(1981). World Yearbook of Education 1981. Education of Minorities. The problems of students who are disadvantaged by differences in culture and language are examined in 22 essays. The first section presents concepts, issues, and trends in research and practice. Part Two offers a range of national policies on minority group education in the Soviet Union, Canada, China, Africa, and the United Kingdom. Essays in the third part treat the relationship between majority and minority languages in Wales, Malaysia, the United States, and West and East Africa. Sociological concerns are reviewed in Part Four, where the emphasis is on the educational opportunities for minority groups in Zimbabwe, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. Part Five contains descriptions of innovations in minority group education in the United States, Australia, Great Britain, and West Germany. A final section provides a bibliography that supplements the references listed at the end of each essay, including books, pamphlets, documents, periodical literature, and working papers. Each…
(1980). In Search of Our Past: Units in Women's History. Intended to supplement what is customarily taught in junior high school world history courses, this teacher's guide provides materials for three units on the role of women in world history. Each unit incorporates the student manual and includes background information, objectives, teaching procedures, learning activities, and a bibliography. Student assignments focus on oral history. In Unit I, students examine the role of women under feudalism in Western Europe and in China. Based on what they have learned about the rules of living at this time, students construct endings to stories and make cultural comparisons between Western Europe and China. Unit II analyzes the role of women during the industrial revolution. Topics include the creation of the working class woman and of the middle class ideal woman. The oral history assignment consists of an interview with a working couple with children. Unit III focuses on 20th century women in transition, particularly third world women. A… [PDF]
(1981). \Turning the Page\/The Appropriate Use of Asian American Children's Literature in the Classroom. Intended for reading and language arts teachers of multiethnic classes, this report discusses the use of children's literature featuring Asian American characters and how these books can have a negative or positive influence on attitudes toward and of ethnic groups. The first part discusses the importance of presenting Asian American children's literature appropriately and how misuse can have a damaging effect on children of Asian descent. This section also reviews studies that show how exposure to ethnic literature can influence attitudes positively or negatively and presents guidelines for evaluating Asian American children's books. The second section is an annotated list of 12 recommended Asian American children's books. The third section presents ideas and strategies for teaching Asian American folktales, playing with language sounds, comparing cross-cultural experiences, examining history, and experiencing Asian American history through role playing. (HTH)… [PDF]
(1981). Study on Ethnic Attitudes of Elementary School Children Toward Blacks and East Indians. A Report to the Scarborough Board of Education. A study of the ethnic attitudes of white fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, revealed highly negative racial attitudes toward blacks and East Indians. It was concluded that traditional educational measures were ineffective in promoting positive racial attitudes. In response to these findings, 170 students participated in a cultural program that focused on East Indian folk dance, music, and crafts. Children's ethnic attitudes were tested prior to the implementation of the program, immediately after its conclusion, and three months later. Parents' occupational status was found to be associated in some cases with children's racial attitudes. The program resulted in significantly improved racial attitudes toward East Indians. In this paper, a description and outline of the cultural program are provided as are recommendations for improving cultural education. (Author/MK)…
(1975). Minneapolis Multi-Ethnic Curriculum Project–Family Unit. The student booklet presents short case studies illustrating the family unit of the Minneapolis Multi-Ethnic Curriculum Project for secondary schools. Thirteen brief chapters describe family life and patterns of different ethnic groups in the United States. They present stories of individuals in groups such as Puerto Ricans, Swedish Americans, Jews, Vietnamese refugees, Japanese Americans, Blacks, Italian Americans, Armenian Americans, American Indians, and Chinese Americans. Chapters also describe adoption procedures, the custom of Japanese picture brides, how to do a family tree, and the changing Chinese view of womanhood. A chapter on family patterns presents a chart comparing the characteristics of a traditional family with the characteristics of first and second generation ethnic families in the United States. Many styles of living are described, including single parent families, and families headed by grandparents. Some of the stories are first person accounts, while others…
(1979). The Guam Dilemma: The Need for a Pacific Island Educational Perspective. This paper analyzes the cultural and social changes which have occurred in Guam since World War II and discusses their implications for education. The massive increase in the number of American troops, the expansion of military installations, the importation of alien labor, the emphasis on a stateside style of education, and the development of a multi-ethnic population are all seen as having had a negative impact on the cultural identity of the island's inhabitants. The author concludes that even the current trend toward cultural pluralism in Guam's educational system is an American philosophy and not applicable to Guam's unique social situation. (EB)…
(1977). Ethnic Heritage Studies: Arts and Crafts of East Asia. Experimental Unit. This teaching guide focuses on four forms of arts and crafts popular in China, Korea, and Japan, and explores the effects, if any, on American culture. It is part of the Louisville Area Ethnic Heritage Studies Project described in ED 150 043. The objective of this unit is to help students understand and appreciate East Asian calligraphy, haiku, ikebana, and shadow theater. Suggested time period is one or two weeks. The guide includes a pretest, four behavioral objectives accompanied by instructional strategies and facilitating materials, and three worksheets illustrating haiku, ikebana, and calligraphy. A posttest asking for definitions of the crafts, examples of use in Louisville, and student feelings about East Asian art is included, plus a bibliography of resources and materials. (Author/CK)… [PDF]
(1965). Strategies for the Education of the Disadvantaged. This conference paper maintains that to more effectively motivate disadvantaged students certain basic changes within the school system must be made. Educational intervention should not be limited to preschool education. The use of indigenous nonprofessionals in the schools may benefit the older disadvantaged student by providing him with a role model and a sympathetic adult from his own social class. Work-study programs can also be effective with these students. Amother important strategy is specialized training for teachers and administrators in disadvantaged schools. School personnel should learn to recognize and respect the positive, adaptive qualities of the poor, and to utilize these qualities in the planning and execution of lessons. In the classroom teachers might use readers which warmly portray Negro children in urban settings. It is especially important that the classroom not be dominated by a \prissy\ middle-class atmosphere. Comments from a discussion period are… [PDF]
