This digest identifies some of the cultural factors that can influence learner and teacher behavior during classroom English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. Four topic areas are discussed: roles of learners and teachers, gender-related issues; appropriate topics for instruction, and behavior at the site of instruction. Given the diversity…

There is a great reliance on symbolic messages in our society, but the success of these messages depends on how they are interpreted. The variability of subjects' interpretations of commonly used visual symbols was investigated by comparing the interpretations of a U.S. audience and a Jamaican audience. Responses of 27 executive master's in…

This document lists resources and suppliers for teachers who want to obtain balanced and accurate resources for teaching about Arab culture. The Arab-American community provides a wealth of personal experience and expertise. There is no more effective teaching aid than first hand accounts of major historical events, sharing a taste of Arabic home…

This document, which is based on a symposium devoted to capitalizing on the new work force, contains five reports describing how major U.S. corporations are dealing with the demographic changes currently under way in the United States. "Whither the Work Force?" (Delores Wolf) discusses the proper role of corporations in coping with a lack of…

The 15 chapters of this book address issues related to the continuing test score gap between black and white students. The editors argue against traditional explanations which emphasize differences in economic resources and demographic factors, and they urge that more emphasis be put on psychological and cultural factors. The book suggests studies…

This study explored the perceptions of mentor teachers about the impact of mentoring on them. The study involved cross-cultural collaborative research between an American and an Israeli teacher education program and a collaboration within each country between the teacher education program and its elementary professional development school (PDS).…

This seventh issue of a national refereed journal in business and training education contains the following articles: "Integrating Cultural Diversity into Business Classes at the Secondary Level" (M. Marie Dent, Glynna E. Morse, Melinda M. McCannon); "Using Student Quality Teams/Total Quality Management to Improve Teaching and Learning" (Wayne A.…

This book tells the story of immigrant students as they learn about the United States and being American in school. It also tells the stories of the teachers who teach them, the educators who have shaped their educational program, and their English-speaking, U.S.-born schoolmates. These stories are told in the context of an urban high school in…

This monograph presents information from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)-MetLife Institute on Culturally Responsive Practice. The Institute brought together 34 practicing P-12 teachers from 21 states and U.S. territories to read, reflect on, and share their ideas about what it means to teach in diverse classrooms…

This study assessed the influence of reflective thinking on the early field experiences of preservice teachers who later taught in urban settings that were radically different from those they experienced as students. Reflective thinking refers to consciously identifying and defining schooling and classroom problems, generating reasonable…

Education, like experience in general, is not static but evolutionary. The writing classroom of the two-year college must and does function as a multicultural environment which replaces the traditional melting pot metaphor with images of mosaic and tapestry. Today, over 50% of college freshmen are enrolled in two-year colleges, and these include…

This paper describes a multi-faceted approach to improving student retention at an urban public university. It is noted that the students at this institution are older, working people; few live on campus and participate in what would be considered traditional student experiences. The paper examines the physical setting and external environment;…

Western European forms of discourse have been foisted upon the world as the universal value-neutral reference point. External standards have been used to assess aboriginal discourse, particularly in public contexts such as schools and courtrooms. These standards assume that there is one single correct way to proceed (to talk, write, argue, teach),…

Documenting the 1991 fall session, this report provides resolutions adopted by the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges. The resolutions are divided into the following 13 categories and topics: (1) the Academic Senate, including research, rules and procedures, and attendance at meetings; (2) accreditation, including self-study…

This paper discusses teaching with a multicultural perspective in early childhood education. It is emphasized that a major goal of multicultural education is to help children become accustomed to the idea that there are many lifestyles, languages, cultures, and points of view. Other topics include negative stereotypes and the influence that early…