This article is based upon the 2003 24th Annual Charles H. Thompson Lecture at Howard University. It devotes attention to the nexuses between Ralph Bunche's scholarly publications and diplomatic speeches and their relationships to contemporary university plans and programs to address ongoing crises. In-depth interviews with a university chancellor…

The parallels between South Africa and the United States run deep. For the United States, that moment of transition, at least as far as education is concerned, was the landmark ruling of 1954, described in the shorthand, "Brown v. Board of Education"; for South Africa, that moment came 40 years later when every citizen could, for the…

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between life difficulties of international students at a Southeastern university in the USA and the self-concept of these students. The findings indicate that international students experience minor to moderate difficulty in studying in the United States. The current study also indicates…

For the last nine years, Ukpokodu has taught an elementary social studies methods course. As one who is grounded in multicultural education, global education and critical pedagogy, she approaches the course from a transformative and social reconstructionist perspective (Banks 1996; Sleeter and Grant 1994). That means that the course reflects…

The manner in which we relate and behave towards one another can be analysed in political and social terms. Significantly, in the examination of children's spirituality, the concept of relational consciousness has revealed how early we become aware of people and phenomena beyond ourselves. But our desire to relate and behave reasonably towards…

Long overdue in the classroom is a critical examination of media coverage when seen and told through the unique vantage point of the audience and storyteller. This discussion is intended to demonstrate how to prepare students to critically examine and evaluate the social role of media within a diverse global society. The author elaborates on the…

The failure to meet the needs of children and youth results in terrible outcomes, which are highly costly to both the individual and society. The author describes how maltreatment of children is manifest in family abuse, environmental abuse, system abuse, and political abuse. (Contains 1 chart.)

Fifth-graders explore complicated social issues and create a CD entitled Exploring Freedom. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

A distillation is presented of the ideas, facts, trends, conclusions, and recommendations presented during a 2-day conference on strategies to reduce urban poverty. The meeting addressed two main approaches to reducing urban poverty: economic opportunity and human development, and the linkages between them. Urban poverty was set in the context of…

The broader social issues (poverty, illiteracy, health care, single parent families) of school reform in urban settings are explored in a paper divided into four parts. The first examines the impact of urbanization on the conditions of schools in the inner city. Part two analyzes the value assumptions embedded in both the first and second waves of…

This report describes a program for improving social and conflict resolution skills of primary students in three middle class suburban schools located in a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois. This program was recognized by teaching staff who found students lacking in social skills, problem solving strategies and the ability to solve conflicts.…

This study focuses on students' acquisition of current events knowledge, attitudes about the news, and motivation to seek the news as it relates to news seeking behavior and studying current events in school. A current events knowledge test of 53 true/false items and a questionnaire assessing motivation strategy use toward current events were…

This manual examines peace and justice themes with a specific domestic focus on issues rooted in the cultural, political, social, and economic fiber of the U.S. culture and economy. Each unit begins with overall goals for the unit with lessons developed around each goal. The lessons include brief background information for the teacher and…

This report provides a snapshot of homelessness in America as it exists today, and as it can be expected to exist in the future. By further dismantling the safety net that protects many families living on the edge, policymakers will ensure that the numbers of homeless and destitute families increase, creating a new era of homelessness dominated by…

This interdisciplinary five-day unit provides students with an understanding of the issues in the debate on global climate change. Introductory lessons enhance understanding of the "greenhouse gases" and their sources with possible global effects of climate change. Students then roleplay negotiators from 10 nations in a simulation of the…