Summarizes findings about consistently low Latino admission eligibility for the University of California. Raises concerns about the role of standardized tests in determining eligibility and suggests alternatives that would allow admission criteria to be reconsidered in the current post-affirmative action era. (Author/GCP)

Examined cultural patterning in situational variability in mother-infant interactions among middle-class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers and 12- to 15-month-old firstborns. Found that the emphasized socialization goals and childrearing strategies were consonant with individualistic orientations for Anglo mothers and sociocentric orientations for…

Study examines the effects of Hispanic counselors' race and speech accent on Asian American and African American students' initial perceptions. Results show that students' gender, race, and level of "universal-diverse" orientation, along with counselors' speech accent, predicted students' initial perceptions of the counselors and of the…

Examined the relationship between perceived multiculturalism of schools, ease of learning, academic achievement, and intent to stay in school among eighth and eleventh graders. Surveys of Mexican-American and European-American students indicated that Mexican-American students who considered their environment multicultural also perceived that…

A study of 100 Latino parents whose children participated in school programs for limited English proficient students with disabilities found they believed educators should increase their understanding of Latino culture. They recognized the importance of school personnel getting to know their children, but reported infrequent home-school contact or…

Finds that (1) children taught in Spanish did not differ from those taught in English on English reading and writing but were significantly stronger on Spanish reading and writing; (2) being taught literacy in Spanish contributed to performance in Spanish reading comprehension; but (3) being taught in English did not have the same positive effect…

A comparison of 159 sexually abused African American (AA) and 77 Hispanic (HN) girls and caretakers found HN girls had more sexually abusive episodes and waited longer to disclose abuse. AA girls were more likely to have experienced vaginal penetration. Caretakers of HN girls perceived their children as more aggressive. (Contains references.)…

Dynamic assessment methods are compared with respect to their assessment applications. An assessment protocol recommended for the identification of language disorder versus differences is then described. Examples of two Spanish-English bilingual children show how the protocol may be useful to assess children's language-learning potential and to…

One difficulty of evaluating after-school programs is that providers often lack resources necessary to employ rigorous evaluation designs. One strategy is to investigate the relationship between attendance and outcomes while covarying for important potentially confounding variables. The current study investigates the influence of after-school…

Dual language education programs have become extremely popular. Although these programs share common characteristics, they vary in several respects. Programs use different languages and include students with varying characteristics. For instance, many of these programs include students with fluent English proficiency and those with limited English…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with early onset of sexual intercourse. Within an ecological system's conceptual framework, familial factors associated with early onset of sexual activity were identified in a sample of 425 adolescents from San Juan metro area schools. Measures included questions about sexual activity,…

This article discusses the cross-cultural issues that confront immigrant Latino parents living and raising adolescents in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the need for social work practitioners, who, as they aid a family's integration into mainstream society, will listen to the parents' concerns and incorporate their past experiences and…

Black, Hispanic, and White American mothers (n = 739) and adolescents (n = 806) completed the Parent Success Indicator to rate maternal performance on subscales of Communication, Use of Time, Teaching, Frustration, Satisfaction, and Information Needs. A weighted method corresponding to ethnic proportions in the American population was applied to…

This article reports on a study using Piagetian clinical methodology to examine the early writing development of 56, urban, Spanish-speaking preschoolers in a metropolitan area of the United States. In addition, the article draws upon findings by the Expert Study (Flippo, 1998) to underscore the types of instructional environments that have proven…

This article describes the experiences of a second grade teacher who teaches in a heterogeneous bilingual classroom in a large district, and his assignment in a graduate class to conduct action research. This teacher was concerned about the academic performance and motivation of two gifted, but underachieving Hispanic boys in his class. Both of…