Drawing from humanizing pedagogies (Bartolome, 1994; del Carmen Salazar; Freire & Ramos, 1993) and humanizing research (Paris & Winn, 2013), in this article I propose an approach to "humanizing assessment" that begins with the position that inclusive and equitable educational opportunities and assessment practices that meet the…

Current scientometric indexes do not encourage the linguistic diversity of sources cited in academic texts and researchers are not motivated to cite texts written in smaller languages. This diminishes the cultural diversity of the sources cited and limits the representation of small and indigenous cultures. This text proposes a scientometric…

Deaf children have traditionally been perceived and educated as a special needs population. Over the past several decades, many factors have converged to enable a shift in perspective to one in which deaf children are viewed as a cultural and linguistic minority, and the education of deaf children is approached from a bilingual framework. This…

The three-phase process "-Instrument for Minority Immigrant Science Learning Environment," an 8-scale, 32-item see Appendix I- (I_MISLE) instrument when completed by teachers provides an accurate description of existing conditions in classrooms in which immigrant and refugee students are situated. Through the completion of the instrument…

The authors of this article discuss the discriminatory practices through language in both multicultural and bilingual education. Bilingual education promotes academic instruction in the native language, to varying degrees, while multicultural education stresses the need to valorize and appreciate cultural differences as a process during which…

Through research, shared stories have demonstrated their effectiveness in teaching literacy skills to students with disabilities, including students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. In an effort to keep pace with ever-changing technology, shared stories can be transformed into a multimedia experience using software that is commonly…

The quest for understanding the dynamics of language and the related sociocultural aspects of students with autism continues to be a challenge. Today, the term "autism" refers to a set of descriptions that profile a wide range of children who have impairments in their abilities to initiate and sustain healthy, normal social relationships…

Today's early childhood classrooms reflect the nation's changing cultural mosaic. With each new school year, teachers likely will encounter more and more children from backgrounds different from their own. The changing face of the American classroom reflects the progressive integration of race, religion, physical ability, and language.…

For years, well-intentioned educators have arranged school open houses to encourage language minority families to participate in their children's education. These educators know that decades of research tout the benefits of schools partnering with parents. Yet the results of such events are often discouraging. Many teachers and administrators do…

Using a language-centered perspective about culture, this book aims to provide culture-based interpretations for language-in-use and for broader discourse issues. The first three chapters present an overview of language and culture in the United States and introduce the concepts and vocabulary for understanding language and cultural complexity.…

In the past, much discrimination against deaf people was based on the assumption that they were in fact people without language--that is, dumb. "Dumb" carried the sense of being not only mute but also stupid, as in a "dumb" animal. The status of deaf people has changed in important ways, as deaf activists and scholars have reshaped the idea of…

Describes the Romani (Gypsy) culture and refutes some stereotypes about this ethnic group. Discusses ways to improve educational opportunities for Romani children, whose culture has been wary of conventional public education and describes the importance of the Internet for Romani-American communication. (SLD)

The San tribe in Botswana has historically been oppressed as they have struggled to maintain their culture and livelihood in the face of change. This article presents a portion of a multiple case study of access to education in Botswana, examining access to education for the San, a minority tribe with little access to formal schooling. The…

Since 1975, the United States has accepted more than 110,000 Laotian highlanders as refugees, the vast majority of whom are Hmong. The Hmong in America trace their Chinese ancestry back thousands of years, but their recent history is rooted in Laos where Hmong families escaped from China in the mid-1800s. It is difficult to overstate the culture…

Although challenges faced by refugee children in English schools are those faced by all students, theirs are exacerbated by their refugee status. Particular problems are those of student migration, language, culture, home and school relationships, the pastoral aspect of school care, and the need for time to deal with the child as an individual.…