(1994). What Is a Good Teacher? Anglo and Aboriginal Australian Views. Peabody Journal of Education, v69 n2 p94-114 Win. This study compares an Aboriginal teachers' panel, an Aboriginal parents' panel, and an Anglo teachers' panel on perceptions of good teaching. Panelists viewed and discussed videotapes of Yup'ik, Anglo, and Aboriginal Australian teachers. Each cultural group preferred teachers of its own background. Perceptions and judgments differed consistently along cultural lines. (SM)…
(1993). Exploration through a Global Lens: Integrating the NCSS "Position Statement on the Columbian Quincentenary" into the Age of Exploration Instructional Unit. Southern Social Studies Journal, v18 n2 p3-12 Spr. Presents six classroom activities to be used with a unit on the European exploration period. Links the activities to the themes presented in the Position Statement on the Columbian Quincentenary published by the National Council for the Social Studies. Includes recommended teaching procedures and instructional materials. (CFR)…
(1999). Language Varieties and Educational Achievement of Indigenous Primary School Pupils. Language, Culture and Curriculum, v12 n1 p1-22. Explores relationships between standard language and arithmetic-test performance and a range of language-related family characteristics in the Netherlands. The sample consists of 7730 pupils from nearly 700 primary schools. The main question is whether pupils who use standard Dutch perform better than pupils from another language variety, such as a Dutch dialect or Frisian. (Author/VWL)…
(1998). "Ethnic" Assimilates "Indigenous": A Study in Intellectual Neocolonialism. WICAZO SA Review, v13 n1 p33-51 Spr. Argues that Native American Studies does not belong under the rubric of Ethnic Studies, where unbalanced power relations result in the marginalization, silencing, and exploitation of issues unique to indigenous peoples. Examines the process by which "ethnicity" assimilates "indigenous" and how this process and its impact constitute a prime example of contemporary intellectual neocolonialism. (Author/SV)…
(2005). Literacy in a Dying Language: The Case of Kuot, New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Current Issues in Language Planning, v6 n2 p200-223 May. Kuot is a language in a critical situation. Most adults of lower middle age and older are full speakers but children are not learning it. In other words, it will become extinct in a few decades if nothing is done; but it is not too late if the community decides to turn it around, and do so fast. Thus far, the community has shown little interest. Into this situation, vernacular elementary education was introduced. While the community expects this to work for language survival, the aim of the education policy is the eventual transfer of literacy skills to English. This paper describes the tensions between these conflicting goals, and the various components that make up the specific situation of Kuot, including vernacular literacy, orthographic considerations arising from the language's precarious situation, and the eventual extension of the internet era to Melanesia…. [Direct]
(2003). Enlightenment and Attitudes of the Nigerian Elite on the Roles of Languages in Nigeria. Language, Culture and Curriculum, v16 n2 p185-196. This study describes the effect of enlightenment on attitudes of the Nigerian elite to the roles assigned to English and indigenous languages in Nigeria. From the results of a preliminary investigation into the attitudes of undergraduate students in a Nigerian University, it was presumed that enlightenment of citizens on the importance of indigenous languages "vis-a-vis" English in Nigeria might bring about a positive shift in their attitudes towards their mother tongues. The study then delves into available literature on enlightenment efforts and shifts in attitudes of Nigerians towards their indigenous languages and examines these issues in the wider context of language planning and national development. From all indications, it seems that, although a greater number of the elite class still do not have favourable dispositions towards their indigenous languages as they do towards English, the seed of the positive realisation of the complementary roles of indigenous… [Direct]
(1997). Return of the Native. Education Week, v16 n37 p39-43 Jun 11. The Navajo Nation Ford Teacher Education Program was implemented in 1991 to increase the number of Navajo teachers in reservation schools. Under the program, participants study part-time at participating colleges and receive tuition assistance as well as a $250 stipend per term. Since 1991, the program has graduated 199 students. (LP)…
(2000). A Best Practices Model for Preparation of Rural Special Education Teachers. Rural Special Education Quarterly, v19 n3-4 p15-29 Sum-Fall. A district-university partnership program provides an alternative route to teacher certification for noncredentialed special education teachers working in a rural California desert region. The program features locally available courses, on-campus summer courses, an alternative internship credential, collaborative structure, a coach-of-coaches strategy, and continuing professional development opportunities. Retention of program graduates is high. (Contains 55 references.) (SV)…
(1999). Iroquois Corn in a Culture-Based Curriculum: A Framework for Respectfully Teaching about Cultures. SUNY Series, the Social Context of Education. This book offers a new culture-based framework that provides a way to research and develop curricula based on respect for diverse cultures. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) culture is used as an example to examine the reasons for prevailing stereotypes about American Indians and to explain how those stereotypes became the standard curriculum taught in America. Chapter 1 examines common stereotypes about American Indians (Noble Savages, Savage Savages, Living Fossils, Generic Indians) in academia, the media, and textbooks. Chapter 2 explores the academic theories behind stereotypes and provides insight on the creation of evolutionary theories and hierarchical scales that devalue indigenous cultures. Chapter 3 illustrates how such theories became the standard curriculum, which explains why diversity was not incorporated into textbooks. Chapter 4 presents the theories that support the culture-based curriculum framework, providing a new way to study diverse cultures and key elements for…
