(2004). How a Cross-Cultural Learning Community Facilitates Student Retention and Contributes to Student Learning. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, v5 n3 p325-343 2003-2004. This article presents the findings from a qualitative study that sought to learn about students' perceptions of a Cross-Cultural Learning Community (CCLC) at a large Midwestern University. The article focuses on three major areas that emerged as a result of focus groups: 1) students' reasons for joining the CCLC, 2) the role of the CCLC in the students' transition to the university, and 3) CCLC participants' cross-cultural learning experiences. After theoretical frameworks are discussed, the findings related to the three major areas are presented. The article concludes with implications for further research…. [Direct]
(1996). Latino Voices in Children's Literature: Instructional Approaches for Developing Cultural Understanding in the Classroom. Chapter 15. As Mexican Americans are the largest language-minority population in U.S. public schools, an investigation of literature that authentically reflects Mexican American students' cultural experience is necessary for any teacher. This chapter outlines strategies for integrating Mexican American children's literature into the structure of a classroom environment through both curricular and social methods. Multicultural literature can be used to build literacy, academic competencies, and comprehension within bilingual, English-as-a-Second-Language, and monolingual classrooms. Mexican American children's literature can provide a realistic view of the Latino community. In an ethnically diverse classroom, authentic first-person reflections of characters' lives can demonstrate to non-Latino students that the Latino community is as rich and complex a setting as their own, while at the same time providing understanding of cultural differences and insight into some of the sources of intergroup… [PDF]
(1996). Incorporating Mexican American History and Culture into the Social Studies Classroom. Although Mexican Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, their history and literature are seldom taught in American classrooms. A study of over 3,000 high school sophomores in the Southwest revealed that neither Anglos nor Hispanics were aware of the contributions of Mexican Americans. Incorporating Mexican American history and culture into the social studies curriculum should help to minimize both the cultural myopia characteristic of many White students and the cultural alienation that frequently contributes to the school failure of Mexican American students. Historical texts and topics selected for the curriculum should reflect the complex and dynamic nature of the Mexican American experience and the long presence of Mexican Americans' ancestors on what is now U.S. land, should avoid the \heroes and victims\ syndrome, and should present Mexican American history as part of U.S. history. Elementary/middle and high school history texts are recommended,… [PDF]
(1994). Annotated Videography. Part 3. [Revised]. This annotated videography has been designed to identify videotapes addressing Holocaust history that have been used effectively in classrooms and are available readily to most communities. The guide is divided into 15 topical categories, including: life before the Holocaust; perpetrators; propaganda; racism; antisemitism; mosaic of victims; ghettos; camps; resistance; rescue; American and international responses; liberation; post-Holocaust; related films; and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The topics generally are arranged in chronological order. Each annotation is accompanied by two further descriptors that categorize the film as documentary, survivor testimony, docu-drama, animation, or drama, and color or black and white. An index to all annotated videos by title and subject is at the end of the pamphlet. (DQE)…
(1991). Action to Combat Intolerance and Xenophobia in the Activities of the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Co-operation, 1969-1989. This report surveys the steps taken by the Council of Europe's Council for Cultural Cooperation (CDCC) to combat the increasing problem of intolerance and xenophobia in Western Europe. The outbreak of xenophobic sentiment is attributed to two facts: large immigrant communities from outside Europe have settled permanently in Europe, and there has been a mass influx of political refugees from the Asian countries. The paper suggests that immigration is not the sole explanation. The rise in intolerance is occurring at a time when the European countries are undergoing crises in urban development, education, culture, and economics. The changing ethnic composition of Europe is surveyed as are the forces that help to maintain cultural identities and those that are useful in changing cultural identities. In order to confront the needs of an ethnically diverse continent, the CDCC has proposed three main lines of thrust for educational and cultural systems: (1) the cognitive knowledge to be…
