(1985). An Evaluation of the Cultural Bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment. The cultural bias of the Adult Performance Level Assessment, Form AA-l (APLA) was examined. The potential influence of cultural differences on scores of a major ethnic group, Acadians or Cajuns, was investigated. Assessment items most prone to produce differences in scores were isolated and administered to selected groups. No significant differences were found between the scores of the selected ethnic group of native Acadians and non-native Acadians. It was therefore concluded that the APLA was free of cultural bias relative to the ethnic or culturally different group identified as native Acadians. This conclusion applies only to the group of persons (reading levels from 4.0 to 9.0) attending adult education programs in Louisiana, since the entire population of native and non-native Acadians was not sampled. Further research with other ethnic groups would contribute to greater knowledge of the instrument's freedom from cultural bias, thus having a positive influence on its validity….
(1980). Various Perspectives on Using Women's Organizations in Development Programming. Women in Development. The Women in Development (WID) office of the Agency for International Development held a series of conferences and meetings inviting representatives from less developed countries, women's organizations, private voluntary organizations, and donor groups to discuss current activities and the future potential of women's organizations to implement projects, deliver services, and cooperate with poor women (the majority of the world's poor are women) in identifying, developing, and carrying out WID programs. Participants in these meetings supported the idea of working with women's organizations as one important WID programming approach. Conference proceedings, interviews, and additional literature review are used to present a synthesis in light of future donor programs. The first part of the report summarizes descriptions of expectations, activities and needs of users, of intermediaries, and of donor programming through women's groups and organizations. The second part explores ways the… [PDF]
(1979). Budgeting and Bargaining Interactions in School Districts: An Ethnoscientific Approach to Field Research. Budgetmaking and bargaining are central resource allocation processes in schools; this study examines how they affect one another. Ethnoscientific techniques were applied in nine Illinois school systems. The results were analyzed to show the flow of the decision process and construction of detailed plans of action. The structure and power relationships among the actors were explored. The results show that interaction between these processes depends on the power relationships between unions and management and on the political and economic environment. A detailed description of the process and questionnaire were developed. (Author)…
(1967). Research Report on Dixwell Legal Rights Association, New Haven, Connecticut, Summer, 1967. A 1967 study of the Dixwell Legal Rights Association, New Haven, Connecticut, assessed the goals of the DLRA (training of legal service agency personnel and of nonprofessional neighborhood workers, legal rights education of the poor, social change) and their realization. DLRA services to clients were highly respected. Its militancy and aggressiveness had produced results unattained by other organizations, and of all the regular legal and social service agencies it was most in contact with the alienated ghetto poor. Perhaps its greatest contribution to ghetto self-help was the example of its workers–undereducated ghetto residents actively promoting their own and their neighbors' legal and human rights. A vital function was to uncover and remedy problems arising from existing institutional structures, and DLRA succeeded greatly in this area. Successes were attributed to direct Office of Economic Opportunity financing, small size, and the use of ghetto residents. Success in agency…
(1971). Bridges and Ladders: A Descriptive Study in New Careers. Rehabilitation Occupations for the Disadvantaged and Advantaged. Three issues related to New Careers have been explored among a group of college students who are in the main children of lower white collar and blue collar parents, including some with poverty or ghetto backgrounds. The New Careers program has two major components: helping the poor through meaningful employment and opportunity for career ladder advancement in the human services, and helping professionals in social agencies through making available a supply of subprofessional indigenous workers, capable of bridging the gap between staff and clients by cross-interpreting agency and community. The three issues are: (1) Are the poor or those with restricted occupational choices responding to New Careers opportunities? (2) What is the effect of high mobility aspirations on New Careers' interest; is the career-ladder idea sufficient to hold those from lower-class backgrounds? and (3) Is the bridging function congenial to New Careerists, and how does it jibe with the idea of job… [PDF]
(2000). Murra: Guidelines for the Evaluation of Indigenous Content on the WWW. There are over 600 sites on the World Wide Web with substantial Australian Indigenous content. This guide provides strategies for determining which Indigenous sites may be useful in an educational context. Section 1 deals with finding Indigenous content on the World Wide Web. The three main types of search engines are keyword, directory, and meta-search. The differences are explained, and examples are given for each type. Subject lists are descriptions of sites that are compiled by real people. Four examples of subject-specific lists with an Indigenous or educational focus are presented. Search strategies can be refined by making the search as specific as possible, using the advanced search on search engines, using multiple search engines and comparing results, bookmarking good sites, and asking colleagues what online resources they have used. Section 2 concerns site evaluation and discusses who published the site; the importance of including Indigenous authors; author credentials;… [PDF]
