The efficacy of use of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (RPM) in the selection of gifted children from traditionally underrepresented groups was investigated in a large-scale study with a diverse population. A total of 16,985 subjects were given the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. These included 22.7 percent Latinos, 37 percent Whites, 14…

This paper reviews participation patterns of migrants, refugees, and permanent residents with language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE), at Australian universities in general, and the University of Melbourne in particular. It critically examines the effectiveness of current measures designed to improve the opportunities and university…

This study explored the extent of measurable differences in performance on Piagetian tasks among six year olds who are exposed to one or two languages. Subjects (N=120) were divided into four groups: (1) native English-speaking Anglo-Americans who live in the United States; (2) native Japanese-speaking Japanese who live in Japan; (3) native…

The inadequate number of credentialed school psychologists in schools across the United States has concerned educational professionals for several years. One way that this problem was addressed was to mail information/recruitment posters to undergraduate psychology majors. Organizers mailed posters initially to psychology departments found in a…

Societal changes of the past three decades call for a fundamental change in the structure of the educational system and in the culture of schooling. Disadvantaged African Americans, Native Americans, and Latinos, in particular, historically have suffered from the cultural misalignment of home, school, and community. The reform of educational…

General issues in the development of programs for language minority children at the preschool level, ages 2-4, are discussed. Focus is on the need to meet their comprehensive needs, and the five following points are made: (1) programs should be designed to serve the child's social/emotional, physical, and cognitive development within the context…

Fourteen teachers from four California school districts developed this practical guide for teachers faced with a growing number of adult nonliterate students in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) programs. The guide is organized as follows: student goals and objectives, student characteristics, student identification, classroom activities,…

An investigation was made to determine whether family environmental factors influence the educational performance of New Zealand children to an extent similar to that found in other countries. School records of all 1970 third-form entrants at two schools in the greater Wellington area were examined, and a questionnaire was administered to all…

The basic tenet of this paper is that the difference between black and white children on IQ measures is not due to genetics but describes the cultural distance between the two groups. The cultural distance approach is described as an amalgam of the environmental and social psychology points of view. It holds that any subculture operating according…

Considerations for identifying the stages of cultural learning of individual students of English as a second language (ESL) are discussed. It is suggested that culture shock, or the shock of the new, is a common experience for those learning a second language in a second culture, and that anger, unhappiness, frustration, and even illness may…

A Masters Program in Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) project that was designed to integrate multicultural awareness in the classroom is described. In this project, university foreign students taught elementary and secondary students about foreign cultures and other world perspectives. The Oregon State System of Higher Education agreed to enroll a…

This book of readings was developed to increase the reader's awareness of the cultural and social issues which face children and their counselors. It draws attention to environmental factors which impinge on both teaching and counseling techniques, and encourages counselors to re-examine their roles and interventions for the 1990s. The readings…

A survey of 124 San Francisco State University (SFSU) faculty was conducted in Fall 1989 to assess their attitudes, observations, and experiences concerning human relations at SFSU. This report provides frequency distributions for each of the 37 items on the survey questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on: treatment of various racial/ethnic…

Analyses of standardized test scores reveal that nonurban schools are not meeting the educational needs of Black and Hispanic students. While individual nonurban schools may be superior to urban schools in preparing the majority of their students to perform well on state standardized tests, the standardized test scores of nonurban minority group…

A number of counter-assumptions can be posited to challenge the usual basic assumptions of the professional literacy establishment. These counter-assumptions include the following: (1) literacy is not just a technical skill neutral across all cultures; (2) culture refers to basic questions about truth and knowledge and varies from one society to…