EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH GENERALIZES TOO FREELY ABOUT THE EFFECT OF LOWER-CLASS CULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE MIDDLE-CLASS SCHOOL ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DISADVANTAGED CHILD. IF INSTEAD EDUCATORS CONSIDERED THE RANGES AND VARIATIONS OF EACH OF THESE INFLUENCES, AND THE VARIABLES ACCOUNTING FOR THE DISADVANTAGED CHILD'S ACADEMIC SUCCESS…

A study in progress investigating cultural and structural factors which affect educational opportunities for white middle-class and Punjabi immigrants in a California high school is reported. In the two-and one-half years since the project began, researchers have interviewed a broad range of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The…

PRIMARILY AN OVERVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH ON CHILD-REARING AND FAMILY LIFE PATTERNS, THIS BOOK FOCUSES ON THE LIFE OF THE VERY POOR AND COMPARES THEIR LIFE PATTERNS AND PRACTICES WITH THOSE OF MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES. THE TWO SETS OF PATTERNS ARE ANALYZED UNDER FIVE HEADINGS--MENTAL HEALTH, EDUCATION, "MORAL" CHARACTER, SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY,…

Argues that many present programs equate economic improvement with ethnic assimilation, and are based upon values of individualism, although the interests of both the cultural minorities and the nation would be served by the reinforcement of ethnicity. (JM)

Educators must realize that expectations should be appropriate and positive. Teachers who are not familiar with the culture of their students may not know what to expect. Schools may unknowingly promote failure by basing expectations on middle class norms. Two exemplary case studies of bilingual students are presented. (VM)

In contrast to traditional schools, free schools promote communication between teachers and students and among the students themselves. (Author/AM)

This University of California, Los Angeles, Fernald School project was designed to evaluate the impact of an intensive, individualized remedial program upon the learning skills of disadvantaged children. In addition to the focus on learning skills, aspiration levels and self-attitudes, a second objective was to compare learning problems of…

Teachers' social origins influence their reactions to students. Low-status and minority students experience difficulties in the classrooms of high-status teachers. Outcomes of these relationships are that the students are seen as less mature and less is expected of them. A model of teacher-pupil background congruence is proposed. (Author/VM)

AN EVALUATION OF A 6-WEEK SUMMER EDUCATIONAL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FOR DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS RANGING FROM PRESCHOOL TO GRADE NINE FOUND THAT DESPITE THE SHORTNESS OF THE SESSIONS PROGRESS WAS MADE TOWARD REACHING THE GOALS OF THE PROGRAM. THE GOALS INCLUDED INCREASING STUDENTS' VERBAL AND NONVERBAL CREATIVITY, DEVELOPING STUDENT COOPERATION AND…

In an effort to discover relationships between acculturation, achievement, and teacher expectations as sources of alienation of Spanish American students, a sample of 477 6th grade students in 16 schools in Northern New Mexico was studied. The teacher sample found that: (1) no significant relationship existed between composite achievement and…

This follow-up study aimed to determine whether a similar relationship between anxiety in the school situation and racial-socioeconomic status in upper elementary school children could be found in an expanded population. A population of 1201 fifth- and sixth-grade children from eight schools representing various combinations of urban-suburban,…

A social psychological analysis of the school life of disadvantaged children indicates that conflicts result from the lower-class youngster's need to adjust to the expectations of middle-class society. A review of social psychological theory points to the implication that the cultural conflict is a fundamental one going to the very heart of basic…

THIS STUDY ATTEMPTED TO DETERMINE THE ENVIRONMENTAL PATTERNS (CHILD CARE PRACTICES, PARENTAL ATTITUDES, AND OTHER INTRAFAMILY AND EXTRAFAMILY INFLUENCES) WHICH ARE DETRIMENTAL OR BENEFICIAL TO THE OPTIMAL LEARNING AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER CLASS PUERTO RICAN CHILDREN. A SAMPLE POPULATION CONSISTED OF 95 CHILDREN WHOSE BEHAVIOR HAD BEEN…