differences, communication, attitudes and beliefs, customs, and isolation. (MJP)…

Campbell, Karen A.; Garrity, John F.; Main, Karen; Schoenberg, Nancy E.; Snider, Lyle B. (2001). The Kentucky Homeplace Project: Family Health Care Advisers in Underserved Rural Communities. Journal of Rural Health, v17 n3 p179-86 Sum. In the Kentucky Homeplace Project, specially trained paraprofessionals who live in medically underserved rural communities make home visits, facilitate access to health care, and provide case management and culturally appropriate prevention education for poor families. Strengths include local administration and staff and holistic and traditional frameworks for service delivery. Weaknesses include funding issues, client dependency, and minimal evaluation. (SV)…

Smith, Allister (2005). Index for Inclusion. Kairaranga, v6 n2 p23-24. Index for Inclusion is a programme to assist in developing learning and participation in schools. It was written by Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, UK. Central Normal School was pleased to have the opportunity to trial this programme…. [PDF]

Duquette, Cheryll (2003). Perceptions of Learning and Stages of Concern among Graduates of a Native Teacher Education Program. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, v49 n4 p341-353 Win. The purpose of this study was to examine the learning outcomes of students who had recently completed a two-year community-based Native Teacher Education Program (NTEP). The participants were 22 graduates of an NTEP who responded to open-ended items in a questionnaire on what they had learned throughout the program. Four women also participated in a focus group. The learning of the graduates was grouped according to the categories found in a previously developed framework: curriculum planning and evaluation, discipline and classroom management, pupils and pupil-teacher interactions, and the profession of teaching (Duquette & Cook, 1999). It was found that the NTEP graduates learned the most in the first three areas of the framework. As well, those with more than five years of experience working in the schools learned more in the pupils and pupil-teacher interactions category than their less experienced peers. The learning as stated by all the graduates showed that they addressed… [Direct]

Weeks, Denise Jarrett (2001). Under the Same Sun. Northwest Education, v7 n2 p12-19 Win. In rural Alaska villages, Native students benefit from having Native teachers who share their culture. Past and present efforts to increase the number of fully certified Native teachers include distance education courses, often taken by Native teacher aides; a fifth-year rural teacher internship for college graduates; and campus-based and field-based teacher education programs. (SV)…

Lawrence, Barbara Kent (1995). "What the Red Squirrel Is To the Gray": The Importance of Culture in the Composition of School Boards on Mount Desert Island, Maine. This paper examines the imbalance in representation of native-born Mainers on the school board in Mount Desert Island, Maine. Mount Desert Island is the location of Acadia, the second most visited national park in the United States. In this community, native-born Mainers represent 68 percent of the year-round population, but 80 percent of people serving on the school board are residents as a result of in-migration. The paper identifies cultural themes that have evolved from Maine's history, its position as the eastern "frontier," and exigencies of its climate and economy. An analysis based on acculturation theory and role theory found that cultural differences between native-born Mainers and in-migrants deter local people from competing for leadership roles in their communities. The poor representation of native-born people on local school boards negatively affects the education of their children, and, in effect, those who most need a voice do not have one. The reasons… [PDF]

Emekauwa, Emeka; Williams, Doris Terry, Ed. (2004). They Remember What They Touch…: The Impact of Place-Based Learning in East Feliciana Parish. Rural Trust White Paper on Place-Based Education. Rural School and Community Trust Stressed by high poverty levels, a low tax base and low teacher salaries, the East Feliciana School District competes, most often unsuccessfully, with neighboring districts and states, and with a relatively segregated white academy system for qualified teachers and pupil resources. Consequently, at the dawn of the federal government's landmark education reform initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 55.8% percent of the district's K-8 teachers were not fully certified to teach and 80% of its students were performing below average in at least one core subject. At the same time, only 31.8% of the parish's adult population had completed high school and fewer than 5% were college graduates. With a median household income of $26,864, 26% of the parish's children were living below the poverty level. This paper describes the implementation and results of a reform effort, undertaken in the late 1990s, that focused on place-based science and mathematics education. Standardized test… [PDF]

Baker, Frederick J. (1991). Education in Micronesia: A Multicultural Perspective. Traditional education in Micronesia has been informal and experiential, with a communal orientation. Certain knowledge is secret, and much folklore and mythology is sacred. For over 100 years, Western-style education has been imposed on Micronesia by the Spanish, Germans, Japanese, and Americans. Western education has focused on instruction in the language of the administering authority; literacy in that language; and vocational skills following a modern pattern, with emphasis on the development of individuality. There has been no effort to build on the preexisting foundations of traditional education. As Micronesians increasingly accept a money economy and consumer society, traditional education has lost status and prestige. The result has been impoverishment of the native languages–many children lack literacy in either their own language or English. Now that self-government is upon them, this generation of Micronesians must decide on the best form of education for their country…. [PDF]

