(2000). Preservice Teachers Integrate Understandings of Diversity Into Literacy Instruction: An Adaptation of the ABC's Model. Journal of Teacher Education, v51 n2 p135-42 Mar-Apr. Investigated preservice teachers' understandings of their own and their students' cultural backgrounds, examining how they integrated those understandings into literacy instruction. The ABC model (autobiographies, biographies of students, cross-cultural analysis, analysis of cultural differences, and classroom practices) helped stimulate students to continue examining their lives, their cultural/linguistic backgrounds, and the impact of those factors on teaching diverse students. (SM)…
(1995). Education of Migrant Children in the United States. Directions in Language and Education, v1 n8. This report discusses demographic characteristics of migrant students in the United States, their educational needs, the features of federally-funded programs under the Migrant Education Program (MEP) legislation reform, and suggestions for enhancing current migrant student performance. The MEP was established in 1966 and reauthorized in 1994. It provides educational services for migrant students and facilitates interstate coordination of these services. Demographics outlined include geographical distribution by state, age, and language of the program participants. Educational needs reviewed include factors of mobility, work and family responsibilities, poverty, and language and culture. The 1994 reauthorization mandated reforms that focused limited federal funds on the neediest students with the highest risk of academic failure. Strategies for improving migrant student performance include classroom buddies, parent outreach, attention to warning signs, extracurricular activities,… [PDF]
(1993). Raising Standards and Measuring Performance Equitably: Challenges for the National Education Goals Panel and State Assessment Systems. Approaches to equitable performance standards and assessment are discussed with three points of focus. First, the work of the National Education Goals Panel is described, with particular attention to Goal 3, Student Achievement and Citizenship, and the Panel's efforts to establish world-class standards of performance. National standards are assumed to include content standards, student performance standards, school delivery standards, and system performance standards. Second, four possible approaches to standard-setting for students with special needs are presented. They include the following: one standard for everybody; same standard, different conditions; different standards for different groups; and exclusion of some groups from assessment altogether. Potential advantages and disadvantages of each approach are discussed. Third, a discussion of how states are reacting to the national interest in standard-setting and assessments focuses on the standards-based approach to… [PDF]
(1993). The Development and Implementation of Training Workshops Directly Related to Programming for Daycare Directors in Northern Canada. Daycare directors in northern Canada, with little or no post-secondary education, face the difficulties of programming for children from diverse cultures. Directors often feel isolated in their small communities, and a lack of programming expertise and early childhood development training for them has become a concern. This practicum designed, implemented, and evaluated a three-part strategy for training daycare directors. First, an initial visit focused on evaluating existing programs and targeting areas for improvement. Second, a one-day programming workshop presented material relevant to each director. The workshop was approximately 6 hours long, during which participants were introduced to a programming method intended to develop the social, physical, intellectual, creative, and emotional aspects of the child. Third, follow-up visits provided feedback to each director and reinforced curriculum programming strategies. Both on-site visits ranged from 3 to 6 hours. The program was… [PDF]
(1997). Cultural Reflections: Work, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany, Social Studies. Grades 9-12. Update 1997/1998. This packet contains three lessons designed for the high school classroom. Lessons include: (1) "The German Worker"; (2) "Government in Germany"; and (3) "Culture and Daily Life in Germany." Student activities focus on comparative economic systems, worker training and apprenticeship programs, structure of government with case studies of the health care system and the federal budget, the role of the press in Germany, and leisure activities. Numerous activities, handouts, worksheets, and transparencies accompany the lessons. ERIC copy of the document contains photocopies of the transparencies. (EH)… [PDF]
(1998). Education in Multi-Ethnic Societies of Central and Eastern Europe. A Skills Exchange Workshop (Bulgaria, November 7-10, 1997). Workshop Report. To address problems in public education for majority and minority ethnic groups in Central and Eastern Europe, Minority Rights Group International and the Inter Ethnic Initiative for Human Rights Foundation organized a skills exchange workshop in Sofia, Bulgaria in November 1997. Representatives from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovkia came together to address ways of making the education system responsive to the differing needs of minority and majority communities. This workshop report summarizes the key discussions and illustrates examples of good practice. An introductory section gives background information to the workshop and an overview of the discussions. The report's central section summarizes discussions and participants' views on the varied dimensions of multiculturalism in educational policy, concerns about imposing standard solutions to diverse situations, essential elements of successful educational policy and implementation, the legislative framework of…
(1990). Educating African American Males: A Dream Deferred. This document presents recommendations of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) African American Male Task Force (MAAMTF), which reviewed from January through April of 1990 current educational efforts and recommended strategies by which schools could better address African American males' needs. The MAAMTF recommendations are to be implemented in two phases. Phase I focuses on district policy, staff development, and structural variation based on the notion that all students can learn at increasingly higher levels. The following are Phase I recommendations: (1) multicultural curricula; (2) flexible structuring for academic areas; (3) quality after-school, summer, and Saturday programs; (4) enhanced homework policies; (5) staff training and assistance for working with diverse populations; (6) increasing the number of African American teachers, especially males; (7) parent involvement; (8) inservice courses for all staff members on African American history and culture and racism in America; (9)…
(1992). Preparing for a Global Community. Achieving an International Perspective in Higher Education. ERIC Digest. This brief report summarizes a longer document with the same title. The report discusses the response of colleges and universities in the United States to the needs of graduate students to become equipped to make personal and and public policy decisions as citizens of an international society. It notes that curriculum changes in higher education are showing greater enhancements of the international experience in the classroom and a tightening of foreign language standards. Federal spending in undergraduate study abroad has also increased substantially, as well as the U.S. commitment to working with the Economic Community and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to standardize educational credential reporting, licensing, and certification. Steps that faculty and administrators can take in this environment include widening the curriculum to expose students to other cultures, widening opportunities for international contact, and evaluating… [PDF]
