This monograph presents a viewpoint of the nature of art education today. To provide more perspectives on past changes that help in grasping today's circumstances, the monograph offers lectures and papers that address the changing nature of the U.S. society, its cultures and sub-cultures as they affect students, the function of art in maintaining…

This paper is a proposal to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on ways to evaluate its environment for multicultural living and education. The paper begins by discussing the nature and definition of a multicultural society in higher education and the nation and minority population trends into the next century. The next issue examined…

This feature issue of IMPACT focuses on the empowerment of families with a member who has a developmental disability. It presents strategies and models for a collaborative, respectful approach to service provision, and presents the experiences of families in seeking support and assistance. Feature articles include "Two Generations of…

This teaching unit is designed to introduce elementary school students to traditional Chinese celebrations in Taiwan. An introductory activity asks students to distinguish between various kinds of celebrations (traditional or modern; religious or secular), and to identify U.S. and Chinese examples of each kind. The body of the unit concerns four…

Three states, Ohio, Texas, and Arkansas were selected to study implementation of policies relating to the identification of gifted students from special populations, i.e., culturally diverse students, economically disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities. Individual profiles were completed for each state, and a cross state comparison…

A study investigated differences in self-disclosure, comparing patterns in Americans versus Chinese. Subjects, 198 American college students and 146 Chinese (Taiwan) students studying in the United States, completed a 200-item self-disclosure chart to target persons on special topics. Results of t-tests and analysis of variance indicated that…

There exists a longstanding split in European educational thought. Schooling and higher education in the English-speaking world are dominated by the idea of curriculum; whereas in Germany, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe the intellectual work of students is shaped by the concept of Bildung (students are expected to be self-directed in their choice…

An antibias curriculum seeks to nurture children's potential by addressing issues of diversity and equity in the classroom. Goals of antibias curricula are to foster children's self-identity, interaction with people from diverse backgrounds, critical thinking about bias, and ability to stand up for themselves in the face of bias. The first phase…

A practicum aimed to increase global awareness in the first grade classroom. The problem was that the students were very "Americanized," predominantly white, and rarely exposed to other cultures. Therefore, the students could not recognize commonalities among people and could not understand the cultural differences in others. The major…

Recent efforts to make English the only official language of the United States have spurred an "English Plus" language advocacy movement, based on the belief that all U.S. residents should have the opportunity to become proficient in English and one or more other languages. For non-native English speakers, this means opportunity to…

This paper offers guidelines for the selection of elementary and secondary education curriculum materials that properly recognize the variety of ethnic and cultural diversity within U.S. society. Two areas are addressed. The first is understanding the concept of culture when examining multicultural materials. The second is the determination of the…

This study examined the effects of race/ethnicity and degree of acculturation on knowledge and attitudes about human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Subjects were 274 college students from 5 racial/ethnic groups (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asian Americans, U.S. born, having an Asian origin with families that…

In 1991, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education approved guidelines for a competitive grants program that would encourage public colleges and universities to develop and implement specific strategies for making their curricula more inclusive of African American culture and history. The three grant recipients were Technical College of…

The causes of bigotry, prejudice, and hatred and what can be done about them are discussed by the authors represented in this collection. Most of the book provides general discussions of these issues, but Part 2, "Universities and the 'Politically Correct' Response to Hatred and Prejudice," contains some specific examinations of these…

This study documented 45 African-American and 40 Puerto Rican-American middle- to lower-middle-income fathers' involvement with their preschool children. Their styles of functioning within the family, and the support they received from their families and communities in their role as parents were also examined. The fathers completed three parental…