Variation in the parts of ASL signs (i.e., phonological variation) has been explained largely by reference to the influence of the preceding and the following segments. This article examines three linguistic variables in ASL: the sign deaf; the location of a class of signs represented by the verb know; and signs produced with a 1 handshape. For…

This article looks at the way language subtly shapes and constrains the way we perceive reality. It examines one term-parental involvement. This apparently simple and democratic term serves as a portfolio of meanings that separate and divide. It illustrates two of these meanings, which take the form of a conjoined metaphor of "full/empty", or…

Research on race, social class, and parent involvement in education often implies that parents' educational orientations result directly from their social class or racial group backgrounds. In this article, the authors study the involvement of working-class and middle-class African American parents. They argue that these parents' educational…

Regardless of race, gender, class, physical- and cognitive-ableness, as well as sexual orientation, to be musical in North American and western European societies is to be queer--particularly for men (Fuller and Whitesell, 2002), and maybe specifically for men, since women barely register in discussions of musicians. In this article, the author…

This case exemplifies the frequent need for principals to negotiate the conflicting demands of parents and teachers. Parents are advocating increased participation in school decision making while teachers are demanding a more secure and isolated environment. Issues of class and race complicate this challenge for many urban administrators.…

The following Action Research Project Report is to improve the oral reading fluency of the 4th and 5th grade students with learning disabilities. The targeted population participating in this study consisted of a total of ten participants of which five were 4th grade students and five were 5th grade students located in a middle class community…

English Language Arts class in a predominantly white suburban high school may seem like an unlikely site for transformational pedagogy. Teachers and students speak the same national language and most of the teachers grew up and were educated in working class communities. Despite these roots, it is far too easy for teachers to forget that our…

This article discusses the limited use of education vouchers in an era of unprecedented growth in school choice. It is divided into two parts: first, a description of the policy, political, and legal barriers that may limit the expansion of large-scale voucher programs is presented. Discussion then shifts to the efforts of voucher advocates to…

This article examines an effort to use urban schools to promote the revitalization of a large northeastern city in the United States. In order to attract and retain professional families to a regenerated central city, downtown schools are re-branded and promoted to such families as suitable for their children. The article draws on interviews and…

Wilson (1987) and others argue that poor neighborhoods lack important organizational resources the middle class takes for granted, such as childcare centers, grocery stores and pharmacies. However, this approach does not distinguish poor neighborhoods from segregated neighborhoods, ignores immigration and neglects city differences. Using…

This study evaluates the effectiveness of an experiential approach to teen pregnancy (TP) prevention called "Baby Think It Over," a computerized infant simulator, on adolescents' attitudes and behaviors regarding teen pregnancy and sexuality. Recently, a more realistic model called "Real Care Baby" was developed. The small amount of research on…

We were interested in how low-income African American fathers of 12-year-old children in families identified as high risk viewed their role as father. Four focus group discussions involving 19 fathers were conducted. We had four key questions: (1) what the men perceived as the children's needs, (2) how they met those needs, (3) what motivated them…

"I am from a very small town in which almost the entire population is made up of White middle class society." This statement is a reoccurring theme of final Multicultural Education (MCE) papers by preservice teachers at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UW Oshkosh). Although this sounds like an innocuous statement, over the past 12…

This article reports on a sample of 26 middle-class Chinese immigrant parents' perspectives on their children's reading, writing, mathematics learning, and homework, and on the parents' involvement in and communication with mainstream American schools. Findings suggested both consistencies and discrepancies between their beliefs and practices.…

Suburban high school seniors planning to attend universities, as well as parents, high school guidance counselors, and teachers at both the high school and college levels are the intended audience for this guide. It seeks to provide incoming freshmen with "everything you need to know about the first-year college experience" in a lively and…