(1993). Minority and Traditional Elementary Students: A Comparison Study. This ethnographic study relates the differences reported by student teachers as they experienced teaching in a culturally diverse elementary school that contained a large population of minority students and compared that placement with a rural school that had few or no minority students. The methodology involved preplacement interviews, journals, written comparisons, and postplacement interviews with 20 student teachers in South Central Pennsylvania. Tables I through IV contain the major findings of the study and relate: (1) the preplacement expectations of the student teachers; (2) the postplacement reactions; and (3) the differences between the school that contained the large minority population and the school that contained few or no minority students. Student teachers reported that there was a lack of praise of students in the minority school, and that black students tended to be ambivalent toward academic efforts and success, findings that point to a need for more praise, not…
(1992). Communicator: The Journal of the California Association for the Gifted, 1992. Communicator, v22 n1-5 Jan-Nov. This document consists of the five issues of the journal issued during 1992. Articles focus on the following major topics in gifted and talented education (GATE): (1) grouping and tracking; (2) cultural diversity; (3) educational reform and cooperative learning; (4) gifted girls; and (5) young gifted children. Major articles include the following: \The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the Gifted and Talented Learner: Executive Summary\ (Karen B. Rogers); \Ability Grouping Research Reviews: What Do They Say about Grouping and the Gifted?\ (Susan D. Allan); \The Effects of Grouping on Gifted Students\ (Barbara Clark); the National Association for Gifted Children's Policy Statement on Grouping; \Cultural Diversity in Gifted Education: A Better Chance at Succeeding\ (Elinor Smith and Rosa Perez); \Around and Through Test Scores: Discovering the Gifted Hispanic Student\ (Carol Kaylor); \Serving the Culturally Diverse\ (Anne Bensen); position statements of the… [PDF]
(1979). World Views through the Arts. GPE Humanities Series. Materials in this multicultural study of creative expression are suitable for use in a variety of secondary school disciplines, including social studies, humanities, language arts, and science. Following an introduction to teachers and curriculum developers on rationale, objectives, and format, the handbook is divided into five parts of student materials. Part 1 contains 5 readings, each examining man's need to create from a different cultural perspective. In accompanying activities, students have the opportunity to express themselves creatively. Part 2 compares different societies' world views. Readings on Pygmies, Eskimos, Moslems, Americans, and British are used to present cultural feelings about the earth and nature, and show how these views change over time. Part 3 explores the "style" or overall design of various cultures through the following three categories of readings: background study, cultural similarities and differences, and an in-depth look at the styles of… [PDF]
(1985). Fairview German Bilingual School: A Successful Model for Elementary-School, Second-Language Learning, Part II. Laying the Foundation: German in the First Grade. The first grade program of the Fairview German Bilingual School, the elementary (K-5) segment of the Cincinnati public school system's German bilingual alternative program, is described. The school provides intensive second-language instruction in German for monolingual English-speaking children with bilingualism as the objective. The school is racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse, a characteristic that is emphasized in the curriculum and in classroom interaction. In first grade, 50 minutes a day are devoted to language instruction. The entire class has 30 minutes of instruction each afternoon, and on alternating mornings, half the class has 40 minutes of immersion. The curriculum is entirely oral and fosters comprehension and speaking skills. The four first grade classes fill the entire teaching schedule of one German teacher, who has a classroom to which the students travel. The school's German specialists, who do not have elementary teaching certificates, use…
(1985). Improving Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment in Small Schools. Proceedings of the Annual Alaska Small Schools Conference (5th, Anchorage, Alaska, October 23-25, 1985). Key points of presentations are captured in this report of a conference which addressed issues of concern to educators in Alaska's small schools. A total of 119 presentations are briefly summarized. Contents are organized under five headings: effective leadership strategies, curriculum and instruction, computers and telecommunication, assessment, and support programs. Subjects include principal networking, effective teaching, inservice training, school profiling, professional growth, state curriculum support services, Native culture and language teaching, parents as partners in bilingual language development, peer coaching programs, career education, the writing process in the rural classroom, teaching vocational education in academic classes, improving computer assisted instruction in small schools, Alaskan software, writing assessment, classroom assessment, district-wide assessment for rural districts, small school guidance and counseling strategies, Alaska Career Information… [PDF]
