Discusses research on home literacy experiences indicating that family literacy experiences are more embedded in family social events than in reading or writing activities. Notes that parent-child interaction, literacy events outside the family, and family values and attitudes about literacy are mainly responsible for children's later academic…

The "Handbook" chapter on teaching describes market-oriented and constructivist reforms that are contradictory. The former constructs work as scripts for production; the latter constructs work as scaffolds for expression. Teaching must resist external scripting and assume responsibility for its own agency. Teachers' allegiance is to…

Describes the central concept of Mayan culture, the possession of the soul, or ch'ulel, in the process of forming a knowledgeable person. Soul acquisition is important to becoming the ideal person, and to the educational formation of future generations. Looks at the role language plays in culture as memory, thought formation, and learning process.…

This study provides an empirical description of the dimensions of community values, beliefs, and opinions through a survey conducted in the Pueblo Indian community of Zuni in New Mexico. The sample was composed of 200 randomly chosen community members ranging from 21 to 103 years old. A principal component factor analysis was conducted, as well as…

This paper addresses the ethical and social justice implications of an educational movement called, The New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership). In particular, this paper emphasizes the ethical underpinnings of this movement by focusing on the paradox in the form of the dyad of control/democracy. This important paradox is developed…

New Jersey, like many other states, is experiencing a significant influx of new immigrants--from countries such as India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Poland, Nigeria, Liberia, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. In addition, New Jersey remains one of the most segregated states in the country, educating the majority of its African-American families…

Western preschools and schools find it important to nurture democracy. However, in order to succeed in nurturing democracy, democratic ideas must be implemented in all situations. Education alone, therefore, is not enough. All children must experience real influence over their situations, and experience the opportunity for self-determination in…

This paper discusses the concept of "cultural cross-currents," their implicit nature and the potential they have to effect second language literacy learning, teaching and curriculum reform in Hong Kong primary classrooms. Despite the substantive implications for learning, the exploration of cultural influences upon teacher and student…

The primary purpose of this study was to test a path model exploring the relationships among Africentric cultural values, self-esteem, perceived social support satisfaction, and life satisfaction in a sample of 147 African American adolescent girls. This investigation also examined the possible mediating effects of self-esteem and perceived social…

There is a growing demand for advice about effective, time efficient ways of using ICT to support student learning in higher education. This paper uses one such area of activity--networked learning--as a context in which to outline a novel approach to educational design. The paper makes two main contributions. It provides a high level view of the…

Today there has been a shift in the organizational structure in our schools (Murphy and Seashore Louis, 1999). These include educational leadership shifts in roles, relationships, and responsibilities; the alteration of traditional patterns of relationships; and the fact that authority tends to be less hierarchical. Senge (1990) believes systems…

This article discusses the idea of the "safe school" juvenile delinquency prevention model as a paradigm of bringing together all of the community participants, in order to bring about ways and means through which community problems could be met and solved. It suggests that in free and democratic societies, the consent of all participant…

As globalization proceeded, the rights of sexual minority groups have become one of the human rights that cannot be ignored. However, recognizing sexuality as a human right and promoting educational practices which affect human rights policies, have been implemented mainly in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. For example, the…

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has joined campuses across the nation in identifying and assessing student learning outcomes. With its 20 schools, diverse populations, and multiple goals, how this urban institution managed to organize much of its work around six learning principles is a tale of both caution and triumph.…

Phase one of the IEA Civic Study was designed for fourteen-year-old students. In Denmark this included students from the eighth and ninth grades although civics is not part of the required curriculum until grade nine. Students' answers to questions concerning civic knowledge were collected together with information related to student attitudes,…