Alternative mathematical items administered as prototypes at the spring 1989 Field Trials of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) are evaluated for differential item functioning (DIF) and differential speededness. Results for Algebra Placement (AP) and Student Produced Response (SPR) items are presented and contrasted with results obtained on two…

Noting that parent involvement in their children's schooling can improve academic performance, this report presents statistics on eighth-grade students' perceptions of parent involvement and its effect on their achievement for the school year ending in 1988. The report first highlights the findings as follows: (1) More than 80 percent of…

A study investigated the college application behaviors of students from different racial/ethnic groups (Whites, African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans) to understand differences in the college search and choice process. Data were drawn from two large national longitudinal studies, the National Education Longitudinal Study (1988)…

An ethnographic study examined the attitudes of Chinese American families toward success in school and learning. The first cohort of 5 families stayed in the study for 3 years, while the second cohort of 5 families stayed for 2 years. All the first cohort children and two from the second cohort were from the same Boston (Massachusetts) school. The…

During the summer of 1995 a group of educators in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) created an innovative program, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Summer Institute on Nonviolence, to help young people learn alternatives to violent behavior. The program was designed to train peer leaders in nonviolence so they could return to their schools and…

Legislative mandates in California and at the federal level require written parental consent for surveys of children and youth on: sexual behavior and attitudes; illegal, antisocial and criminal behavior; and psychological problems. Active parental refusal and nonresponse to requests for permission threaten the generalizability of information…

This curriculum outline introduces the components of a world mythology and contemporary literature course which incorporates an Asian module focusing on Chinese mythology. Following a course description that discusses the rationale for incorporating Chinese mythology, the goals and student objectives of the course are introduced, emphasizing the…

This booklet is a selective guide to a larger computer-searchable database of teaching materials on Japan. The materials in the guide consist mainly of lesson plans, teaching guides, resource guides, and units on Japan. Each part contains bibliographic information on resources for teaching about Japan at specific grade levels or subject areas.…

This bulletin briefly presents statistics on trends from 1977 through 1991 in attainment of bachelor's degrees and high school diplomas by Whites, Blacks, Hispanic Americans and males and females. Data sources include: a national survey of degrees conferred, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and U.S. census data. Highlights of the…

This paper considers whether ethnicity is a social construction that is constantly being recreated in a nexus of shifting social relations rather than a set of perceptions and behaviors that remain constant and stem from a youth's membership in an ethnic group. Student responses about ethnicity from a larger study of student role and engagement in…

The University of Massachusetts-Lowell's efforts to help Southeast Asian refugees reconstruct their academic credentials for teaching and further higher education are described. The program evolved in response to refugee frustration at difficulty in establishing existing teaching credentials and obtaining admission to higher education…

This book provides preservice and in-service educators with information about the four most prevalent culturally diverse groups in the United States and describes components of responsive multicultural education programs. The text staunchly maintains that multicultural education programs should be a total school effort involving all school…

Extensive information is provided about the various cultural elements, including attitudes toward education and work, that different family groups have drawn on in order to exist in the United States today. The family ethnicities of five distinct cultures (Native American, African American, Mexican American and Spanish origin, Muslim American, and…

With the increasing recognition that connections are an important component in the pedagogy of school mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989), there is a need for a theoretical framework that addresses the ways in which the real experiences and cultural practices of students may be connected with mathematics classroom…

An ongoing research project that investigates how mathematics educators can prepare prospective and practicing teachers to cope with cultural diversity is presented. The first component of this project is investigation of the ways that students can use their cultural identities and practices in constructing mathematical ideas that belong uniquely…