The study examined whether a relationship exists between cultural background (Caucasian, Hispanic, or Black) and families' attitudes toward educational programming for a family member with severe disabilities. Useable surveys were returned by 91 respondents out of the 103 of 337 families (31%) to whom surveys had been distributed. The 40-item…

This guide provides California's adult educators and employers with useful cross-cultural communication training techniques. These strategies are intended for application in both adult education and employment contexts to enhance the overall quality of communication between individuals of differing cultural backgrounds. The first two sections…

Community college instructors and administrators need to understand teacher immediacy research and the role of immediacy in the multi-cultural classroom. Immediacy can be viewed as a combination of nonverbal behaviors used to accentuate a verbal message and reduce physical and psychological distance between interactants. Janis Andersen's research…

This guide for classroom teachers is intended to increase their awareness of Haitian culture, the Haitian educational system, and Haitian Creole language. This document was adapted from the doctoral dissertation "Academic Achievement of Haitian Limited English Proficient Student in New Jersey Public High Schools" (G. L. Rorro) at Rutgers…

This study examined the process of parent-school communication from the perspective of Native American parents in a consolidated, rural school district. The multi-model qualitative study used participant observation, open-ended interviews, and document collection to focus on the relatively wealthy, rural consolidated district, encompassing three…

This text aims to provide information, strategies, techniques, innovative ideas, and encouragement for teachers, administrators, and parents in implementing a diversity perspective to education for children ages 3 to 8 years. Major focuses are on ethnic, gender, and social-class differences, but issues related to special needs children, including…

Educators can learn to use the unique cultural aspects of their students to create a learning environment that fosters the acquisition of mathematics concepts and principles. When teaching students in a multicultural setting, it is important to build on the student's intuition of the subject matter, to base instruction on situational story…

The purpose of this study was to describe the cognitive styles of both international and domestic graduate students attending Marshall University (West Virginia). A total of 41 American and international graduate students were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), and 20 of the international students were interviewed. The study…

This conference involved approximately 180 educators and researchers in a dialogue about educational reform and at-risk students. Ten invited presentations organized into general sessions on cultural differences and ongoing reform initiatives provided impetus for discussion. These proceedings are not transcripts of papers, but they do convey the…

This paper describes effective practices for developing Individual Education Plans in small rural schools along the U.S.-Mexican border. Since immigration levels in this area are high and many immigrants are limited-speakers or nonspeakers of English, border school districts are concerned about issues involving communication with parents and…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a model for identifying gifted and talented students could be developed which would provide equal access to gifted programs for children of all ethnic and economic backgrounds. The culturally and ethnically diverse San Diego City School District provided a pool of over 35,000 children referred…

The revolution in digital communication is bringing about profound changes in the ways people live, learn, and work. Three topics that address these changes are discussed. First is a set of ideas about the nature of information and information processing. Second is an Australian National Framework for competence in language, literacy, and numeracy…

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the "Brown v Board of Education" decision, it is appropriate to review it as the spark for a new definition of equality in American life. The Brown case was the first significant step in the modern civil rights movement, and, as such, defined the structure and legal reasoning for the push by…

A study sought to identify elements of the household economy, family structure, and parenting practices that help explain the aversion many Hispanic-American parents feel toward organized preschools. Data were drawn from a 1991 national survey of families with young children conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) and…

This newsletter issue focuses on how the family support movement can help reshape the human services delivery system to more effectively meet the needs of African American families. The newsletter includes the following articles: (1) "Dispelling Myths and Building on Strengths: Supporting African American Families"; (2) "The 'Nguzo…