Summarizes findings of two research studies examining why British parents consider private schools or schools in other districts. Apparently, middle class parents and/or parents with academically able children are looking for high quality education, high expectations, and an atmosphere conducive to work. Some possible marketing strategies are…

The perceived ethnolinguistic vitality of Vietnamese Australians and Anglo Australians in Brisbane is reported, as well as differences based on sex, level of education, and, for Anglo Australians, residence in areas with either high or low concentrations of Vietnamese Australians. Anglo Australians were perceived as much higher in vitality.…

Notes that public welfare agencies are serving middle-class Americans. Examines six factors that may contribute to gentrification of public welfare agencies: growing demands for services from nontraditional clients; restructuring of public welfare's service delivery system; declining resources; increasing emphasis on child protective services;…

Analyzes reading practices in the classroom and the mechanisms through which school proposes a uniform way of reading based on the concept of middle-class reading. (PA)

Rebuts Alfie Kohn's article "Only for My Kid: How Privileged Parents are Undermining School Reform" in the April 1998 "Kappan." Kohn expects the author to pay a fortune for a home in an affluent community so his kids can get violence-prevention training and sing "Kumbaya" in a mainstreamed classroom. Earning the right…

Investigated differences in beliefs and practices about infant feeding among middle class Anglo and Puerto Rican mothers. Interviews and observations indicated that Anglo mothers reported earlier attainment of self-feeding and more emphasis on child rearing goals related to self-maximization. Puerto Rican mothers reported later attainment of…

This study draws from interviews with 20 girls in British Columbia, Canada who participated to varying degrees in skateboarding culture. We found that skater girls saw themselves as participating in an "alternative" girlhood. Becoming skater girls involved the work and play of producing themselves in relation to alternative images found…

This article examines the arguments and underlying assumptions of Adam Swift's book on "How Not to Be a Hypocrite." It argues that, although there is much that is commendable and fascinating in the book, it might have benefited from a more sociological approach to the middle class. While the book is designed to capture and argue with the anxieties…

The author presents results of an exploration of the experiences of counselor educators of color, focusing on participants' relationships and interactions with the system of academe and how they are exemplified in the tenure and promotion process. Results suggest P. H. Collins's (1991) concept of the "outsider within" academe is highly relevant.

Both lifelong learning and community are central to the mission of the National Federation of Women's Institutes (WI). Their website, for example, states that the WI aims to educate women to enable them to provide an effective role in the community, to expand their horizons and to develop and pass on important skills--key elements of lifelong…

The goal of closing achievement gaps between students of different socioeconomic status and race has eluded public schools for decades. Facing increased pressure from NCLB to reach this goal, some school districts have turned to a new experiment based on an old-fashioned vision: integrating students by socioeconomic income. Kahlenberg reviews the…

This study examines children's uses of reading resources in neighborhood public libraries that have been transformed to "level the playing field." Through foundation funding (US$20 million), the public library system of Philadelphia converted neighborhood branch libraries into a technologized modern urban library system, hoping to…

Working with diverse student populations productively depends on teachers and teacher educators recognizing and valuing difference. Too often, in teacher education programs, when markers of identity such as gender, ethnicity, "race", or social class are examined, the focus is on developing student teachers' understandings of how these discourses…

To explore meanings attached to children in Mexican society, this article examines two changing aspects of child circulation, a widespread reproductive disruption to the families of Mexico City's working poor. In the late 1890s, a rapid rise in admissions to the public foundling home was matched by a striking increase in retrievals. At the other…

Older cities in the United States have long been trying to "bring back" the middle class in order to increase tax base. The poor quality of schools and the presence of public housing often were cited as deterrents for attracting higher income families. When the 2000 Census data revealed improvements in many cities, some elected officials…