Middle-class respondents mistakenly deny that the work ethic is strong among the poor, fundamentally misunderstand how high work ethic leads to increased feelings of insecurity, and mistakenly project for the poor a strong identification of welfare income with income from quasi-illegal sources. (Author)

This paper argues that teachers of remedial students must make their students create their own order and meanings which may be at variance with the established order around them, but are valid nevertheless. Current research stresses the need to develop a positive self-concept, particularly in remedial students and in those whose cultural values…

Traditional beliefs, values, and attitudes are being restructured by society, which deeply affects the role of the female adolescent. This article discusses these effects on the experience of the contemporary White American middle class female older adolescent (16-20 years old) in relation to the changing role of women. (Author/KC)

The results of Osgood's Semantic Differential Scale, administered to 81 teachers, revealed that teachers saw themselves as "fair, alert, active, good" and, above all, "clean." The fact that these teachers were inclined to see Mexican American, black, and Caucasian students in much the same light (making only minor…

This paper explores behavior patterns of lower class black adolescents and contends that their seemingly illogical and irrational behavior is, in fact, meaningful and utilitarian within the context of their environments. The effects of social and residential segregation and the lack of stable social institutions reinforce strong feelings of group…

When disadvantaged students attend neighborhood schools, they are handicapped by low expectations and teachers so overworked meeting other student needs that they have little time to teach. Mixing lower- and middle-class students through busing gives the disadvantaged new role models and aspirations and allows teachers to function more…

This research report summarizes data on six new immigrant groups, Colombians, Italians, Greeks, Koreans, Asian Indians, and Israelis, living in the Borough of Queens in New York City. The research format consisted of a comprehensive interview administered to 116 households. Data on occupation, education, income, household composition,…

This study examines the impact of world view and perceived personal competencies on feelings of alienation of black second-semester freshmen on a predominantly white university campus. Forty of the 120 18-year-old, American-born black freshmen volunteered as participants. Twenty-four females and 16 males completed the following instruments: (1)…

ANGLO, NEGRO, AND MEXICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN WERE STUDIED TO INVESTIGATE FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS WHICH EXIST BETWEEN THE SELF-CONCEPT OF THE LOW-INCOME, CULTURALLY DIFFERENT CHILD AND CERTAIN ORGANISMIC (RACE, SEX, FAMILY SIZE, BIRTH ORDER, GRADE LEVEL) AND BEHAVIORAL (ACHIEVEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE TEST RESULTS) VARIABLES. ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY…

STRADDLING TWO CULTURES, MEXICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS ARE HAMPERED BY LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND IDENTITY PROBLEMS. THEIR SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT IS FURTHER HINDERED BY THE CULTURAL GAP WHICH EXISTS BETWEEN THEM AND THEIR ANGLO TEACHERS, AND BY THEIR CHARACTERISTIC NONCOMPETITIVE VALUES. MOREOVER, THE PATRIARCHAL, EXTENDED STRUCTURE OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN…

Reviews an ethnographic analysis of Teach for America, a 1990 educational reform program that illustrates how underlying assumptions about "marginal" urban and rural students and their "deficient" environments solidify existing power structures, acculturate students to middle-class norms, generate resistance to teachers, and…