(1997). Literature. CUNY Panel: Rethinking the Disciplines. Women in the Curriculum Series. This collection of six essays examines the ways in which literature, as a discipline, reflects ongoing scholarship on gender, race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. In "Rethinking the Discipline of Literature: Gender," Joan E. Hartman presents the results of a Modern Language Association survey that highlights the prominence of feminist approaches to literature. In "Latin American Literature," Daisy Cocco de Filippis addresses the marginalized place of Latin American women writers in the curriculum. In "Medieval Studies," Steven F. Kruger notes that the new scholarship enriches and broadens contemporary views of medieval culture. In "Eighteenth-Century Studies," Sally O'Driscoll discusses the effects of queer theory on the field, while in "The Impact of Asian-American Literature," Amy Ling reviews the growing but limited impact of Asian-American literature on English departments. In "Caribbean Literature,"… [PDF]
(1996). Conflict Resolution: The Value of Diversity in the Recruitment, Selection, and Training of Peer Mediators. School Counselor, v43 n5 p392-410 May. Discusses issues of diversity as program objectives in recruiting, selecting, and training peer mediators. Asserts that coordinators of peer mediation programs should select mediators that represent a cross section of the student body that reflects sensitivity to the school's demographic composition. (KW)…
(1995). The Chula/Fish Creek Connection. Canadian Social Studies, v29 n4 p16-18,23 Sum. Describes a social studies cultural exchange program between a public school and a Canadian native school in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Outlines how the students became mutual inquirers into one another's cultures. Explores the activities and reports on the interactions among students, teachers, and parents. (CFR)…
(1990). Mentoring and Cultural Diversity in Academic Settings. American Behavioral Scientist, v34 n2 p188-200 Nov-Dec. Examines the role of planned mentoring and claims that it can increase retention and graduation rates of culturally diverse students. Addresses causes of minority students' attrition rates and delayed graduation. Argues greater student/faculty contact can solve academic and nonacademic problems. Discusses development and administration of mentoring programs. (NL)…
(1995). Images of the Third World: Teaching a Geography of the Third World. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, v19 n3 p285-97 Nov. Profiles an undergraduate college class that critically examines newspaper, map, and poster representations of the developing nations. Beginning exercises reveal how a person's gender, race, and background influence his or her construction and interpretation of cultural images. Includes a 29-item bibliography concerning deconstruction of images and developing nations. (MJP)…
(1994). Books for a Small Planet: A Multicultural-Intercultural Bibliography for Young English Language Learners. This annotated bibliography lists a variety of books and reading materials that may be of interest to teachers of students learning English as a Second Language. They are appropriate for reading outside of class or as a supplement to classroom materials. All are trade books, not language instruction books, reflect a variety of cultures with which immigrant students may identify, and focus on respect for cultural differences. The listing includes books for all school age groups. Entries are presented in four parts: picture books, word books, and stories; legends, fables, folk tales, and fairy tales; fiction; and nonfiction. Appendices provide cross-references by location, ethnic group, and topic. A list of 18 additional useful references is appended. (MSE)…
(1995). Contact: An Intercollegiate Team Teaching Project. In an effort to present multicultural content in a non-threatening and effective way, an intercollegiate, team-taught General Psychology course was sponsored by Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC), a rural college on a Native American reservation in Northeast Nebraska, and Metropolitan Community College (MCC), an urban college in Omaha. The course provided urban students and faculty with the opportunity to participate in Native American cultural events and classes at the reservation college campus. It also offered an opportunity to determine whether cross-cultural contact facilitated by in-class discussions would result in measurable change in awareness and knowledge of multicultural factors. Student awareness and knowledge regarding multicultural issues in psychology were measured through pre- and post-tests using an established instrument, which was also administered to a control group of students in a traditional General Psychology class at MCC. An analysis of responses… [PDF]
(1993). The Community College and International Education: A Report of Progress. Volume III. The third in a series of reports on international education efforts at individual community colleges, this publication highlights the progress made by College of DuPage in Illinois in implementing international education. Part I includes "Integrating the International/Intercultural Dimension," an essay by Maxwell C. King and Seymour H. Fersh which discusses the relationship between international and intercultural education, reviews progress made by colleges and consortia in the international education arena, and identifies basic sources and resources. In addition, part I provides information on the U.S Department of Education's Center for International Education, the ERIC Clearinghouse for Junior Colleges, the American Council on International/Intercultural Education, the College Consortium for International Studies, and Community Colleges for International Development, Inc. Part II discusses the International/Intercultural Education program at College of DuPage, including… [PDF]
(1994). Multi-Facet Multicultural School Assessment: Adapting and Norming the AARS/POSIT. The National Institute on Mental Health attempted to address the issue of providing a reliable baseline on alcohol-related problems among adolescents with the Adolescent Assessment Referral System (AARS). Part of this tool is the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument (POSIT), a 139-item questionnaire printed in English and Spanish. This questionnaire was administered to three cultural groups in New Mexico schools: (1) 80 Navajo youths; (2) 100 Mexican-American adolescents; and (3) 109 Anglo American adolescents. Data from the POSIT for these groups were compared with cutting scores generated by the AARS. Navajo males have the highest scores for substance use and abuse, followed by Navajo females. Female Mexican Americans have the lowest score on this item. Only female Anglo teens approached the prescribed cutting score for physical health status. The mental health status item reflected pathology among all racial and ethnic groups, with Navajo females registering the highest scores…. [PDF]
