In January 1994, the Chicago Urban League (Illinois) brought together 11 of Chicago's leading scholars and community leaders for a discussion of the intersection of race and poverty. Nearly 300 people attended the symposium. The tone of the opening panel,"Racial/Ethnic Community Structures and the Making of Public Policy," was set by…

This is primarily a collection of abstracts for training workshops for professionals in the field of multicultural education. The abstracts are: (1) "An Exploration of the Unspoken: A Group Relations Approach to Multicultural Dialogue" (Zachary G. Green); (2) "Exploring Our Cultural Assumptions" (Daniel Rivera); (3)…

This paper investigates the extent to which American college/university faculty use cooperative pedagogical techniques in their classrooms, and identifies facilitating and inhibiting factors. A broad construct representing faculty's use of cooperative pedagogy was created, which places students at the center of the action regardless of class size…

This investigation surveyed 505 parents of elementary school students enrolled in the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Public School District regarding the characteristics of a "best teacher." Approximately 50 percent of the parent responses were from minority parents (35.6 percent African American, 10.6 percent Hispanic, 2.4 percent Native…

This report presents a first look at national and state-level findings of students' overall proficiency in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 1994 reading assessment for grades 4, 8, and 12 and provides comparisons with the performance of their 1992 counterparts. The first chapter introduces the report, discussing topics such…

A survey was conducted to determine whether elementary school library media specialists are promoting the integration of multicultural literature into the curriculum. The emphasis was on the use of fiction and easy fiction books with Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian characters and settings. Twenty-five questionnaires were returned (out of 30)…

The underlying causes of black urban poverty are examined, and means are recommended to escape the cycle of violence it creates. Black activists and scholars analyze theoretical and practical problems facing the black community in the United States in the following papers: (1) "Towards a Theory and Strategy for Black Economic…

This exploratory study examined the interactions of preservice teachers with their pupils to determine if differences in interaction were seen. Explorations of teacher thinking, particularly the social cognitive process of trait attribution and the role of cultural background experiences, were key areas of analysis. The literature reviews…

The purpose of this ethnographic study was to examine friendships of early adolescents in a culturally diverse fifth grade class in an urban elementary school in the southeastern United States. The study described and interpreted the experiences of being a friend and having a friend in a culturally diverse classroom. The approach was grounded in…

The need for effective programs to delay sexual activity and to educate adolescents regarding the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has never been greater. Statistics point out that a significant number of teenagers throughout the United States engage in behavior that increases their risks of becoming infected with HIV. This study examined…

This report contains summary tables of state graduation rates for the class of 1993 of the Colorado public schools and dropout rates for the 1992-93 school year. Reports of graduation and dropout rates are further broken down by school district. The graduation rate is a cumulative or longitudinal rate that calculates the number of students who…

In 1988, Franklin County (Ohio) Children Services (FCCS) initiated the development of a bi-level, community-based, multi-disciplinary process to review all deaths of children in its open caseload, as well as child deaths in families with which FCCS had contact in the previous 12 months. This report examines the work of the Deceased Child Review…

The subject of this dissertation is the examination of differential item functioning (DIF) through the use of loglinear Rasch models with latent classes. DIF refers to the probability that a correct response among equally able test takers is different for various racial, ethnic, and gender groups. Because usual methods of detecting DIF give little…

The current conceptualization of what is appropriate in early childhood education is overly narrow in its interpretation of the role of the teacher, and with respect to variations in cultural and developmental diversity. Based on this observation, this book discusses various issues surrounding diversity, inclusion, and appropriate early…

The impact of the criminal justice system on Black male adults in the 20-to-29 year age group was examined. End results of the large-scale involvement of young Black men in the criminal justice system are considered, and the implications for crime control are discussed. Using data from Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Bureau of the Census…