Explores ideas to help college educators empower students through their teaching. The article discusses assumptions of power and privilege that underlie empowerment, providing examples of how educators can disempower. Biological, psychological, and sociocultural processes of empowerment as related to race, gender, and disability are examined. (SM)

Presents a method for teaching about cultural landscapes in introductory geography classes by comparing Italian Renaissance gardens with Japanese Zen gardens. Discusses the background and attributes of both garden types. Maintains that, by contrasting the two traditions, it is possible to illustrate cultural landscapes. (CFR)

This article explores the many facets of the contemporary family in the United States, including their variations in structure, size, and ethnic and linguistic characteristics; the impact of sociohistorical factors on family functioning and lifestyle; implications of models of child development; and policy recommendations. (JDD)

Reviews how ethnicity, race, and gender affect women's professional participation in academia, particularly in psychology departments. Examines minority women's inclusion at undergraduate, graduate, job entry, and senior level positions within academic psychology; and reviews economic and social-psychological processes that unjustly serve as…

Examines whether U.S. public is underinvesting in its children. Several measures indicate a deterioration in the well-being of children in the past few decades, and some measures suggest a decline in crucial inputs from parents to children (i.e., parenting hours). Ways to increase society's investment in children are discussed. (SLD)

A study of self-report depressive symptoms measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was conducted in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States with 953 college students. There are marked differences among countries in symptoms reported. Research designs and measurement strategies for cross-cultural research are discussed. (SLD)

Examines 115 successful television series portraying white and African-American families across 4 decades of U.S. prime-time television for the structure and characteristics of the families. The data show a trend toward more equal presentation of conventional and nonconventional families, few divorced or female single parents, and few minority…

Comprises "The Underclass and the Great Migration" (N. Lemann) and "The Migrants' Tale and Ghetto Culture" (D. Whitman). Lemann's book "The Promised Land" discusses the Black migration to northern U.S. states. Whitman argues that Lemann exaggerates the Black sharecropper's contribution to the development of the…

Introduces a special section containing three articles and six commentaries, which discuss the form that multicultural education should take and consider whether children are well-served by a unified curriculum for all or ethnocentric curricula for various ethnic groups. Provides several examples of a multicultural approach. (SLD)

Links between family structure and the changing poverty of 231,996 U.S. children are examined using child records from 1960, 1970, and 1980 Public Use Microdata samples and the 1988 March Current Population Survey. Results suggest that child poverty and racial inequality cannot be separated from changing family structure. (SLD)

Discusses educational planning and management in Europe during the present move to international cooperation. Includes economic and political developments, social and cultural developments, migration and demographic trends, and educational developments. Suggests that a change in the educational environment is required to match the changes in the…

Discussion of computer-assisted mathematics instruction focuses on a study of high school students that examined the instructional effectiveness of computer-managed videodisc instruction for precalculus mathematics. Highlights include a comparison with traditional classroom instruction and theoretical perspectives, including sociocultural theory,…

Proposes to replace the principle of equal opportunity with an "anti-caste" principle to build a new society and to secure economic and social rights. Suggests a United States Charter for Socioeconomic Rights. Outlines the moral, legal, and political bases for the proposal and offers a Charter version. (JB)

Provides a historical unfolding and account of cultural pluralism as an approach to student acculturation in the education of diverse urban populations. Traces the origins of a shift away from the "melting pot" notions and the emergence of multicultural ideas. (JB)

Explores the concept of culture as a factor in the well-being of children. Holding students accountable for their behavior, holding schools accountable for activities and achievements of students, and inducing parents to support their children in school require a cultural change in how we look at schooling. (SLD)