(1978). Evaluating Multiethnic Materials. The problem of identifying good ethnic studies materials is a result of the large amount of materials produced in the 1960s and of the currently renewed interest in ethnic studies. Four types of materials are available to elementary classroom teachers: ethnic information, single-ethnic approaches, minority or European-ethnic approaches, and multiethnic approaches. Ethnic information materials highlight a certain group's achievements. Although designed for enrichment purposes, this material occasionally distorts the image of the targeted group. Materials include coloring books, calendars, folk tales, and family history projects. Single-ethnic approaches include group histories written from an ethnic perspective. However, groups are often portrayed from a \problems perspective\ and in contrast to white Americans. Learning packets such as \Chinese Americans Past and Present\ (Association of Chinese Teachers, San Francisco) and \An Album of Jews in America\ (Anti-Defamation League of…
(1977). Models in Bilingual-Bicultural Education: the Community College of Philadelphia Experience. This paper presents a brief historical overview and summary of the various approaches and recent developments in the field of bilingual education. The controversy that exists with respect to the different approaches to bilingual education has prevented the development of national goals and guidelines and the preparation of adequate evaluation instruments. Educators are now striving to remove the stigma that bilingual education is only compensatory education for the disadvantaged. Efforts are being made to demonstrate the importance of establishing and maintaining bilingual programs. The Bilingual Education Act was enacted in 1968, and in 1974, educational amendments were introduced to authorize funding for the Bilingual Education Program so that its goals could be reached. Considerable inroads have been made in the field of bilingual-bicultural education at the elementary and high school levels. However, institutions of higher education have been slower in providing equal… [PDF]
(2002). The Impact of Racial and Ethnic Diversity on Educational Outcomes: Cambridge, MA School District. This study examined the experiences of twelfth graders at a racially and ethnically diverse Massachusetts high school, surveying high school seniors regarding their experiences with and attitudes toward diversity. The surveys asked about how students experienced diversity in the curriculum, in classroom discussions, and in working with peers from different backgrounds. Students reported that racial issues were explored fairly frequently during classroom discussions in social studies and history classes. While most white students reported experiencing frequent discussions about race in class, only 70 percent of African American students reported similar levels of discussions about race. About 40 percent of students across all racial/ethnic groups reported that exposure in the curriculum to different cultures and experiences of different racial and ethnic groups helped them understand points of view different from their own. Most students were comfortable working with students from… [PDF]
(2002). President's Report to the Board of Directors. This report details the current American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) projects, publications, and legislative activities. The report outlines six strategic action areas: (1) National and International Recognition and Advocacy for Community Colleges; (2) Learning and Accountability; (3) Leadership Development; (4) Economic and Workforce Development; (5) Connectedness across AACC Membership; and (6) International and Intercultural Education. Highlights of Area 1 include the intensive activities regarding the AACC Task Force on the Higher Education Act, and the production of several books focused on AACC priorities to be published by Community College Press. Highlights of Area 2 include the Lumina Foundation's $305,200 grant to AACC for examination of issues regarding access to baccalaureate education for community college students, and AACC's publication of \A Practical Guide for Integrating Civic Responsibility into the Curriculum.\ Highlights of Area 3 include the… [PDF]
(1995). Asian American Studies. The sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics of all Asian American communities since 1950 have been greatly influenced by federal immigration legislation, and it is not possible to consider the field of Asian American studies without an understanding of the history of immigration legislation. Asian American research may be divided into five periods: (1) the early era before World War I; (2) the period of World War II, with the preponderance of Japanese studies; (3) the postwar era, with its emphasis on culture and personality studies; (4) a shift toward ethnic studies as a result of the civil rights movement; and (5) the emergence of a new generation of Asian American studies in the 1980s. The new studies of the 1980s and 1990s are beginning to counter the myth of Asian Americans as a model minority as they address a wide spectrum of topics not previously studied. While rigorous and systematic studies of Asian Americans are still in their infancy, a solid beginning has…
(1995). Language Issues in Multicultural Contexts. The traditional discussion of language issues is extended to multicultural settings by looking at how language shapes and is shaped by diverse cultural experiences. This review of existing studies shows that the acquisition of culture-specific communicative competence and socialization patterns plays a significant role in language acquisition and the development of language skills. Research further suggests that, regardless of home environments, children can learn to internalize the expectations of home life. The empowerment of language-minority students and their parents cannot be ignored in the discussion of successful language development for language minority students. The importance of the interaction between student and teacher must be acknowledged. The teacher must perform the role of an experienced participant in the community, rather than sole authority, and must facilitate communication so that all students feel comfortable taking risks with language. Teachers must…
(1998). The Geography of Germany: Lessons for Teaching the Five Themes of Geography. Social Studies, Grades 9-12. Update 1997/1998. This packet contains five lessons related to the five themes of geography: location; place; human-environment interaction; movement; and region. The lessons are designed to support the teaching of courses in world geography, U.S. government/civics, and economics from a comparative U.S./German perspective. Lessons include: (1) "Location of Germany on the Earth's Surface"; (2) "Physical and Human Characteristics of Germany"; (3) "The Interaction of the German People and Their Environment"; (4) "Cultural Diversity in Germany"; and (5) "German Unification and Regional Changes." Several activities support each lesson. Thirteen color transparencies focus on: (1) "The Location of Germany in Europe"; (2) "Landforms, Rivers and Canals"; (3) "Important Industrial Areas and Location of Mineral Resources"; (4) "Types of Industries"; (5) "Population Density"; (6) "Land Use"; (7)… [PDF]