Arguing that children's books play a significant part in transmitting a society's culture to children, this Digest discusses how gender roles are portrayed in children's books. It begins by discussing how the genders are portrayed in children's literature, and then addresses the question of why gender-representation in children's literature is…

Multiracial individuals represent an expanding population of Americas diverse society. Results from Census 2000 showed that of the total 281.4 million people in the United States, 6.8 million of the population indicated their background consisted of more than just one race. Nearly 3 million of respondents within the two or more races population…

This ERIC Digest considers the present state of teaching about Latin America in elementary and secondary schools in the United States, the need and rationale for Latin American studies, effective approaches to teaching Latin American studies, and resources to supplement textbooks that treat Latin America inadequately. Following an introductory…

Three questions are addressed in this document: (1) How have women been treated in social studies textbooks and curricula? (2) What are some strategies for including women in social studies? (3) What resources are recommended for teachers and students? Textbook studies of the 1970s revealed limited coverage of women in the social studies, and the…

Noting that the terms "Native American" and "American Indian" are both legitimately used to refer to the indigenous people of North America, this digest identifies stereotypes about Native Americans that children gain from media portrayals and classroom role playing, and suggests strategies for teachers to use to counter…

Although more than 52 percent of the current college and university student body is comprised of women, institutional leadership is still dominated by males. This digest summarizes the issue from an institutional context and identifies factors that contribute to the gap. It suggests that the organizational and societal concepts of leadership be…