An unnatural, selective school crisis envelopes the poor, the cities, and Latino and African American communities. Structures of privilege and oppression apparent in the larger society are mirrored in schools. The perspectives of principal Deborah Meier, novelist Toni Morrison, and poet Adrienne Rich lend credence to empowerment and…

Contends that the relationship between developed and developing nations' scholarship may be characterized as a type of ideological dependency. Discusses the different approaches to the use of sociological research and knowledge in developed and developing nations. (CFR)

Young children from five ethnic groups completed surveys about self-concept, self-esteem, racial awareness, and knowledge of racial terms, attitudes, and preference. Anglo-American children had a viable self-concept. Most children were highly aware of distinct ethnic differences and liked all colors. Most minority children chose friends outside…

The College of Wooster (Ohio) has instituted a required one-semester freshman seminar, designed to teach students critical writing and thinking skills, and focusing on racism and sexism in U.S. society. Critics see the seminar as a left-wing attempt to ensure "political correctness." (DB)

Investigates the influence of ethnic cultural background and multicultural interaction for 120 males drawn from Aboriginal, Anglo-Saxon, Chinese, and Lebanese cultural communities in Australia. Responses to the Work Cognitions Questionnaire reveal differences in the structure of achievement goals and work values for the 4 groups of 30 subjects…

Investigates cross-cultural differences in values and attitudes toward nuclear war between 336 Caucasian and 67 American Indian adolescents in the rural Pacific Northwest. Implications of value ranking differences and differing attitudes about nuclear war, the nuclear freeze, and escalation of war are discussed in their cultural contexts. (SLD)

Investigates the relationship of children's self-understanding to social class, community type (modern or traditional), and teachers' ratings for 73 12 year olds in Reykjavik (Iceland) and 21 12 year olds in traditional villages in Iceland. Children in higher social classes offer more psychological descriptions. The inadvisability of generalizing…

Family interaction and home socialization concerning education issues were described for six Mexican-American families in California with six children in grade two. The strengths of the families have important relevance for education, regardless of the different ways the parents exercised their roles, particularly with regard to homework. (SLD)

Discusses a feminist, multicultural approach to studying moral dimensions of females' physical activity; morality and gender as social constructs; scholarly events in U.S. history that reveal psychologists' emerging understanding of social constructs; psychologists' conceptions of the evolving constructs of gender and morality; and research needs.…

Examines the concept of popular culture in social and educational theory in the context of developing nations, particularly Latin America. Using a poststructuralist literary theory, the article elaborates a notion of the popular that offers a new conceptualization by incorporating a sense of competing identities and ideologies that form it. (SM)

Argues that the strategic differentiation between education and schooling is fundamental to the maintenance and development of an African-American cultural orientation and ideology. A conceptual model is presented to link schooling with perpetuation of existing relations of power and political culture in the United States. (SLD)

In a sample of 150 individuals equally divided among Chinese, Hispanics, and Whites, it was found that the Chinese were more tolerant of parental conduct than were Hispanics and Whites. Chinese were less likely to ask for investigation by protective agencies in potential cases of child abuse and neglect. (Author/BB)

University students (n=166) representing English-speaking North American culture and several other cultures completed questionnaires examining attitudes toward four speech disorders (cleft palate, dysfluency, hearing impairment, and misarticulations). Results showed significant group differences in beliefs about the emotional health of persons…

Describes efforts toward human rights education in Europe and how these efforts might be utilized in teaching about children's rights. Offers examples of work to help children acquire a sense of their community and its structures. Includes student drafted charters and declarations, children's councils, cooperative education, and community service.…

New concepts and developments in student leadership theory, research, and practice in higher education are discussed, focusing on such issues as a shifting of cultural and gender issues surrounding leadership, rapidly changing demographics, assessment of leadership development, and community building. (MSE)