This paper reports a secondary analysis of a direct measure of popular taste and contrasts it with professional evaluations of the same cultural product. The data are 5,644 motion pictures rated over a twenty-two-year period by members of a consumer organization and a group of professional movie reviewers. Ratings ofthe two groups are compared,…

A review is made of some of the studies done regarding social class differences and the effectiveness of reinforcers within these class groups of children. Results of these studies show that overall, the suggested hypothesis of differential reinforcers among social classes cannot be assumed. (DEP)

Challenging conventional characterization of teenage girlhood as a wasteland of depression, low self-esteem, and passive victimhood, this book presents accounts of young girls showing how their voices are shaped and constrained by socioeconomic class. Based on a year-long study involving conversations with white adolescent girls from the working…

The author considers the conceptual soundness of self-directed learning and elaborates a definition of the term. The author also raises some questions about the methodological rigor of the studies on which the new academic orthodoxy is based. He considers social settings, learning styles, independence, middle class lifestyles, and methods of…

Examines the struggle between dominant and minority groups in terms of the use of language. Traces the development of literacy as a means of social control in the United States and England. Argues that linking literacy with standard language creates an effective form of ideological hegemony. (FMW)

In order to assess the degree to which teachers' expectations are related to children's social class characteristics, 96 elementary school teachers of lower and middle-upper class children were asked to judge performance potential and related characteristics, including SES background, from a set of photographs of black and white children.…

The system of education in the United States mirrors, creates, and legitimates inequalities of the larger society that supports it. Legally required schooling ranks, sorts, and prepares children for the "real world," and contributes to social maintenance rather than to social change by stressing the "correctness" of some…

A LANGUAGE ARTS PROJECT WHICH SERVES 1378 DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN FROM GRADES ONE THROUGH SIX IN 23 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IS EVALUATED IN THIS REPORT. RELEVANT INFORMATION IS PRESENTED UNDER THE FOLLOWING RUBRICS--HISTORY OF THE PROJECT, OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT TEACHING, PERSONNEL INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER, CLASS ORGANIZATION, PROJECT TEACHER…

The writing center is a logical setting for assisting the culturally dissonant student. Although the education of ethnic minority youth is one of the major tasks confronting American society and public higher education, teaching methods remain oriented to the values of a predominantly white middle class population. As a result, non-traditional…

This study investigates the structural and functional differences between the non-standard Negro English of northern ghetto areas (NNE) and standard English (SE). The major field work was done in Central Harlem with (1) a geographically random sample of 50 pre-adolescent speakers in Vacation Day Camps, (2) six pre-adolescent and adolescent peer…

The relationship between moral development and cultural and educational background is examined. Approximately 120 Israeli youth representing different social classes, sex, religious affiliation, and educational experience were interviewed. The youth interviewed included urban middle and lower class students, Kibbutz-born, Youth Aliyah…