What is the task of educators at a time when mainstream American culture is increasingly characterized by a declining interest in and misgiving about national politics? How one answers this question will have a grave impact not only on higher education but on the future of democratic public life. There are no simple solutions says author Henry…

As part of a larger exploration of the role of community colleges in bringing the poor, working class, and ethnic minorities into higher education, this study looked at how students and institutional cultures at four urban community colleges interacted to achieve unusually high transfer rates to four-year colleges and universities. In the 1994-95…

Using a comparative and historical approach, this paper examines linguistic perspectives on minority education, specifically language-based explanations for the reading problems of working class minority group students. The paper first discusses the ways in which competence and performance theories of language treat the relation between language…

A two-year longitudinal study of 200 working women in California urban areas represents an effort to understand the processes by which specific interests and commitments to paid employment develop. Data from intensive personal interviews with women in traditional and nontraditional occupations should indicate factors which facilitate the entry of…

Attempts a comprehensive investigation into the impact of nonconformity on the development of elementary education in Swansea, Wales, between 1851 and 1900. Nonconformity was a dissenting strand of English Protestant theology popular among the working class. Recounts the early efforts of the nonconformists in establishing Sunday schools. (MJP)

Describes the efforts of one elementary art class to move beyond the limits of formalism when examining and discussing art. Guided by the teacher, the class attempted a critical deconstruction of the work of Edgar Degas focusing on his depiction of working class women. Includes three reproductions of Degas works. (MJP)

Examines the modes of accommodation to America of working- and middle-class mothers of Cuban heritage living in Miami, Florida, in terms of language proficiencies. Findings indicate that working-class mothers encourage their children to learn English in order to succeed, a subtractive form of bilingualism, whereas middle-class mothers encourage…

Describes Mozambican factory workers' acquisition, experience, and use of literacy during socialist construction. Links classroom expectations with sociopolitical relationships, ideological practice, and persistent definitions of class, race, and gender. Describes literacy education as shaped by tension between competing educational approaches…

Shows that despite moves during the 1840s in England to use teacher training to raise working-class members into the lower levels of white-collar society, elementary teaching was dominated by the lower middle class. Provides evidence from a sample of pupil teachers in Birmingham during the years 1850 through 1900. (DSK)

Provides a overview of the development and implementation of free public education. Considers the political climate of 18th-century America and the subsequent controversies concerning tax-supported public education. Discusses such issues as moral education, religious education, civic education, and secular and religious opposition and provides…

Tenth-grade students in many rural Australian schools must make decisions regarding their careers and whether they want to migrate to urban areas to complete their education. A study in a small, rural Australian community of the vocational choices of 30 10th-grade students revealed fundamental social differences between working- and middle-class…

Offers a lesson plan in which students examine the concerns expressed by Progressive Era reformers about working-class leisure activities. Uses dance hall reform as a case study of the problems that interested reformers and provides an example of the types of solutions they proposed. Includes three handouts. (CMK)

The achievement gap that exists between Black and White students--even those from similar economic backgrounds--is an ongoing challenge for educators. Although schools receive much of the blame, the gap is more the result of social class characteristics that go beyond even the best schools and teachers. Raising the achievement of lower-class…

This qualitative study of how parents teach their children to excel academically in the African American community seeks to establish the validity of the pedagogical practices of working class African American families by investigating the educational leadership of two families on Chicago's south side. The study acknowledges the significance of…

This book contains 21 papers detailing the history of adult and continuing education at the University of Leeds (England) since its inception in 1946 as the Department of Extra-Mural Studies. The themes addressed include the appropriate nature of university continuing education and the issue of standards and quality assurance; the roles of…