(1997). Families as Educators for Global Citizenship: Five Conundrums of Intentional Socialization. International Journal of Early Years Education, v5 n1 p67-77 Mar. Examines changes in global culture and values and their impact on families. Identifies five conundrums for families attempting intentional socialization of their children for new global values: (1) stability versus change; (2) universal versus particular family model; (3) intentional versus laissez-faire socialization; (4) safety versus danger; and (5) absolutist versus relativist morality. (SD)…
(1993). Response II: Preparing Teachers of Art for Tomorrow's Schools. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, n117 p126-35 Sum. Responds to Arthur Efland's analysis of the relationship between current theories of teaching and learning and preservice art teacher education. Asserts that the cultural pluralism of today's schools is a significant factor in curriculum planning for art education. Discusses three characteristics of successful art teachers. (CFR)…
(1993). Validating Culturally Diverse Students. Today's model of education forces students to assimilate, to compete against each other, to think only in abstract complex ways, and to believe that cultural separation leads to academic power. For many minority and nontraditional students, this traditional model is inappropriate. It results in many first-generation students being told that they are \not college material,\ and consequent feelings of doubt, fear, and frustration when entering college. Many students feel disappointed because they feel that their life experiences are not valued, and they yearn for acceptance and validation. Faculty and other students have often served as validating agents for those students who do persist, encouraging them not to give up. On a broader scale, colleges as a whole must allow themselves to be changed by new student cultures. Educators must do a better job of understanding, appreciating, and working with culturally diverse students. Many of these students are going through powerful changes,… [PDF]
(1997). Developing Competency To Manage Diversity: Readings, Cases, and Activities. All members of organizations take part in creating a climate in which all people are treated fairly and can achieve and contribute to their full potential, and where diversity, as an organizational resource, can be fully leveraged to enhance organizational performance. This book was designed to assist individuals and work teams in developing personal and organizational competency to manage diversity. Following the introduction, the book is organized into three major parts: (1) foundations for competency; (2) developing individual competency; and (3) developing organizational competency. Part 1 presents readings and activities to develop an understanding of the meaning of diversity and the importance of managing diversity for organizational effectiveness. Part 2 offers readings, cases, and activities to develop individual competency by understanding and changing behaviors related to stereotyping and prejudice. The third part offers readings, cases, and activities to promote an…
(1988). Culture in the Classroom: A Cultural Enlightenment Manual for Educators. This manual provides a basic understanding of cultural differences that teachers are likely to encounter among exceptional children in their classrooms. The manual aims to create an atmosphere where children respect individual differences in themselves and in others. Several cultures are introduced, including Arabic Lebanese, Hispanic, Native American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. For each group, cultural information is provided, including a description of family life; religion; language and communication; education and learning; customs, rituals, and special observations; important dates; and information about foods, games, songs, toys, etc. The manual concludes with a \Teacher's Checklist\ and an \Administrator's Checklist\ which evaluate knowledge of and sensitivity to diverse cultural backgrounds. (JDD)… [PDF]
(1978). Use of a Black "Culture Assimilator" to Increase Racial Understanding. A study was done to determine the feasibility of using the culture assimilator (a programed learning experience) as a race-relations training technique for junior grade officers. The assimilator is intended to help individuals of one culture better understand the point of view of individuals of another culture. Assimilator items focus on "critical incidents" or situations likely to result in cross-cultural misunderstanding. The incidents in this case were based on taped interviews of black and white officers and enlisted personnel from several Army installations. Four responses with feedback were prepared for each of 100 problems. Field tests were done with eighty-four white junior grade officers and eighty-five black junior grade officers. Results indicated (1) the assimilator's sample problems represented events more familiar to black officers than to white officers; (2) blacks obtained higher scores on the assimilator than whites; (3) evidence of learning by white…
(1993). Learning to Learn: Action Research from an Equal Opportunities Perspective in a Junior School. British Educational Research Journal, v19 n1 p43-58. Reports on an action research study on improving equality of opportunity for students in a socially and racially mixed classroom. Finds that students were empowered by their involvement setting up and drawing conclusions from the study. Questions the extent to which research should focus on race, social class, or gender. (CFR)…
(1995). Teaching about Africa: A Review of Middle/Secondary Textbooks and Supplemental Materials. Social Studies, v86 n6 p253-59 Nov-Dec. Critiques six current history textbooks concerning their representation of African history. Identifies strengths and weaknesses in the texts and establishes criteria of judgement. Includes the use of primary sources, consideration of African perspectives, and a balanced portrait of contemporary problems. (MJP)…
(2004). Home-School Relations and the Construction of Racial and Ethnic Identity of Hmong Elementary Students. School Community Journal, v14 n2 p57-75 Fall-Win. This qualitative study examines how Hmong parents and professional staff at one elementary school perceive home-school relations and how they construct racial and ethnic identities of Hmong children. The study was conducted at a Midwestern elementary school where the Hmong student population is over 50% and where five Hmong staff members are employed (3 teachers, 2 aide/translators). Findings indicate differing opinions among parents and school staff in the areas of understanding Hmong culture, multiculturalism and cultural sensitivity, Hmong students "model minority" or "at risk" educationally and linguistically, the role parents play in school involvement, and the construction of race and ethnicity of Hmong students. Neither of two typical Asian stereotypes was attributed to Hmong students, and the prevailing perspective of the ethnic groups was that of "foreigner." Conflicts with work schedules and language barriers are common constraints to parent… [PDF] [Direct]