(1983). Tips and Tulips: A Resource Manual for Teachers of Bilingual Students. Written to assist the classroom teacher of limited or non-English speaking students, this manual suggests ways to teach the four components of language–listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each component is handled in a separate section that provides theoretical background followed by suggestions for instruction that can be adapted for students of different ages and language levels. Topics covered include the active nature of listening, pronunciation and communicative competence as two aspects of speaking, and reading approaches for students who are literate in their native language compared with those who are pre-literate. The section on speaking provides a taxonomy of situations and topics to be mastered for communicative competence. The section on writing provides examples of drills for controlled compositions and guidelines for evaluating free composition, e.g., correct only those patterns taught in class. Suggestions for reading in the content areas are given, and 13…
(1983). Bilingual Education and Social Integration. Bilingual Education Paper Series, Vol. 7, No. 2. Bilingual education programs and policies in three countries with sizable minorities, Sweden, Australia, and the Federal Republic of Germany, are examined in order to gauge both the extent to which children with limited proficiency in the dominant language are in integrated classrooms and the degree of their social integration. First, the acceptance of foreign nationals into the Swedish labor force and communities and the elaboration of social policies toward those persons are outlined. The assumptions underlying bilingual education in Sweden are discussed along with four alternative forms of classroom organization that are being tried and the level of social integration of immigrant groups. Second, bicultural education in Australia is considered in terms of Aborigine education; education about the Aborigines; the induction of immigrants; ESL instruction; supplementary bilingual education programs; social studies and foreign language education; the response of education departments… [PDF]
(1983). An Evaluation of La Salle College's Master of Arts Program in Bilingual/Bicultural Studies (Spanish), 1982-83. La Salle College's three-track Bilingual/Bicultural Master of Arts Program is described and its first operational year (September 1982 – August 1983) is evaluated. Track I served teachers of English as a second language, Spanish as a first language, and other classes within bilingual education programs. Track II served students from other fields wishing to develop competence in Spanish: for example, nurses and police with extensive contact with the Spanish-speaking community. Track III served non-degree students, some of whom were educators. All faculty were bilingual in English and Spanish, equal emphasis was given to language, culture, and educational practice, and field experience was part of the program. The program evaluation concentrates on Tracks I and III, funded by Title VII. The classes were found to be more varied than in most graduate programs, with more than one instructional approach used in each course. The languages of instruction were both Spanish and English in all… [PDF]
(1979). Programs for Intercultural Understanding. The Forum for Liberal Education, January 1979. Seven curriculum programs that stress intercultural understanding and awareness for American students are described, other intercultural-related programs are listed, and an article on global education is presented. The curriculum programs are as follows: "A New Program in Humanistic Liberal Education" at the University of Washington; "Regional and Canadian Studies" at Colby College; "International Studies Curriculum Development Project" at North Shore Community College; "International Performing Arts" at Cornell University; "Rural Development in Emerging Countries" at Bethel College; "One World Program" at Donnelly College; and "International Business Program" at Utica College. The article on global education by Robert Leestma discusses why global education is important and outlines the following components of global education: unity and diversity of mankind, international human rights, global interdependence,…
(1977). El Espiritu Siempre Eterno Del Mexico Americano (The Always Eternal Spirit of the Mexican American). Twenty stories and essays suitable for intermediate and secondary grades illustrate the enduring spirit of Mexican American life, legend, custom, and culture. The Spanish language book describes the ceremonies of baptism, engagement, marriage, and the \quinceanera\ (a girl's 15th birthday). Folklore (magic spells, superstitions, \cuentos\ or tales, the legend of the Virgin of Guadalupe) and customs (Christmas \posadas\, religious promises or \mandas\, and the elaborate rodeos known as \charreadas\) are explained as are such aspects of Mexican American culture as music, dancing, and machismo. Several chapters are devoted to current issues including the women's movement, energy sources, and political participation. Each story or essay is followed by a series of questions and a written exercise. A Spanish-English vocabulary list completes the book. (SB)…