What happens when the outside world begins to affect the classroom? Is the classroom supposed to be neutral, objective, and devoid of feelings? Or is it a space where students and teacher meet for healing, understanding, and critical thinking? From news reports of police brutality to highly publicized acts of racial aggression, students are…

The theoretical orientation of this study of the extended, black, middle-class, is two-fold: (1) the socialization of children in black families differs from other families because of their nonsupportive wider environment, and (2) the extended kin network facilitates upward mobility. To test these hypotheses, 305 black parents were questionned…

This study investigated children's sex biased attitudes as a function of the sex, age, and race of the child as well as a geographical-SES factor. Two attitudes were measured on a 55-item questionnaire: Sex Pride (attributing positive characteristics to a child of the same sex) and Sex Prejudice (attributing negative characteristics to a child of…

This study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (comprised of three subsamples taken in 1979) to characterize the siblings of middle class and poor Blacks and Whites, testing for racial differences in the probability of having a sibling on the other side of the socioeconomic divide. In support of theories in the urban poverty…

The extremely conservative political climate and the record-breaking recession have effectively destroyed the hopes and dreams of poor black families, and they seriously threaten the existence of an emerging, still fragile, black middle class. Prior to 1960, no more than 10-12 percent of black families could be counted as members of the middle…

Examined the strengths and needs of working- and middle-class African-American and European-American grandmothers. Surveys revealed that African-American grandmothers perceived themselves as significantly more involved in teaching their grandchildren and more likely to need information about various aspects of their grandchildren's lives.…

This study investigated the ethnic and racial awareness, self-identification, and ethnic group preference in Anglo, Black, and Chicano preschool and third-grade children. (Author)

States that liberals fail to acknowledge data which show that black Americans have made significant progress in moving into the middle class. (DM)

Michael Levin argues that data from the study are consistent with a black/white IQ difference that is significantly genetic. Richard Lynn maintains that adoption by middle-class, white families has no effect on intelligence. Waldman, Weinberg, and Scarr respond to these criticisms and support the original conclusions. (SLD)

Describes a study designed to analyze the relative frequency of analogical responses to questions among 3 groups: 15 inner-city Black preschoolers, 15 inner-city White preschoolers, and 15 mainstream White preschoolers. Results indicated that the number and frequency of analogical responses to questions were highest among Black children in the…

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate children's retention of premise and inference information from short stories. Thirty-two low-socioeconomic status (SES) black and 25 middle-SES white children (all 4th graders) served as subjects. The children were read nine short stories, each comprised of two premise statements and a filler sentence.…

Social class and ethnic differences in the use of the three conceptual styles of cognitive performance (Relational, Descriptive, and Categorical) were examined in this study of 112 grade-school boys. The subjects were divided into four groups, black and white middle class, and black and white lower class. Two instruments were used to assess…

THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS SIZE AND GROWTH VELOCITY DATA COLLECTED DURING A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF 111 NORMAL, HEALTHY NEGRO INFANTS FROM LOWER-MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES. DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM BIRTH RECORDS AND MEASUREMENTS TAKEN DURING ROUTINE PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS. WHEN THIS NEGRO SAMPLE WAS COMPARED WITH WHITE INFANTS IN SIMILAR STUDIES IT WAS FOUND…

Federal social programs in the 1960s allowed for the emergence of a Black middle class. Current government proposals for massive budget cuts in social programs limit the traditional avenues of access to the middle class and deny many poor Blacks the opportunity to attain the American dream. (Author/MJL)

Examined the speech of middle- and working-class black and white parents to their preschool children during picture identification, free play, and a meal. The study found the groups similar in the level and form of parental labeling and different in the information supplied by parents, parental direction of child behavior, and parental sensitivity…