(1976). Report on State Services to the Hispanic Population of Wisconsin. The scope and quality of services provided to Hispanic persons in Wisconsin were investigated in 1976 by the Governor's Council for Spanish Speaking People and comparisons were made to findings of 1971 and 1974 reviews. Detailed questionnaires were developed for each state agency, and five hearings were held in different locations within the state. For each of the following agencies, information is provided on their functions, questionnaire responses, and council recommendations: Educational Communications Board; Higher Educational Aids Board; Department of Public Instruction; State Historical Society; University of Wisconsin System; Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education System; Department of Administration; Department of Agriculture; Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations; Department of Regulation and Licensing; State Manpower Council; Department of Health and Social Services; Department of Justice; Wisconsin Council on Criminal Justice; Department of Business… [PDF]
(1996). Seminal Seeds and Hybrids: Colonialism and Mountain Cultural Arts in West Virginia. Journal of Multicultural and Cross-cultural Research in Art Education, v14 p66-79 Fall. Examines the effects of institutionalized appropriation and colonization on mountain cultural artists, arts, and arts education in West Virginia. Interview excerpts convey the conflict between institutional representatives and mountain cultural artists regarding questions about authenticity, artistic intentions, marketing, and who should teach traditional cultural arts. Some consequences of this conflict are misrepresentation, misinterpretation, and cultural alteration. (Author/TD)…
(1995). Appreciating Differences: Teaching and Learning in a Culturally Diverse Classroom. Hot Topics: Usable Research. Revised Edition. The purpose of this publication is to provide educators with useful information on and examples of how teachers and students can better communicate and learn in today's culturally diverse classrooms. Educators are offered background information and resources for increasing sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of students of different cultures and enriching their students' curriculum by infusing it with a multicultural perspective. The publication is divided into five sections. Section 1 provides an overview of cultural diversity and the impact it has on U.S. schools. It also addresses the critical role teachers play in facilitating effective learning within culturally diverse classrooms. Suggestions are offered for becoming more sensitive to culturally diverse student and community populations. Section 2 features "Dynamite Ideas"–programs and projects that teachers have used successfully in addressing the needs of culturally diverse school populations. Section 3… [PDF]
(1995). Educating Everybody's Children: Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. What Research and Practice Say about Improving Achievement. The culmination of work by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD) Urban Middle Grades Network, a special Advisory Panel on Improving Student Achievement, and the Improving Student Achievement Research Panel, this book proposes a repertoire of tools for educators meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. The book is divided into nine chapters preceded by a foreword (Gene R. Carter) and a Preface (Helene Hodges) which set forth ASCD's values and beliefs about teaching, the organization's educational philosophy, and ASCD's 3-High Achievement Model. Chapter 1, "Educating Everybody's Children" (Marie Carbo), provides a demographic portrait of poverty, race, and ethnicity of America's children; school funding inequities; and the need for a shift in paradigms. Chapter 2, "Barriers to Good Instruction" prepared by the ASCD Advisory Panel on Improving Student Achievement, presents an overview of attitudes, beliefs, and…
(1998). Dreams of Woken Souls: The Relationship between Culture and Curriculum. This paper examines the relationship between culture and curriculum, combining academic discourse relating to the construction of identity, policy, and curriculum and conversations with 42 members of a New Zealand intermediate school community about the nature of culture. Interviewers' comments and stories illuminate their views of Maori and White culture, cultural differences and interrelationships, intergroup relations in school and community, and cross-cultural communication and learning. The study suggests that while an initial premise of fluidity and complexity in understandings of culture is present in academic and community sources, so too are principles of constancy that emphasize relatedness. In order that these principles may promote understandings of culture in the teaching of culture, a revisionary perspective is needed towards the canon (particularly the sources of knowledge to be regarded as authoritative) and towards the research, interpretation, and representation of… [PDF]
(1989). Collaborative Model for Minority Recruitment and Retention via the Creation of the Future Professionals of the 21st Century Club. This collaborative project between Camden Public School District and Glassboro State College in Camden, New Jersey, sought to plan, develop, implement, and evaluate a program to enhance self-esteem, academic achievement, and college entrance of economically disadvantaged minority urban youth (Black and Hispanic). Special emphasis was given to the social skills needed to compete in academia. Innovative aspects of the program included: (1) bilingual delivery (in Spanish and English); (2) meetings with participants and teachers held at the high school, not the college; (3) inclusion of a multicultural gender perspective in curricular materials; (4) collaboration between public school and college; (5) creation of a student organization for minority recruitment and retention; and (6) interaction of non-traditional and minority teacher candidates as well as minority professionals who served as role models with minority group high school students. The program was evaluated positively by…