Alexis Patterson's paper researches equity in groupwork in the science classroom by looking at micro-interactions. She points to the key features of student voice, student visibility and student authority while addressing the teachers' role in creating a more equitable and productive talk in science classrooms. This forum paper aims at continuing…

There is a sense of urgency in America today, reminiscent of the "space race" rhetoric of the cold-war era, that Americans must get their act together in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education because the Asians are coming. Many people believe that higher-education institutions in countries like China and…

The article replies to H. Stevenson (EC 162 649), who has interpreted his cross-linguistic studies as showing that differences in orthographies do not materially affect the reading-acquisition process or the prognosis for successful learning. The reply asserts that Stevenson's results derive from a faulty interpretation of comparisons among…

Discusses the need to accommodate cultural diversity in education. Asserts that arts education can develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills and offer a validation of a student's own culture and other cultures. Argues that teachers should seek arts education that develops creative, thoughtful students who can contribute to cultural…

The authors propose a framework for considering ways to meet the needs of black handicapped children. The framework recognizes three aspects: cultural background (ethnic customs, parental status, socioeconomic status, societal acceptancy, and individual uniqueness); teacher preparation (personal qualities, experiences, and teacher training); and…

Summarizes and interprets Wole Soyinka's play "Death and the King's Horseman," clarifying some of the shared misunderstandings dividing African and European cultures. Relates the play's theme to the creative acts of teaching and learning. (DMM)

Describes the use of simulation games in cross-cultural training, noting that participants in these programs are usually adults. Highlights include a history of cross-cultural training; diversity training; learning processes; motivation; practice; shared experience; examples of simulation games used for cross-cultural training; and trainers who…

Introduces the theme of this issue, which expands comparative education topics inward, toward the developmental perspective of the child, and outward, toward culture, historically situated. Discusses findings from the International Assessment of Educational Progress in terms of cultural differences in children's attitudes toward learning. (KS)

Maintains that it is not the volume of information about diverse groups that will help children develop attitudes of respect and appreciation of differences; rather, it is the skill of processing such information in a positive manner. Concrete examples illustrate the different process skills which should be introduced in school. (Author/BB)

Discusses the trend for bibliographic instruction in academic libraries to be more attentive to aspects of content and delivery related to diversity. Highlights include communication competence; ethnic competence; ethnocentrism; navigating community information systems as opposed to libraries; different ways of learning; and nonverbal…

This paper discusses four kinds of reasons for studying child language. The first of the four, biological reasons, includes the desire to understand our own species and its place among other living things in the universe. The common human faculty for communication, the variability in language building, and the similarity of human communication to…

Contends that Westerners are accustomed to learning about the world through our senses of sight and hearing, and that "lower" senses--smell, taste, and touch--tend to be associated with "savagery" or sensualism. Provides a cross-cultural look at the Colombian Desana people who acquire knowledge through full-bodied experience…

Comments on Kenneth Boulding's address to the 1991 Social Science Education Consortium Conference. Compares Boulding's approach to knowledge to the scientific community's correction of errors. Suggests that social studies might do better for the future by focusing on multicultural understanding with the realization that all people share many of…

Examines the representations of mental functioning in terms of images and stories of gender relations. Suggests that the rational pole of the mind is often stereotyped as "hard" and "masculine," while the nonrational pole is considered "soft" and "feminine." Reviews evidence suggesting that these dynamics…

Underlines the importance of investigating development within concrete thinking. Points out the importance of taking seriously the need for epistemological pluralism respecting and rewarding the labor-intensive methods of inquiry that embody the kind of concrete, contextual thinking researchers try to understand. (AA)