(1991). RSC Classroom Research Consortium Project: 1990-91/Year-Two Report. In 1989, a consortium of four community colleges in Southern California (i.e., Cerritos College, Mt. San Antonio College, Rancho Santiago College, and Rio Hondo College) received a Title III grant of $2.5 million to support the development of innovative teaching and learning programs. The specific goals of the project are to increase the academic success and persistence of diverse students and to develop a model to train, pilot, and assess new classroom teaching and learning strategies. During the second year of the 5-year project, over 200 faculty were trained to pilot test and assess classroom methods; and pilot curricula were developed for computer-assisted instruction, cooperative learning, critical thinking, learning logs across the disciplines, classroom assessment and research, and library research with new technologies. Following a review of second-year project activities, the bulk of this report consists of narratives by faculty describing their application of various…
(1994). The Relationship between Interest in Teaching as a Career Choice and Perceptions of School/Classroom Environment of 7th and 8th Grade Students. This study was conducted to ascertain whether future teachers, particularly students of color. can be identified at the 7th and 8th grade levels, and to determine whether their interest or noninterest in teaching is related to how they feel and think about school. Participants were 7th and 8th grade students (N=646) from eight California schools. To measure students' potential interest in teaching, a survey instrument was developed; to determine perceptions of school/classroom environment, the sample was asked to complete a true-false and forced choice instrument, the "Quality of School Life." Findings indicated that it was possible to identify 7th and 8th grade students who were interested in teaching. Additional findings showed: that male students and students with negative perceptions of the school/classroom environment were less inclined to express interest in teaching; that students who felt part of the school were more apt to consider teaching as a career choice;… [PDF]
(1990). Developing Collaboratively an International School Special Needs Plan for Multicultural, Multilingual, and Multinational Secondary Students. The International School of Brussels (Belgium) developed a program of Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA) to increase support for "at risk" multicultural, multilingual, and multinational students. The at-risk population included three groups: those who passed standardized English as a Foreign Language tests but were not literate enough for regular classes; those with learning problems not identified in previous language or culture; and those who experienced temporary learning disabilities because of a discrepancy between what they brought to the school program and what the school program asked of them. The CBA philosophy was chosen because it supported emphasis on local needs and a school-appropriate standard of performance for students. regardless of culture, language, or nationality. A screening test was developed to identify enabling skills, and remedial instruction was provided if necessary. At the end of the school year, participating staff and students were satisfied… [PDF]
(1986). Developing an Understanding of Haitian Culture through Select Social Studies Objectives in a Class for Learning Disabled Students. Designed to introduce global perspectives in a sixth-grade class for learning disabled students, this program was designed to help students develop an understanding of Haitian culture and a sense of empathy for persons of Haitian background. The program contained seven strategies: film watching, game playing, food sampling, class discussions, story reading, Gestalt strategies, and societal media involvement. At the conclusion of the 10-week program, all of the students showed a significant gain in understanding Haitian culture and a sense of caring for students of Haitian background. Understanding and empathy are crucial in schools where many Haitian children attend, but the methods and strategies can have broad applicability. Pretests and postests, an attitudinal questionnaire, and a weekly questionnaire were used to monitor student progress; these are contained in the appendices. (DB)…
(1994). Computer-Assisted Career Guidance: Multicultural Issues Bibliography. This unannotated bibliography is intended to assist practitioners, researchers, policy makers, and system developers in identifying and locating sources of information on the design and use of computer-assisted career guidance (CACG) systems within a multicultural context. The aim of this effort is to improve the quality of theory, research, practice, and public policy associated with computer-assisted career service delivery for diverse multicultural populations. Culture may significantly influence what clients consider to be a problem, how they express it, whom they seek for help, and the treatment strategies they prefer. The design, delivery, and evaluation of career services are all, in direct or indirect ways, influenced by cultural values and traditions. As only a few citations were identified that specifically dealt with the design and use of CACG systems in a multicultural context, selected general citations on the influence of multicultural issues on career development were… [PDF]
(1982). Cross-Cultural Perspectives in the Curriculum. Resources for Change. The manual is designed to help secondary teachers integrate materials and perspectives concerning ethnic groups in the United States and their heritage into traditional classes in English, speech and communication studies, humanities, economics, psychology, and sociology. The manual contains three types of resource materials for implementing cross-cultural perspectives into the curriculum: bibliographies, an essay on cultural diversity as a resource in the classroom, and sample syllabi showing how various faculty participants have expanded cross-cultural materials in their classrooms. Over 1,000 books and articles are presented in the bibliographies. Most of the items are annotated, dated between 1960 and 1981, and focus on Blacks, Latinos (especially Mexican Americans), Asian Americans, and American Indians. The essay is about communication issues between teachers and students in ethnically-diverse classrooms. It addresses issues of both race and gender, acknowledging the…