Program design in nonformal education must take into account the cultural context in which it exists. In developing countries, it can neither reject all values of Western civilization (an impossible task), nor can it embrace Western values without regard to native cultures. The challenge, especially in literacy education, is to become culturally…

An analysis of the cultural and historical context in which curriculum decisions are made in Australia and a comparison with educational assumptions in the United States is the purpose of this paper. Methodology is based on personal teaching experience and observation in Australia. Seven factors are identified upon which curricular decisions in…

For those who consider themselves teachers, "cultural literacy" is an issue worth pondering. In "Education for Critical Consciousness," Paulo Freire deplores the "banking concept" of education, in which a teacher "pours" knowledge into "passive receptacles," because Freire believes that texts have…

A study investigated advertising executives' perceptions of the importance of culture in international advertising, as well as advertising message approaches used by international corporations. It was hypothesized that more nonculturally oriented managers would agree to the use of the same creative strategies to advertise in both domestic and…

Using a revised theoretical model of newsworthiness, a study investigated the prominence with which world events are covered by the United States news media. The model differs from previous newsworthiness studies by adding two measures of the deviance of events and by including several country-based social significance predictor variables. Two…

A teacher educator describes his teaching experience in China and his finding that the Western behaviorist, alphabetic, linear mode of thinking has been widely adopted in education in that traditionally ideographic culture. The contrasting relationships of language, thought and behavior in the American and Chinese cultures is examined, and it is…

The successful educational and industrial systems in Japan are related to the social and historical condition of the country. A society that receives ideas and technology of education from other societies must go through the process of adoption, assimilation, and self-transformation. Students of society do not fully recognize the strengths and…

The study of education systems and educational programs cannot be adequate without reference to those systems' social context. This paper examines the Australian Transition Education program, enacted by the government in 1979, in light of its social context. The program's ostensible purpose was to prepare students for employment. The Liberal…

The convergence of several lines of psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic research suggests possible explanations for age-related influences on language acquisition. These factors, which include cognitive development, sociocultural context, affective factors, and language input, can be helpful to language educators. By being alert to the cognitive…

Recent controversies over textbooks illustrate objections held by Evangelicals to "secular humanism" in the schools. Educators automatically tend to assume that all religious objections to curricula are clear-cut attempts at censorship. This confrontational attitude on the part of educators can lead to alienation of minority religious…

The use of proverbs and other sayings in English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction is discussed. The proverb is defined and its distinguishing characteristics are examined. The methods and reasons for using these characteristics today are discussed, and examples are given. The specific use of proverbs in teaching oral communication,…

A study examined the relationship between cultural schemata and the reading process to identify the strategies proficient readers employ to develop their understanding of culturally familiar and unfamiliar passages and to examine those strategies in relation to the cultural backgrounds of the readers and the cultural perspectives of the reading…

This paper chronicles the anecdotal evidence of unexpected problems that emerged in two mass communication projects in Central America. The aim is to highlight the most salient "people-related" issues faced by mass communication evaluation researchers who work in alien cultures. The paper argues that graduate students in schools of…

The Developmental Speech Sequence Model (DSSM), based on a developmental approach designed to overcome deficiencies in public speaking, offers students guidelines for speech delivery but not at the expense of spontaneity. While some approaches provide step-by-step direction or are more abstract, the DSSM builds developmentally through a series of…

Developed for sixth grade in Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville, Florida, this is a scope and sequence guide for Social Studies. The central theme is stated as "changing world cultures" with emphasis on the relationships between people and their environments at various times in history and changes occurring in these relationships. Primary…