(1995). Down Under Australiana: Seven Little Australians–A Hundred Years down the Old Bush Track. Emergency Librarian, v22 n4 p19-20 Mar-Apr. Discusses 20 Australian titles published in 1994, including picture books, short story collections, thrillers, poetry, novels, and books with Aboriginal themes, that are suitable for grades 1-12. (JKP)…
(1996). Decolonizing Our Voices. Winds of Change, v11 n3 p70-72 Sum. Addresses problems associated with the appropriation of indigenous knowledge and the marginalization of indigenous intellectual accomplishments by the academic and scientific community. An example is the misuse of indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and the lack of equal status given to this knowledge at nonindigenous institutions. Offers suggestions for Native American scholars to achieve parity with non-natives. (LP)…
(2002). Life Skills Checklist for Students Who Identify as Indigenous. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, v39 n2 p107-16 May. Discusses lower rates of success among indigenous Australian students and describes an instrument that investigated how well students cope with life out of school as an alternative indicator of ability. Highlights include the impact of cultural background on intelligence test results and results of trials in primary and high schools. (Author/LRW)…
(2004). Motivational and Academic Effects of Cultural Experiences for Indigenous Minority Students in New Zealand. Educational Psychology, v24 n2 p143-160 Apr. Children aged seven to 10 from the indigenous Maori minority group in New Zealand participated in a year-long cultural intervention designed to increase self-esteem and locus of control. The intervention incorporated good teaching practices linked to self-esteem and locus of control with principles of culturally relevant teaching. Compared to matched children who did not participate in the intervention, the focus children had significantly more positive self-esteem and locus of control after the intervention than before. Parallel changes were apparent in a measure of scholastic aptitude, but not on measures of reading, mathematics, and listening achievement. The results are discussed in terms of the importance and effectiveness of using theoretically informed teaching practices in a culturally relevant way in low income, mainstream school settings…. [Direct]
(2004). Lessons from Assessment: Experiences of a Cross-Cultural Unit of Work in Science. Evaluation and Research in Education, v18 n3 p139-157. This research study was conducted in Trinidad and Tobago to investigate students' responses to a summative assessment of a cross-cultural unit of work. The unit was designed to help students learn Western science by building bridges between their traditional practices and beliefs on selected health-related matters and conventional science concepts. Students' responses to a summative test were analysed qualitatively by a process of coding and categorising. The results indicated, firstly, that students did not necessarily show that they had learned conventional science when personalised tasks were associated with contextualised stimuli. Secondly, students' responses provided evidence of parallel collateral learning. These findings were deliberately explored during a second research cycle. The initial findings were corroborated. In addition, examples of dependent and secured collateral learning emerged. There are implications for assessment policy and for further research to develop a… [Direct]
(2003). Access in Theory and Practice: American Indians in Philosophy History. American Indian Quarterly, v27 n1-2 p113-120 Win-Spr. The American Indian Philosophical Association (AIPA) was created in May of 1998 by a group of American Indian philosophers; it grew out of the American Philosophical Association's (APA) Committee to Advance the Status of American Indians in Philosophy. It is associated with the APA but remains an autonomous organization dedicated to the advancement of American Indian philosophy and the participation of American Indians within the academic field of philosophy. The AIPA's overriding concern is to \engage in the praxis necessary to maintain an American indigenous voice of philosophy,\ and the working assumption is that a community problem must be solved as a community. These goals imply a number of different roles for such an organization, including the creation of a network of support to aid in job searches and publication and efforts to bring more American Indian students into the profession. Further, the AIPA is charged with fighting discriminatory practices and providing a positive… [Direct]
(2005). Researching the Trade in Knowledge between the West and Developing Countries. International Journal of Educational Management, v19 n6 p459-468. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to research the trade in knowledge as a commodity between advanced nations and less developed ones. Design/methodology/approach: Investigates knowledge transfer between nations and examines cultural factors and their effect on this exchange. Findings: Finds that successful adoption of traded material calls for careful evaluation, investment in research, monitoring and the scrutiny of experience. Some movement is likely to be needed in deeper underlying assumptions about learning and teaching in the receiving countries. Beyond this, there will be a need for modifications in the system and institutions of education especially at higher levels. The indigenisation of overseas material thus requires some awareness of economic, political, social and cultural conditions, locally as well as in the providing countries. There is thus ample scope for higher degree research, which need not be highly expensive. It would, however, require thorough theoretical… [Direct]
(2002). That's Not Fair! Fourth Graders' Responses to Multicultural State History. Social Studies, v93 n2 p85-91 Mar-Apr. In this article, the author details how she and another teacher developed a multicultural Wisconsin history curriculum for a fourth-grade classroom. Their focus in this article is a description of the main ideas students learned and the instructional strategies that supported their learning from the three-week unit on Wisconsin government. They chose to focus on issues common among many states: (1) the role of immigrants and indigenous peoples in state government; (2) different perspectives on becoming a state; and (3) voting rights for various segments of the population after statehood. By bringing out diverse perspectives and conflicts over statehood and voting rights, they hoped to engage students in thinking more deeply about state government. The author encourages classroom teachers considering teaching a similar state government unit to invite students to examine similar issues related to statehood, state government, and voting rights from diverse perspectives…. [Direct]
