This book opens up ways of teaching and devising programs which place the students' cultural experiences at the center of language production and consumption. It provides concrete models of cultural studies programs and classrooms for high school and college teachers who would like to try the "cultural studies approach." It also offers a…

This book developed from a series of lectures under the auspices of Oxford University Press and the New York Public Library in 1992. Neither an academic nor an U.S. citizen, the writer examines the clouded issues of "political correctness"; "multiculturalism"; and the politicization of the arts. The book is divided into the following sections: (1)…

A longitudinal qualitative study examined the variety and scope of literacy experiences in the homes of families from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. Original participants were 41 children enrolled in pre-kindergarten programs during the 1992-93 school year and their families from public elementary schools serving Baltimore City neighborhoods…

Anyone who teaches or has taken a course in intercultural communication inevitably faces the task of defining culture. The purpose of this paper is to provide examples and suggestions for using film segments to help students understand some of the conceptual components of culture using different perspectives than those to which they may be…

This anthology brings together art educators from 21 countries to provide information about the past record of art education along with recent developments and future prospects. In "Part I: Historical Perspectives," the role of cross cultural influences is reported in essays: (1) "Quality Criteria Shifts in One Century of Art…

This research draws upon both a preliminary study conducted over a 3-year period, in which a group of 15 children was tracked through the first 3 years of school, as well as works-in-progress. The particular concern of this research is the accessibility of the complex organization of reading instruction to young readers, realized by explicit and…

Most instructors today feel that using computers in classrooms to create electronic forums automatically results in a more egalitarian setting, but technology can become an effective cloak for otherwise oppressive practices. These settings can potentially reinscribe dominant ideologies, stifling students rather than empowering them. These…

The resources of this packet provide an overview of the career of Kazimir Malevich, (1878-1935), a Russian painter from Kiev (Ukraine) and a leader in geometric abstraction who developed a style called "Suprematism." Influences on and innovations of Malevich's art are examined, and his art is related to the historical and cultural…

Educational reform initiatives such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards, National Science Education Standards, and Project 2061 provide guidelines to reduce the diversity gap in science and mathematics literacy. Schools are applying these guidelines to classroom practices by posing questions about what changes are…

A study examined the usefulness of the instructional recommendations in basal reader program teachers' manuals for discussing race in multicultural stories. Three recently published basal reader series widely used in the Capital District of New York State were used in this analysis: Harcourt Brace (1995), Houghton Mifflin (1993), and MacMillan…

The study of language reference materials, particularly dictionaries and grammar works, for languages of Guam and Micronesia includes a brief history of their evolution and an annotated bibliography. An introductory section describes the geographic situation of Micronesia and chronicles numerous periods of foreign influence: Spanish Colonization…

This paper examines the history of African American children's literature, the present-day status of it, and ventures predictions about its future. The paper also considers the historic and social factors of the debate about whether an author who is not African American can write a book that will/should be accepted in this category of children's…

Following an introduction by Anthony Liddicoat on the general nature of bilingualism, three papers on the characteristics, development, and advantages of bilingualism are presented. "Psycholinguistic Aspects of Bilingualism" by Susanne Dopke, Tim Macnamara, and Terry Quinn considers the linguistic, cognitive, emotional, and educational…

This encyclopedia is a comprehensive explanation of the study and teaching of English and language arts at all levels of education. It includes media, technology, curriculum, learning, and assessment in composition, literature, reading, drama, and language study. Designed to be used as a major resource by administrators, teachers, and students,…

The review of research presented here examines studies based on Benjamin Whorf's hypothesis of linguistic relativity, which states that cultural traditions encourage certain types of thinking and are reinforced by structural characteristics of particular languages. Studies were selected for inclusion if: (1) the subjects were learners and speakers…