(2002). The Languages of Indigenous Peoples in Chukotka and the Media. In the first half of the 20th century, the social functions of the indigenous languages in Chukotka, in northeast Asia, increased due to the development of written languages, local press, and broadcasting on radio and television. From 1933 to 1989, the local press of indigenous peoples in Chukotka was used for Communist Party propaganda. However, it also improved the indigenous peoples' lives and the development of educational institutions. The local press in Chukotka, published only in the Chukchi language until 1989, was an important forum for maintaining the social functions of indigenous languages. In the 1950s, language assimilation increased because of the language policy and influence of the Russian majority. Indigenous children had to attend boarding schools and were educated in the Russian language. Now the oral traditions are being lost because indigenous families speak mostly Russian and because Native languages are losing their function as transmitters of indigenous… [PDF]
(1999). Community College Humanities Review, 1999. Community College Humanities Review, v20 n1 spec iss Fall. This special issue of the Community College Humanities Review contains articles generated by National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institutes, held over several years. The institutes provided opportunities for academics from a variety of humanities disciplines and types of institutions to interact over an extended period of common study of topics associated with the encounters of European and indigenous cultures in the New World. The papers included are: (1) "Gender Relations and Political Legitimacy: Replacing Patrilineal with Ancestral Inheritance of Power in Ancient Mayan Society" (Lowell S. Gustafson); (2) "The Making of the Face and Heart: Notes on an Aztec Metaphor" (Paul Aviles); (3) "Image as Text in Post-Contact Mexican Books and Artifacts of Indigenous Origin" (George L. Scheper); (4) "Constructing Nature and Ordering Space/Spain and Mexico" (Mary Ruth Donnelly); (5) "Kiva in the Cloister" (Felix Heap); (6)… [PDF]
(2001). Otitis Media, Learning and Community. Education in Rural Australia, v11 n2 p27-32. A 3-year research project in Queensland (Australia) implemented educational and health strategies to ameliorate effects of otitis media at three schools in remote Aboriginal communities. The interdisciplinary model brought together health and education professionals, teacher aides, and the community, with the school being the lead agency. However, initial gains dwindled due to rapid staff turnover. (Contains 21 references.) (TD)…
(2002). Language, Authenticity and Identity: Indigenous Fijian Students and Language Use in Schools. Language, Culture and Curriculum, v15 n1 p16-29. Examines indigenous language use in schools in Fiji, where English is the language of instruction in secondary schools but where indigenous Fijian has a strong presence. Explores attitudes of indigenous Fijian secondary school students on English-language usage among peers and suggests that an indigenous group can define group authenticity independently of an oppositional identity. (Author/VWL)…
(1993). The Nedut'en Talking Dictionary Project: A QuickTime Approach to Preserving and Teaching Native Languages. Canadian Journal of Educational Communication, v22 n3 p207-20 Win. Describes a project that used QuickTime digital television to create multimedia computer programs to supplement and expand native language instruction in elementary schools in British Columbia. The Nedut'en dialect of the Carrier language is explained, computer-assisted language instruction is discussed, and technical limitations are considered. (Contains 16 references.) (LRW)…
(1992). Christopher Columbus: Explorer and Geographer (1492). Bulletin of the Illinois Geographical Society, v34 n1 p3-15 Spr. Presents a two-week lesson designed to begin a year-long world geography course. Provides background and information on the Age of Discovery and the study of geography. Includes maps, study guides, and student readings. (CFR)…
(1992). The Plundering of a Culture. Bulletin of the Illinois Geographical Society, v34 n1 p16-26 Spr. Presents a 3-4 day lesson designed to be used in U.S. history or geography classes. Discusses the cultural effects of the encounter between Europeans and the indigenous peoples of the Americas. Includes maps, student readings, and recommended instructional resources. (CFR)…
(1991). Australia's Genocide: "They Soon Forget Their Offspring.". Social Education, v55 n2 p97-98 Feb. Provides an overview of the decimation of the Aborigines in Australia since 1806. Describes extent of the acts of persecution, discrimination, and victimization of these people. Says governmental policy and practice spread throughout all colonies and states and was premeditated and deliberate. Maintains Aborigines are still denied needed services. (NL)…
(1996). Identity and Culture Shock: Aboriginal Children and Schooling in Australia. McGill Journal of Education, v31 n1 p7-24 Win. Observes the activities and characteristics of Aboriginal children in an Aboriginal school and compares these to the culture shock and alienation experienced when they transfer to a mainstream school. Identifies five major stressors of culture shock as mechanical differences, communication, attitudes and beliefs, customs, and isolation. (MJP)…