(2002). Academic Annual Report, 2001-2002. Red River College, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest and most comprehensive institute of applied learning in the province. It provides education and training to 32,000 full- and part-time enrollees per year, and offers more than 110 diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs. The 2000/2001 annual employment and satisfaction survey of College graduates indicates that 85% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the education and training they received, while 80% strongly agreed or agreed that the training they received was up-to-date. Academic offerings, ranging from Aboriginal and Teacher Education to Mechanical Engineering technology, are detailed in the report. The College Expansion Initiative (CEI) supports the growth of Manitoba's public college system. Under CEI, all four public colleges have developed multi-year expansion plans. As part of the planning process, Red River College is now offering 317 courses using WebCT, up from 44, and the number of students… [PDF]

Patterson, Lotsee; Taylor, Rhonda Harris (1996). Tribally Controlled Community College Libraries: A Paradigm for Survival. College & Research Libraries, v57 n4 p316-29 Jul. This study reports on the results of a mail survey administered to tribally controlled college libraries during 1993, just before the colleges were granted federal land-grant college status. Highlights include the historical development of the institutions operated by Native American Indian tribes; budgets; staff; services; computer utilization; and collections. (15 tables) (Author/LRW)…

Ereaux, Jim (1998). The Impact of Technology on Salish Kootenai College. WICAZO SA Review, v13 n2 p117-35 Fall. Interviews at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) evaluating the role of technology in the future of Native American education found general agreement that the strengths of technology should be used, within social limits. Reviews mainstream writers' evaluations of technology's impacts on society. Describes different concepts held by SKC and mainstream colleges towards technology-related issues. (TD)…

Airini (1998). What Is Good Teaching? Lessons from Maori Pedagogy. A postcolonial analysis suggests the need for a new theory of education that supports a model of genuinely bicultural education in New Zealand. Ways in which mainstream education might be enhanced by Maori pedagogies are explored through interviews with a preservice primary school teacher of Maori descent. In the area of rules of practice, Maori views of good teaching, such as the belief that people come before paperwork and that the child's ahua (aura or presence) should be nourished, may involve encouraging rules of practice less familiar to mainstream educators, resisting rules of mainstream education, and looking holistically at the implications of poor rules of practice. Concerning practical principles, Maori pedagogy holds that a safe learning environment is fundamental to good teaching, and that in the discussion of a single principle, one should hear all principles. Maori images of good teaching include the use of culturally relevant values to ensure consistency in delivery… [PDF]

Lipka, Jerry (1999). Closing the Gap: Education and Change in New Stuyahok. Case Study. As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines reform efforts underway in New Stuyahok, a community of 440 people in southwestern Alaska. The population is almost entirely Yup'ik Eskimo. The K-12 school enrolls about 150 students. In 1992, Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) established district and village leadership teams that began the process of bridging the gap between school and community. Through a collaborative approach to planning, the school and community established two major goals: postsecondary success and increased bilingualism. A 1995 action plan sought to increase community involvement in the AOTE process, the use of community instructors, village pride in Yup'ik culture and language, and integration of community culture in the school. The bilingual education program was also targeted for improvement. From 1993 to the present, student achievement has shown a positive trend, with improvements in postsecondary… [PDF]

Gaquin, Sheila (2006). The Year of Writing. Educational Leadership, v63 n5 p80-81 Feb. In this column, the author relates her experience as a teacher in a K-12 school in Point Hope, Alaska, where most of the students spoke "village English," a form of nonstandard English mixed with the village's native language of Inupiaq. She relates how the students' reading test scores, which had been below the 25th percentile, were increased by instruction which included a combination of guided reading, shared reading, vocabulary development, explicit phonics, literacy groups, flexible grouping, team teaching, and parent involvement. The focus then turned to improving writing scores. Using daily writing exercises, along with having the students evaluate others' writing, resulted in significant improvement by year-end. (Contains 1 figure.)… [Direct]

Stiles, Dawn B. (1997). Four Successful Indigenous Language Programs. This paper examines four indigenous language programs to compare common components, problems, and outcomes. The programs are Cree Way in Quebec, Canada, Hualapai in Arizona, Te Kohanga Reo (Maori) in New Zealand, and Punana Leo (Hawaiian) in Hawaii. These programs were chosen for four characteristics: (1) the languages are no longer transmitted to the younger generation (in the home or community); (2) the programs all have curriculum development, community support, parent involvement, and government support; (3) the programs exist in different countries; and (4) they are recommended as model programs for endangered indigenous languages. Each program's description covers historical background; program development; funding; parent, community, and academic involvement; and current status. Each program has a curriculum that combines indigenous language and cultural heritage, literacy, community involvement, and parent participation. Common problems are related to teacher availability,… [PDF]

Jacobs, Sue-Ellen; Martinez, Esther; Tuttle, Siri G. (1998). Multimedia Technology in Language and Culture Restoration Efforts at San Juan Pueblo: A Brief History of the Development of the Tewa Language Project. WICAZO SA Review, v13 n2 p45-58 Fall. The Tewa Language Project CD-ROM was developed at the University of Washington in collaboration with San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, to restore the use of spoken and written Tewa and to repatriate cultural property. The CD-ROM contains an interactive multimedia dictionary, songs, stories, photographs, land and water data, and linguistic resources collected in the early 1900s and 1960s-70s. (TD)…