(1985). Needs Analysis of Higher Primary Teachers in Kwa Zulu. Report of a Project: "Improvement of English Language Proficiency of Black Primary School Teachers in Southern Africa.". Per Linguam: A Journal of Language Learning, n1 Spec iss. This special issue of "Per Linguam" is entirely devoted to a report of a project to improve the English language proficiency of primary school teachers in the Kwa Zulu area of Southern Africa. The inter-university project was designed to raise the standards of English modeling and instruction early in the education of children in order to provide them with a better command of the language for academic success and retention. The report of the initial phase of the project, a language need analysis of higher primary teachers: (1) outlines the conceptual framework for second language learning used in the project; (2) describes the existing linguistic situation and related instructional problems; (3) surveys existing literature; (4) presents the project's goals and methods of data collection; (5) gives a profile of teacher characteristics; (6) describes the setting in which primary teachers work in KwaZulu; (7) summarizes and analyzes the results of the needs survey; (8)…
(1999). Successful Early Childhood Indigenous Leadership. The success of the Minimbah Aboriginal Preschool in New South Wales (Australia) is evidenced by happy staff and children, low staff turnover, and the later success of Minimbah's children in mainstream schools. Also, parents were frequently present as helpers and were apparently confident in entering the premises, talking with staff members, and seeking assistance. A key factor in the success of the school has been the leadership of its Aboriginal principal. The principal has encouraged students to aspire to mainstream success through practices of Aboriginal pride and Aboriginal curriculum perspectives, while accommodating the apparent contradictions and political pressures of maintaining this position. Power and responsibility have also been devalued in the hierarchical management structure so that every staff member can exercise choices within his or her role and question the role itself. Responsibility and therefore power are shared. In dealing with the mainstream power structure,… [PDF]
(2001). The Holistic/Rainbow Approach to Aboriginal Literacy. This paper describes approaches to literacy in Canadian aboriginal communities. It provides statistical data on education, employment, income, culture, language, and social issues among Canadian aboriginal people, comparing aboriginal people on and off the reserve. The statistics demonstrate issues that aboriginal literacy learners bring with them to learning situations (e.g., poverty, social bias, limited language skills, and cultural differences). They highlight the erosion of traditional aboriginal cultures and identities, which has resulted in a loss of pride in aboriginal identity. Aboriginal organizations and communities are in various stages of healing from the aftermath of a system that traditionally told them to put aside who they were and do things the mainstream way because it was best for them (via the Indian Act, the reserve system, and residential schools). Staff of First Nations Technical Institute developed a Medicine Wheel Model of Learning that uses a holistic…
(2003). How To Teach When the Teacher Isn't Fluent. The majority of indigenous U.S. languages are no longer learned at home, and the last generation of native speakers are aging. There are increasingly strong efforts by communities to keep their languages alive by developing teaching programs in their schools and communities, although finding teachers is problematic. This paper focuses on how teachers who are not fluent in the language can develop effective lessons, explaining that elderly fluent speakers in the community may be too old to teach children but can still act as partners in language teaching by being language mentors to teachers (teacher-learners) who are not fluent. The paper suggests five components of a language lesson, noting that teacher-learners must select the topics for their learning efficiently in order to keep one step ahead of their students. The five components include the following: the lesson proper for a given day, rituals that will occur every day or on a regular basis, review of previous lessons,… [PDF]
(1996). The Significance of Significance in Cultural Heritage Studies: A Role for Cultural Analogues in Applied Geography Teaching. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, v20 n3 p295-304 Nov. Presents a teaching exercise for increasing awareness of, and sensitivity to, issues in cultural heritage management and addresses the significance attached to cultural icons of the past. The exercise uses representative places from mainstream Australian culture as a way to introduce mainstream students to issues of indigenous cultural heritage. (MJP)…
(1979). Language and Literacy: An Overview of Policies and Programs in Five OECD Member Countries. This paper describes the results of a study conducted by the Center for Educational Research and Innovation regarding language policies and programs in five countries which belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: Canada, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. Part I explains the study's focus on language diversity and how it is addressed within the educational systems of the countries studied. It is assumed that the role ascribed to language is a key one to a better understanding of the position of various cultural groups in a society. The study methodology and content are described. (A set of simultaneous case studies were taken, each developed according to a common frame of reference.) Part II discusses the distinctions drawn between each country for the purpose of analysis: historical and ecological considerations; geographical boundedness versus dispersal; time the special population has been within the national boundaries; government… [PDF]