This research is based on the question of why prospective teachers should take an educational anthropology course, considering the communication of the teaching profession (understanding the other) and encountering cultural diversity (education continues outside the school, this education aims to reproduce and sustain teaching). Today, it has…

This paper presents an overview of some of Michael Cole's work, starting with his pioneering research in Liberia with the Kpelle (and later, with Sylvia Scribner, studies of literacy with the Vai, 1981), which was formative of his version of a cultural-historical psychology, his translation and interpretations of the work of L. S. Vygotsky and…

This article looks into the claim that the international academic community of educational technologies seems to have functioned in a "tribal" way, having formed themselves around tribe-like patterns. It therefore addresses the research question: What are these claimed tribe-like practices that such a community exhibits? This question is…

In this article, we explore three anthropological approaches to science education research: funds of knowledge, third space/hybridity and practice theory. Definitions, historical origins, uses and constraints of each approach are included along with reviews of exemplary studies in each tradition. We show that funds of knowledge research draws on…

This article reviews advances of interest to multicultural educators and researchers in the complementary disciplines of multicultural education and educational anthropology including the culture concept; biological and sociological conceptions of "race;" postmodern understandings of identity and subjectivity; and ethnographic accounts…

Intelligence and creativity are concepts used to describe the efforts of human beings to achieve the highest aspirations of the human brain-mind-spirit system. Howard Gardner, intelligence and creativity researcher, applied his Multiple Intelligence theory to case studies of creative masters from seven intelligence domains developing a template…

In this article, I highlight the challenges, tensions, and affinities between Latino educational anthropology and diaspora studies. Some of the urgent questions include attention to new Latino destinations, transnationalism, and Latino diversity. It concludes by suggesting future pathways through Latina feminist thought.

The idea that something external to the human organism, "culture," could contribute to human diversity was a pivotal paradigm shift when it arose at the end of the last century, but the power of the concept has been eroded through a reductionistic abuse of the term, and "culture" may give way to ideas of "identity." (SLD)

An American's description of problems encountered and cultural differences examined while employed as a lecturer at the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. (HMV)

Comments on the cross-cultural research reported in the two preceding articles on comparisons of a German and American school and Dutch and Israeli teachers. Supports cross-national comparisons of school culture as an enlightening element of school reform. (LHW)

The nature of pluralism, especially in education, is discussed. The dominant culture in the United States is compared with the African culture. The uniqueness of African Americans and the implications for pluralism are investigated. Specific examples of ways educational personnel might promote educational pluralism are presented. (CJ)

This article is a series of excerpts from 11 papers which the editors requested from foreign colleagues who visited the U.S. Particularily emphasized are the points of difference and similarity between what they see in their own countries and what they see here. (HMV)

Reviews other articles in this special issue. The two traditional explanations of school failure by minority children do not conflict, yet neither is a complete explanation by itself. A more holistic picture of school success and failure is emerging as educators and social scientists view schools, children, and the community in a more complex and…

Examines schooling cross-culturally by looking at two examples of school culture. Defines what is meant by the study of culture and discusses current research in one American town and one German town. Views classroom learning as the result of calculated intervention. (Author/LHW)

An experiment conducted at the University of Haifa School of Education examined the cross-cultural usefulness of educational anthropology's theoretical core. Ways students reorganize their cognitive maps are demonstrated by highlighting personal, organizational, social, and cultural conditions that effect the assimilation of new learning.…