A study compared the perceptions of 118 American teachers and 292 Japanese teachers children with learning disabilities. American teachers identified 4 percent of their children as meeting the criteria and Japanese teachers identified 1.5 percent. Americans rated high percentages of children as "weaker" in listening, speaking,…

Discusses cross-cultural issues in the delivery of teacher training courses. Focuses on a 3-week training course that took place in the United Kingdom, describing the decisions made about content and process in light of an awareness and knowledge of specific national and educational cultures. (Author/VWL)

Surveyed a group of South American business people on their television viewing and perceptions of U.S. business people, exploring the relevancy of media-cultivated perceptions for understanding intercultural communication between U.S. and Latin American businesses. Found that Americans were viewed as aggressive, an undesirable communication trait…

Questioned foreign students about why they chose to study in England to become foreign language teachers and how they adjusted. Respondents adapted relatively easily to institution-based training. Though some had adjustment problems with school-based training, they also considered it extremely rewarding. They chose England because of its proximity…

This study examined relationships between children's experiences of family change, cognitive ability, and family adversity and the prevalence of behavior problems, comparing British and US children. Among other findings, cognitive scores decreased with increasing externalizing behavior problems, and in Britain, these were related to family…

Compares paths of development in Japan (symbiotic harmony) and the United States (generative tension) of parent-child and adult mate relationships, challenging assumptions that certain processes are central in all relationships or that U.S. relationships are less valued or weaker than Japan's. Suggests need to investigate processes underlying, and…

Examines a white preservice teacher's experiences in an inner city school. Analysis of interviews, written reflections, and group discussions describes a journey from initial culture shock, eliciting both emotional and cognitive dissonance, to cultural assimilation as she adapted to concerns about her students, worries about working with her…

Measured value-order responses of 31 Arab (Jordanian) and 27 American business students and studied how culturally-ingrained values were reflected in students' perceptions of people they met. Economic, political, social, and theoretical values were nearly the same for both groups; slight differences were found for aesthetics and religion. (SLD)

Discussion of cultural diversity in higher education highlights the results of a survey that was conducted to identify efforts of academic libraries to facilitate or respond to cultural diversity. Percentages of minority student enrollments, minority faculty and staff members, and minority librarians are examined. (Contains 19 references.) (LRW)

An Australian study compared Southeast Asian foreign students' ways of thinking about learning, their learning goals, and their perceptions of the usefulness of typical university study with those of local students at the beginning of their studies in Australia and after one semester. Evidence of cultural differences in these areas tended to…

Describes a project that trained institutional policymakers in action research regarding problems in developing training policies about young people's needs, examining attempts to collaborate and dialog with stakeholders and discussing how project members became enmeshed in complex sets of relationships calling for construction of dialog in…

Cross-cultural communicative competence requires more than learning the language; social cultural competence also is necessary. Challenges beyond semantics (word connotations), beyond phonology (significance of subtle pronunciation differences), beyond pragmatics (relating to cognitive style), and beyond translation (the cultural imperatives of…

Examines cultural and structural frameworks for considering social class and research evidence regarding social class differences in parenting and marriage. Reviews literature of family life education and offers recommendations about how to include social class issues in the context and delivery of family life education. (SNR)

Examined the Japanese concepts of "sunao," a quality of docility or cooperativeness in kindergarten children, age 6 and a half years old, from the viewpoint of children themselves. Examined how Japanese adults promote their children's internalization of parental, group, and institutional norms. Discusses the role of "sunao" as…

Discussion of synchronous computer mediated communications over the Internet focuses on the opportunities and pitfalls of using graphical chat programs in education. Topics include two-dimensional and three-dimensional chat programs; distance education; problem solving groups; exploring cultural differences; language skill development;…