(2005). "The Hopi Followers": Chief Tawaquaptewa and Hopi Student Advancement at Sherman Institute, 1906-1909. Journal of American Indian Education, v44 n2 p1-23. Arizona, 71 Hopi pupils left their families and homes to attend Sherman Institute, an off-reservation Indian boarding school in Riverside, California. Accompanied by their Kikmongwi (Village Chief), Tawaquaptewa and other Hopi leaders, the Hopis embarked on an adventure that forever changed their lives. For the majority of Hopi students, the adventure to the "land of oranges" lasted no more than three years. Between 1906 and 1909, Hopis excelled at the school in academics, vocational training, music, art and various other programs the federal government used to assimilate Hopis into mainstream "white" society. This paper tells the story of Hopis at Sherman who, in spite of cultural tensions, made remarkable advancements by using and practicing their culture at a school that government officials initially created to destroy Hopi and other Indian cultures…. [Direct]
(1993). Global Issues for the '90s. This document is an activity book on global issues to be used as a supplement to existing curricula, and to offer varied and different information, perspectives, and teaching methods. The book is divided into 10 units. Each contains learning activities, handouts, and a list of additional resources. Unit 1, "Introducing the Concept of Global Awareness," examines what a global issue is and how global issues affect things in the students' everyday lives. Unit 2, "U.S. International Policy," discusses global issues for a new president. The third unit, "The Cold War," examines both the Soviet and U.S. perspectives. Unit 4, "Post-Cold War Issues: Life After the Wall," explores the changes in Eastern Europe in the 1990's and the spread of democracy and free markets. In the fifth unit,"World Trade and Economic Interdependence," the activities focus on international trade and the U.S. trade deficit. Unit 6, "The Global Environment,"…
(1992). Early Intervention in Rural Northern Arizona. This report describes an outreach program that provides service coordination and home-based early intervention for disabled infants and toddlers on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in Arizona. Developed by the Institute for Human Development (IHD), the outreach program uses paraprofessional instructional aides that are based in six northern Arizona reservation communities and speak the language of the communities they serve. IHD's paraprofessional model contains the following elements: (1) hiring and training local paraprofessional instructional aides who are familiar with the local culture, speak the local language, and are recognized and trusted; (2) identifying and evaluating children with disabilities within a 60-mile radius of the aide's home community, and forwarding referrals to the Division of Developmental Disabilities for confirmation of eligibility; (3) learning about specific resources in each community; and (4) encouraging local agencies to take over programs started by… [PDF]
(1990). The Educational Attainment of Children of Immigrants. A comparison of the educational attainment of white natives and children of white immigrants in the United States for a 90-year period from 1890 to 1980 indicates that the higher achievement of the children of immigrants has been a general phenomenon over several decades. Natives are defined as American-born with American-born parents; children of immigrants have one or more foreign-born parent. Statistical data were analyzed from the United States Census. Due to variations in the collection of census data, only Caucasian students were analyzed. The following findings are reported: (1) the school enrollment of children of immigrants exceeded that of natives, although the separation narrowed between 1900 and 1970; (2) rates of educational attainment for both groups were similar in 1950 but the educational attainment of children of immigrants increased over time and at higher educational levels; and (3) children of immigrants tended to have higher acceleration rates and lower… [PDF]
(1971). An Evaluation of the Expanded Nutrition Education Program in Pennsylvania. The Nutrition Education Program, implemented in 25 Pennsylvania counties in 1969, attempted to help low-income families improve the nutritional adequacy of their diet by teaching food preparation, buying, and storing, and encouraging the use of food stamps. As of June, 1970 monthly turnover of clients stabilized at five percent, but there was a lessened percentage of persons in the less than $3000 annual income bracket. At the time that the first food records were taken, only 10 percent of the diets were considered adequate, while second records showed that 18-20 percent were satisfactory. The greatest improvements were in the milk and fruits and vegetables groups. The presence of older school children in the family had a positive effect on the dietary knowledge level of the homemaker, which, in turn, had a positive effect on dietary intake. (CL)… [PDF]
(1999). Tertiary Success for the Aboriginal Student: The Numerous Factors Impacting on the Dream. This paper presents an overview of Aboriginal education in the state of Victoria, Australia, as a frame for the role of the Aboriginal Tertiary Support Unit (ATSU) at La Trobe University, Bendigo. At the elementary and secondary levels, Aboriginal advocacy and support are provided by the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association, which promotes Aboriginal community involvement and consultation; the Koori Education Coordination Unit, which monitors state implementation of the national Aboriginal education policy; and 56 Koori Educators, who assist schools in curriculum development. State initiatives in Aboriginal education have included a program of Aboriginal school speakers, a mentoring program in schools, an educational kit for teachers on Koori English, and the recent development of Aboriginal community schools. These "Koori Open Door Education" schools feature extensive community decision making, Aboriginal staff, culturally relevant practices, and curriculum linked… [PDF]
(2000). An Exploratory Study of Apache Middle School Students' Computer Animation. The paper describes a participant observation study of a 3 week summer art program for Apache middle school students on the White Mountain Reservation. Computer art skills, specifically animation using a menu-driven computer paint program, were the focus of the investigation. Because it was in the context of a summer program, instruction was laissez-faire on the whole. A number of themes and issues emerged, although conclusions are tentative since this is an exploratory study. One issue addressed is a traditional respect for land and animals versus an attraction to popular culture. Another issue is a lack of time and serious attitudes toward art which resulted in a tension between computer play versus computer thinking. A third issue is lack of invention; students seemed resistant to creating their own artwork. Younger students seemed less reliant on such tricks, and there was evidence of more accomplished results from younger students than older ones. Gender and social differences… [PDF]