(1992). Preparing for a Global Community. Achieving an International Perspective in Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 2, 1992. This report discusses the response of colleges and universities in the United States to the need of graduate students to become equipped to make personal and public policy decisions as citizens of an international society. Curriculum changes are showing a tightening of foreign language standards in schools of higher education and, throughout the curriculum, faculty are including material from other countries and advances in computer and satellite communication to enhance the international experience without leaving the classroom. Additionally, the international focus on higher education has been boosted through a major U.S. initiative that tripled federal spending on undergraduate study abroad. The United States is also cooperating with foreign representatives in working with the Economic Community and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization to standardize educational credential reporting, licensing, and certification. Governments are also looking with… [PDF]
(1983). Nonverbal Factors in the Education of Chinese American Children: A Film Study. The research described in this paper examined nonverbal factors affecting the education of Chinese American children in bilingual/bicultural classrooms. The purpose was to define how such variables as interpersonal distance, arrangement and use of space, pace of participants, size of groups, use of time, and interpersonal synchrony influenced the behavior and response of students. The investigation also explored associations between language of instruction and these variables, as well as the effects of variations of classroom ethnic composition. Research methods involved analysis of research films of classrooms and film interviews with people associated with the classrooms and students. Findings showed that Chinese American students responded best to situations in which there were close interpersonal distances, a slow to moderate pace, arrangements that did not isolate individuals, and activities that involved group processes. They responded particularly well in situations with… [PDF]
(1982). Interaction Strategies of First Graders Who Have Experienced Different Bilingual Preschool Models. Final Report. Three different bilingual, bicultural curriculum, preschool models encouraged children to use three different interaction strategies, but the models had no lasting effects on the children's first grade interactions, according to a year's observation of the communication experiences of 42 Mexican American children of varying English language proficiencies in three Southwest classroom sites. In the preschool setting, the experiences emphasized by the curriculum model in use influenced the frequency of strategy employed by the children. In the first grade, the structure of the children's communicative episodes were similar in Spanish-dominant, bilingual, and English-dominant classrooms; but the frequency of strategy use differed by classroom type. Language proficiency influenced how children used strategies, which differed with peers and adults. Interaction sequences related to language acquisition accounted for 50% of the communication acts in a given communicative episode. Children… [PDF]
(1982). Multi-Ethnic School Environments Project. Final Report. Three studies of schools during their first year of voluntary desegregation focused on classroom dynamics and inter-ethnic socialization occurring inside and outside the classroom. The initial study, an exploratory field investigation of four classrooms, involved 600 hours of observation and collaboration with teachers and principals through interviews and audiotapes. A validation study was conducted the following year in a similar school using similar research techniques. This report summarizes the validity study findings and compares them with those of the first study. Chapter I is an introduction. Chapter II describes the background of the desegregation process in the school districts. Brief sketches of the teachers in the study and descriptions of the schools are presented in chapter III. Chapter IV presents summaries of the findings, including instructional practices, classroom management, moral socialization, socioemotional development, efforts to encourage social integration,… [PDF]
(1981). A Model Program for the Training of Professionals in Bilingual/Bicultural Education. Legal mandates and a demonstrated need for preservice and graduate instruction in bilingual and bicultural teacher education provided the impetus for initiating four programs at Northern Illinois University. This training program contains undergraduate and graduate program options in elementary education for the certification of bilingual teachers. The program also offers graduate options for the training of bilingual counselors and curriculum specialists. The first program option is a fulltime undergraduate program which leads to a bachelor of science degree in elementary education with an emphasis on bilingual/bicultural education. An outline is given of the coursework, the functions of a bilingual tutor for improving language skills in English or Spanish, diagnostic language procedures, and field experience programs. A similar outline is provided for the second option, which leads either to a master of science in elementary education with a specialization in bilingual/bicultural…
(1981). Bibliography of Materials. This annotated bibliography of social studies materials, language arts materials, mathematics materials and miscellaneous publications was developed by the Asian American Bilingual Center. The materials are organized in the form of kits designed for ten weeks of instruction in each of three curriculum levels: identity, needs, and interaction. The social studies materials list includes entries in environmental studies and fine arts which are available in both Chinese/English and Pilipino/English editions. Chinese, Pilipino, Japanese and Korean materials are featured in the language arts section which emphasizes the gradual introduction of language patterns relative to speaking, writing, reading and listening of each respective language. Mathematics materials are available in Chinese English and Pilipino English editions. The three curriculum levels correspond with each of two elementary grades. The social studies materials list contains a limited number of entries suitable for high…
(1979). Native American Career Education Staff/Community Training Workshop. Coordinator's Manual. Native American Career Education Demonstration Project. This staff/community training workshop handbook was written for teachers, counselors, career education specialists, administrators, and other educational staff; for parents, and Indian community representatives; and for any others who will be providing support for a native American career education program, or who will be actively engaged in developing and implementing it. The workshop consists of four sessions. The first session is devoted to providing participants with a general background in career education content and goals, and helping them begin to identify career education resources which are already available. The second session describes the various groups of people who can be involved in developing and implementing career education. The third session describes methods for teaching career education to native American students, beginning with a series of transparencies illustrating traditional Indian education methods, and goes on to introduce the twelve units in the native… [PDF]