Coeur d'Alene School District (Idaho) developed an American Indian oral literature curriculum component with the help of the neighboring Coeur d'Alene people. This book is based on a general background guide that provides classroom teachers with a context for understanding Coeur d'Alene narratives incorporated into the curriculum. The book also…

This paper examines rural-urban differences in parent involvement in their children's education, drawing upon such concepts as "community attachment,""community cultural context,""family cultural capital," and "community social capital." As part of the 1992-93 Missouri School Improvement Program, nearly…

While human emotions are often considered instinctive, this paper examines the notion that indifference to events or circumstances which might seem to have a prima facie claim to emotional significance is related to the narrative construction of those events or circumstances in the life of the observer, and is not a result of absolute stimulus…

A discussion of the cultural effects of economic and, by extension, human resource development in Southeast Asia looks at short- and long-term implications. It is suggested that in the short term, increased competition will affect distribution of wealth, which can promote materialism and corruption. The introduction of labor-saving technology may…

The book is an introduction to the field of contrastive rhetoric, an area of research in second language learning that identifies learners' problems in composition and attempts to explain them by referring to the rhetorical strategies of the first language. It traces the history of contrastive approaches to the study of second language writing and…

This book is a reaction to the general neglect of cultural behavior education within civic education. It points to the particular problems, in the European context, of civic education in Slovakia. Concentration is on the main ideas of the PHARE project "Education for Citizenship and European Studies." Key ideas from the Department of…

The western intellectual tradition promotes a unique style of thinking and writing that cannot readily embrace other ways of understanding human experience and communicating about it. Three fundamental differences in the ways east and west approach oral and written communication and the thinking that lies behind it are: first, a preference for…

Classroom language and literacy practices need to be reconceptualized to account for the valuable role talk and interaction play in the process of learning to write. Teachers should construct learning environments within which interaction between students and teachers is the primary focus. The participation framework of kindergarten journal…

Four aspects of English pragmatics that are often puzzling to students of English as a Second Language (ESL) are discussed and exemplified: certain mechanics (ellipsis; blended words; a-grammaticality); vague superordinates (generic verbs such as "get,""let,""do,""be,""have"; preposition with metaphoric extension such as "up,""in,""off,""through";…

It is argued that a method for teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) combining the communicative approach with the traditional grammatical orientation and Chinese teaching traditions may be more effective than any one of these single approaches in the Chinese educational and cultural context. The resulting approach is termed the…

This book, the final work of a noted rhetorician and scholar, examines the history and development of English studies, and the economic and social changes that affect the understanding of the humanities today. Noting that while rhetoric once held a central place in the college curriculum, the book describes how rhetoric became marginalized in…

In the 1970s, the relatively new discipline of Women's Studies was taught by educators whose primary fields were literature, psychology, sociology, or history. One problem that faces many instructors is the double-bind situation that Women's Studies courses are popular, so the dynamic teacher may find herself/himself teaching more…

This study investigates the role of public education in multicultural societies, specifically Canada and Quebec. The paper explores the response of the Canadian society to the cultural and religious differences of minority groups, as well as the extent of validation of this difference in the public schools. The study, based on an holistic,…

From the perspective of an African American woman teaching at an all-Black high school in the Mississippi Delta, the moment when she must begin teaching English grammar is the moment her students put up a fearful, sometimes hostile resistance. This paper examines the language patterns and attitudes of African Americans, as well as the educational…

This collection of essays blends autobiography and literary criticism to examine conflicts currently raging around feminism, multiculturalism, and political correctness, both on college campuses and on the larger American scene. The collection begins by probing key experiences of "growing up white and female" in the 50s and 60s and then…