To explore the portrayals of Americans in Japanese television commercials and Japanese in American television commercials, and how those portrayals are perceived by each nationality, a two-part study examined 745 American commercials and 956 Japanese commercials. Researchers first coded the number of American males and females who appeared in the…

This paper discusses the issue of pluralism and British society. The following topics are covered: (1) why it is desirable for Great Britain to be a pluralistic society; (2) how far the needs of minority communities can be accommodated without threatening British status quo; (3) what happens in other countries; and (4) what lessons can be learned…

A study examined the responses of Canadian and American subjects in their approval of, and attraction to, specific television and film characters exhibiting aggressive behavior, and in their evaluation of the realism and saliency of the characters and situations observed. Subjects, undergraduate students at the University of Windsor in Windsor,…

Current working conditions of postsecondary faculty in the People's Republic of China are described, with a focus on what has changed since 1976 and the end of the Cultural Revolution. Based on field work in China and on personal correspondence with Chinese faculty members between 1984 and 1989, a broad overview is presented of college and…

The problems of accurately identifying and serving giftedness are vastly compounded with children of new immigrant families. Linguistic and cultural complications, economic and attitudinal factors, sociocultural peer-group expectations, cross-cultural stress, intergenerational conflict, and school system conflict frequently deflect efforts to…

Human beings are shaped by their cultural and natural environment, yet there is no systematic in-depth inquiry into world cultures at any given level in the social studies grade spectrum. This article attempts to collect and collate the scattered notions about different cultures and places to which students are exposed from about grade 6 onward…

This document reports on teaching in culturally diverse classrooms from the perspective of mainstream classroom teachers. In-depth interviews with 36 California teachers on the challenges of diverse classrooms elicited their views of a teacher's role, descriptions of curriculum and pedagogy, and stories of the personal development that led to…

This volume contains transcripts of six public hearings held by the San Francisco State University Commission on Human Relations between September and December 1989. The first hearing focused on Asian Pacific Americans and received testimony on higher education admissions policies, treatment in equity programs, student services, health issues,…

The challenge for community colleges is two-fold: to provide relevant training to maintain their competitiveness and to do it for an increasingly diverse population. Furthermore, the advent of the information revolution has placed new demands on education as one of the primary means of access to economic well-being and upward mobility.…

This research summary identifies major factors affecting the validity of language assessments in bilingual students. The four factors include: (1) determining which language is dominant and in which language the child should be tested; (2) recognizing that bilingual children may use language in a way that is qualitatively different from that of…

Since its beginnings in 1970, a field-based teacher education program aimed at preparing certificated Alaska native teachers has graduated 80 teachers. Until then, the University of Alaska's teacher training program had been a traditional campus-based program aimed primarily at preparing teachers for urban schools, with no course that reflected…

A study tested the generally accepted theory that low income children fail to achieve adequate levels of literacy because there is a vast discontinuity between home and school in the functions of literacy, language, and the nature of typical teaching/learning experiences. Thirty-two elementary school children were studied. Parents and teachers of…

Behavioral differences between Soviet and American foreign language teachers are examined as a basis for improving intercultural understanding and promoting more productive work in the bicultural classroom. The observations are made by American language teachers who have known teachers from both countries as both students and peers. Specific…

Cross-cultural psychology has begun to analyze cultural differences on collectivism and the implications of these differences for social processes such as group productivity. This study examined natural social interaction during a problem-solving task that required discussion and the establishment of a consensus. The relationship of collectivist…

The global history course syllabus, Theme III, entitled, "Changes in Thought and Action Led to the Emergence of the Modern World," focuses on the European impact upon the world as well as the cross-cultural influences which resulted in important developments such as the Commercial Revolution. These influences include contributions of the…