Criticizes Bernstein's formulation that there is a fundamental qualitative difference between working class and middle class speech--that working class speech is "restricted" and middle class speech is "elaborated." It is suggested that the relationship between social class and type of speech cannot be well described or…

Differences in communication and interaction styles of groups defined as literate and those defined as oral are discussed. (RM)

The findings of nine studies comparing the symbolic play of middle-class and lower-class children are summarized and examined in detail. Related research problems are discussed and directions for future research are indicated. Examination of the studies indicated that few general conclusions can be drawn from them about the relative quality of…

IN A RESEARCH STUDY IN SMALL GROUP INQUIRY, AN ANALYSIS WAS MADE OF THE CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE BEHAVIOR AND LANGUAGE STYLE OF LOWER-CLASS NEGRO AND MIDDLE-CLASS WHITE YOUTHS. ELEVEN INNER-CITY NEGRO GROUPS AND SEVEN SUBURBAN WHITE GROUPS OF 15- TO 19-YEAR-OLD YOUTHS MET SEPARATELY ONCE A WEEK FOR 10 WEEKS. IN ADDITION TO…

Intelligence tests are really only systems of classification of individuals with reference to others. Thus with such classification systems it is impossible to interpret a deficiency reflected by test scores in other than a socio-cultural frame of reference. Some 150 Black and White seventh grade children between the ages of 12 and 14 were…

The purpose of this study was to determine how status was indicated by the use of directives in homogeneous groups of adolescent females and whether differences in status designation existed which could be attributed to either class or ethnicity. Three groups of ten to twelve-year-olds (middle-class white, working-class white, and working-class…

This article reports the results of research carried out in London using five-year-old children of working class and middle class backgrounds. Speech samples were collected and compared on the basis of grammatical categories. It was discovered that working class children used more pronouns than their middle class counterparts in third person…

This project was designed to study the process of parents teaching preschool age children using a direct observational method. Six mothers and their own three-year-old sons from seven ethnic groups participated: middle-class Anglo, lower-class Anglo, English-speaking Mexican-American, bilingual Mexican-American; Spanish-Speaking Mexican-American,…