Suggests the lack of research concerning contexts of human development has caused environmental influences to be not well known or studied. Discusses primary and secondary developmental contexts. Proposes four properties of the ecological environment that foster human development. Details impact of third parties on a setting, interconnections…

Profiles current Russian research on political culture and values. Reports on a study of the spread of materialist and postmaterialist values among nearly 6,000 Russians between 1984 and 1993. Discusses the social and demographic variables that exert the greatest influence on the spread of values. (CFR)

Data were collected on the media exposure of between 64 and 101 Moroccan adolescents and their use of media images in social behavior, choice of mate, and career aspirations. Although males had more exposure to Western media, both sexes were eager to reconcile traditional Islamic and contemporary media-relayed values. (SLD)

Briefly explores differences between educational systems in Switzerland and the United States. Discusses 9 assumptions and 21 contradictions concerning shortcomings of compulsory public schooling in the United States. Suggests that schooling has moved away from intellectual development or skills training toward socializing students to become part…

Asserts that little attention has been paid to the effects of a subgroup's status on its attitudes toward war and peace. Reports on a study of 151 college students on their patriotism and nationalism during the Gulf War. Finds minority students were more supportive of a peaceful solution to the crisis. (CFR)

This study describes the participation of English-as-a-Second-Language (L2) students in the daily classroom events of a mainstream first-grade classroom. It discusses how, through socially significant interactional routines, classroom members jointly constructed the L2 students' identities, social relations, and ideologies, as well as their…

This study described 476 recruits' physical education backgrounds and beliefs about the purposes for physical education. Students' most frequently stated purpose for physical education was learning skills/activities. Sports experiences influenced recruits' beliefs about physical education. (SM)

Studied influence of culture on coping behavior of youngsters in anxiety-provoking situations. Applied a situation-reaction inventory to late adolescents (n=721) from India, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, and Yemen. Consistent results showed adolescents at low-medium anxiety levels employed constructive and assimilative coping and at high anxiety levels…

Studied whether school culture is represented in common aspects within schools in different countries for one deaf child in Barcelona (Spain), one refugee child in Paris (France), and some of their classmates. Identical characteristics of student interactions found in both schools, and the importance of these interactions are discussed. (SLD)

Examines the relevance and contribution of universities to national development in economic, sociocultural, and political dimensions. Discusses rates of return, employment, vocational curricula, equality, and ideology. Concludes that a major problem in developing nations is ambivalence of universities stemming from their international and national…

Studies attitudes of 120 African-American undergraduates toward academic interdependence and motivation in interdependent and independent learning contexts. Results indicate a prevalent cooperative academic attitude, with a positive impact on academic motivation in cooperative contexts. African-American students tend to be disposed more toward…

Introduces a group of articles exploring the role of literature in the lives and education of African American children. Benefits that accrue to children from reading literature include the following: (1) aesthetic appreciation; (2) literacy education; (3) cognitive development; (4) social and moral values; and (5) understanding and appreciation…

Discusses the experiences and ideas of Anton S. Makarenko, an early influential Soviet educator known for his children's labor collective school that operated in the 1920s near Poltava. Examines Makarenko's legacy for the current educational reform movement, which emphasizes methods that combine instruction with social production and seeks ways to…

A survey of 40 graduating seniors at a small, Christian liberal arts college found student-faculty interaction perceived as a positive influence on student personal and intellectual growth, career and educational goals, especially for higher achieving students and humanities/natural science majors. Implications for administration, staff, students,…

Surveys of attitudes toward multiculturalism of 190 Canadian eleventh graders, 584 eleventh graders from the United States, and 350 tenth graders from India indicate that despite general agreement with socialized abstract principles of democracy, students in the United States and Canada are not very tolerant of divergent cultural perspectives.…