Recognizes that the debate on the Program for International Student Assessment 2000 (PISA) has been dominated by comparisons of the ranks achieved and by the question of the consequences to be drawn from the results. Discusses the educational concept forming the basis for the investigation and aims of PISA. (CAJ)

This article describes the University of San Francisco's Mild/Moderate Education Specialist Credential Internship Program, a program designed to meet the need for more fully credentialed teachers trained specifically to work in diverse urban classrooms. Program outcomes indicate it has been enormously successful in recruiting, supporting, and…

Measured 231 African American students' attitudes toward school-year completion, social support for completing the academic year, and their perceptions of personal control over school completion. Examined influence of self-esteem and racial self-esteem on academic goals. Found that theory of planned behavior predicted intentions to complete school…

Investigated whether second generation youth were academically affected by oppositional attitudes depending upon the relative proportion of African American students enrolled in their schools. Longitudinal data indicated that Nicaraguan students' grade point average and Cuban and Nicaraguan students' mathematics performance declined with higher…

Documents the higher educational and professional attainment of black and white students from two segregated, one-room schools in rural Virginia in the 1930s-40s. Data from life histories and interviews indicated that black students' inferior educational opportunities were offset somewhat by the values of their immediate community. Community…

This article discusses the various cultural interpretations of severe disabilities and the role of enculturation in determining family expectations and participation within the special education system. Research-based techniques and ideas are presented to facilitate increased competence with families in which English is not the first language.…

A study of 1197 African-Americans involved in a 1999-2001 young adult follow-up evaluation of a school-based intervention, found 54% reported use of physical discipline by caregivers. Lower family income, younger caregiver age, and teacher reports of child aggression were related to reports of caregiver's high use of negative strategies. (Contains…

Describes the value of nonparental adult-child relationships for infants and toddlers and outlines specific steps that American and Italian educators from relationship-oriented programs rely on to expand on children's relationship dances with their parents. Suggests that educators should initially take the initiative to become attuned to the child…

Data on 3,449 children (ages 0-3) indicate children at risk because of low income, minority status, or lack of insurance were 3 to 12 times more likely to be without a usual source of care and 2 to 30 times more likely to have unmet needs for health care. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Evaluated social competence and problem behaviors of 200 Japanese preschoolers. Found anxiety-withdrawal, anger- aggression, and social competence factors as well as age and gender differences in emotional and behavioral problems and social competence. Found consistency with previous findings from U.S. and Canadian samples. (DLH)

Traces historical precedents of values development and citizenship education in the United States and Canada. Proposes a framework for democratic values education. Explores teaching methods and classroom environments that promote democratic citizenship education. Exhorts social studies educators to integrate teaching and learning in citizenship…

Asks who benefits from illiteracy to reveal the political implications of literacy's empowering potential. Observes literacy's ultimate capacity to overturn power structures and redistribute wealth and resources at international, national, and local levels. Relates the literacy problem to colonialism and its legacy. Offers examples of literacy…

This article introduces four papers addressing problems of higher education in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Yugoslavia. Issues identified include overcoming the Communist heritage, the separation of teaching and research, low student numbers, appropriate diversification of higher education, increasing access, the role of the state, and…

Nondisabled only children (N=10) were observed and videotaped at home with their mothers in scripted, free-play, and novel contexts to probe uses of temporally displaced (TD) communication and maternal contributions to its development. Scaffolded maternal speech was found important to TD speech development and context-sensitivity underscored as a…

Reviews the background and consequences of the most violent and effective textbook confrontations in U.S. history, summarizing the objectives of religious fundamentals to a K-12 language arts curriculum. Decries the individual and societal operation of agnosis (not wanting to know). Condemns the publishing industry for self-censorship based on…