The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey series provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. Inaugurated in April 1998, this is the 116th PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that has generated a…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Passes FY 2011 Spending Bill: Bill Cuts U.S. Department of Education Funding by $5 Billion; Title I, School…

Following an illustrious introduction to the Montagnards and their plight and flight to the United States, this study explores the education, assimilation, and future development of Montagnard students into American schools. A guide for school leaders is presented within this study to assist the Montagnard students in overcoming obstacles and…

Open and public discussion of death, particularly among children, remains one of the greatest Japanese societal taboos; therefore, little is known about Japanese children's perceptions of death. To explore Japanese children's notions of life and death, 16 healthy children (7 girls and 9 boys, mean age 8.9) were each interviewed 3 times and asked…

The purpose was to compare the differences in body mass index (BMI), energy balance (EB) and specific physical activity (SPA) between 30 CSULA college students (Y) and their respective parents (O) living in the same household at Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Each student completed a 24-hour dietary record with SPA journal, and the same for…

This study examined whether fine motor skills were related to the initial scores and growth rate of mathematics achievement in American kindergartners and first graders. Participants were 244 East Asian American and 9,816 European American children from the US-based Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K). To control sampling bias, two…

This paper considers how a university teacher uses reflexive writings to explore what might constitute becoming a 'better' teacher within her classroom practices. The writings derive from an encounter with students where they had opportunity to reflect upon notions of childhood as portrayed within the film "East is East". Specifically,…

A rapid increase in the number of Chinese immigrants and the specific challenges faced by low-income Chinese immigrant youth attending urban schools warrant culturally sensitive school-based interventions and services. However, research and services are limited for this population because of cultural biases in traditional career theories and the…

The objective was to determine if the WHO global BMI (kg/m[squared]) cutoffs for determining overweight and obesity in the general populations are appropriate for Asian populations and to consider whether population-specific cutoffs would be warranted. A nonrandomized biased sampling of 227 Asian Americans were composed of 149 college students,…

The authors discuss the complexities and responsibilities of teaching about Daoism in contemporary North American colleges and universities. Expanding and revising the findings of Kirkland (1998), they argue that enough has changed in educational and cultural contexts to warrant new strategies for teaching about Daoism. Textbooks are now available…

Acoustic properties of the cries of 14 infants were evaluated at both 2 and 4 weeks of age when the infants were lying in a supine position and when they were sitting upright in a car seat. In the upright position, infants' breathing was more rapid and showed less individual variability. The fundamental frequency of their cries increased in the…

An increasing number of organizational researchers examine the effects of ethnic identity and other-group orientation. In doing so, many use Phinney's (1992) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), which purportedly allows simultaneous assessment of various groups. Although several studies demonstrate adequate validity and reliability for…

This study of diverse Asian American students at a racially integrated public high school illustrates that the achievement gap is a multi-racial problem that cannot be well understood solely in terms of the trajectories of Black and white students. Asian American students demonstrated a high academic profile on average, but faced difficulties and…

Will multiracial identification resonate with future generations? Using the 2000 U.S. Census, I analyze the impact of a multiracial parent on the classification of children in four types of multiracial families (e.g., white/non-white, black/non-black). Compared to families where parents are of two different single-race backgrounds, parental…

This study guide was created to accompany the special exhibit "Strength and Diversity: Japanese American Women, 1885 to 1990" at The Oakland (California) Museum, February 17-May 13, 1990. The guide provides a supplement for studying the history of Japanese American women, their immigration, and acculturation. The guide touches upon important…