Observed speech and interactive behavior of American Hmong students who were attending a northern California high school indicate that Hmong student responses to teacher-generated questions were often influenced by culturally-based predispositions. Because of these differences, Hmong students often provided answers considered "wrong,"…

Outlines steps in adapting tests for cross-cultural use: selection of an appropriate instrument for adaptation; translation of the source instrument; selecting an experimental design; determining administration parameters; pilot testing; and assessing psychometric equivalence. Focuses on potential problems during the adaptation process and on…

British and American information science textbooks present keyword and controlled vocabulary searching in different ways, and put differing emphases on the use of variant spellings and word variations. This reflects the differing ways that information professionals prepare online search strategies. Differences may reflect occupational trends,…

This article examines the current situation and evolution of school integration policies in Quebec and the influence of court decisions on these policies. Variations across Canada are discussed, particularly the differences between English-language school boards, who integrate many more students with intellectual disability, and French-speaking…

Using a survey design, 150 parents of Hispanic, African American, and European American descent participated. A history of childhood abuse was predictive of the use of both physical and verbal punishment by mothers but not for fathers. Cultural factors/beliefs were predictive of fathers' parenting behaviors, but not mothers. (Contains references.)…

This study examined the joint association between mothers' and adolescents' ratings of parental behavioral control, and adolescents' and observers' ratings of mother-adolescent communication with adolescent problem behaviors. Findings demonstrate the utility of conceptually distinguishing between parenting and parent-adolescent relationships, and…

A study examined perceptions of 136 middle school teachers of African American males' aggression, achievement, and need for special education services based on cultural movement styles. Teachers perceived students with African American movement styles as lower in achievement, higher in aggression, and more likely to need special education…

Investigated whether second generation youth were academically affected by oppositional attitudes depending upon the relative proportion of African American students enrolled in their schools. Longitudinal data indicated that Nicaraguan students' grade point average and Cuban and Nicaraguan students' mathematics performance declined with higher…

This article discusses the various cultural interpretations of severe disabilities and the role of enculturation in determining family expectations and participation within the special education system. Research-based techniques and ideas are presented to facilitate increased competence with families in which English is not the first language.…

This article reviews literature on barriers to the participation of culturally and linguistically diverse families in the special education process, highlights cultural issues educators need to consider, and discusses strategies for facilitating family participation in the development of the Individualized Family Service Plan and the…

Describes the value of nonparental adult-child relationships for infants and toddlers and outlines specific steps that American and Italian educators from relationship-oriented programs rely on to expand on children's relationship dances with their parents. Suggests that educators should initially take the initiative to become attuned to the child…

Discussed in this study is whether there are differences in the assessment of student understanding as measured by written tests versus oral tests. Age and sex differences as well as the impact of different languages and cultures were investigated. (KR)

Describes an American fourth grade classroom from the perspective of a doctoral student from the People's Republic of China. Notes greater equality among student, teacher, and textbook in the American classroom than in the hierarchical Chinese educational system. Observes that, in their writing efforts, the American students display both…

Reports the results of a survey in Adelaide (Australia) concerning public attitudes toward language diversity and the need to teach English and/or second languages to children in the schools. The survey analyzed responses on the basis of respondent's occupation, sex, income, and age, and found a high degree of support for language diversity. (MSE)

Kindergartners and first through fifth graders in Taiwan, Japan, and the United States were assessed on achievement and cognitive ability. While there were few gender differences in curriculum-based tests of mathematics computation and reading, cognitive tests revealed gender differences in the fifth grade in all three cultures. (RH)