In this interview, Lisa Delpit, a specialist in urban education and cross-cultural communication, discusses various aspects of teaching black children, including valuing their own cultural and language traditions rather than simply bowing to the rules of the culture of power of the dominant majority. Parent participation in urban schools is also a…

Although the new principal of an innercity California school vowed to improve student achievement, the students could not learn amidst demoralized teachers in chaotic classrooms. Community-building had to come first. The principal met with parents and asked them to write behavior rules for the school. Various discipline, partnership, and literacy…

Describes the Linguistic Affirmation Program (LAP), a comprehensive nonstandard language awareness program for students not proficient in Standard American English, that facilitates the acquisition of Standard American English without devaluing students' home language and culture. Notes its six research-based critical instructional approaches.…

Uses National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data to examine whether measures of male teenagers' skills (academic, reasoning, and self-esteem) predict their wages at ages 27 and 28. All three skill types help predict subsequent wages, but have differing importance in explaining white/minority wage gaps. (Contains 37 references.) (MLH)

Explored the relation between measures of emotional competence, behavioral regulation, and general social competence and African American preschoolers' peer acceptance and popularity. Found that gender, emotional knowledge, emotion regulation, and themes of violence in response to hypothetical situations of interpersonal conflict were strongly…

Age-level differences in work values as measured by the Values Scale using national norms were studied for 323 Hispanic or African American students in 9th grade, 12th grade, or college. These students differed according to grade level in their values as they related to work. (SLD)

Introduces six articles on interventions, practices, beliefs, and contexts designed to facilitate early adolescents' school achievement and overall development. The articles focus on middle school reform, separate schooling for African American males, ability grouping, teacher roles, interdisciplinary programs, and the role of cooperation and…

Discusses the Brown versus Board of Education decision, evaluates the influence of social science data on court decisions, and reconstructs race and educational achievement in the United States. Special emphasis is placed on comments of Supreme Court Justice Thomas and the future of the relationship between blacks and education into the new…

Examines the developments behind the Missouri versus Jenkins Supreme Court decision involving public school desegregation. The author discusses Justice Thomas's concurring opinion, viewing it as an expression of black nationalist ideology, that is, blacks alone should determine their destiny and should do so without seeking the company of whites.…

Explores the fathering attitudes and behaviors of African American males within four themes: (1) paternal beliefs and modes of functioning; (2) strength and resiliency; (3) racial socialization of children; and (4) fathers as teachers in the home. Self-descriptions from eight male interviewees provide evidence that urban African American fathers…

A review of the literature on the impact of exposure to violence on psychologic functioning, perceptions of well- being, and health decisions and behavior in the context of black and Latino low-income urban communities found that exposure to violence can produce feelings of powerlessness, hopelessness, and alienation that limit motivation,…

The verdict in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) case undermined the concept of educational equity by equating it with sameness. Testimony was excluded that revealed bureaucratic processes creating new inequities: overemphasis on test preparation and manipulation of students' grade level designations to artificially improve…

This article explores four mentor-mentee relationships arranged through the Alliance 2000 Project. Faculty members of minority institutions of higher education worked with mentors (successful proposal writers, grant holders, and content experts) from other academic institutions during proposal development for submission to the Office of Special…

Tracked a cohort of preservice teachers to determine the effects of coursework and experiences on efficacy and knowledge of mathematics and assessment reforms and extent to which classroom practices aligned with knowledge of reforms. Pre- and post-course and post-internship evaluations indicated that sense of efficacy and classroom practices did…

Examined relationships among collective self-esteem, perceived social support, and cultural congruity among 151 Black and Latino college students enrolled in predominantly White universities. Findings indicate Black and Latino women reported higher levels of cultural congruity than did men; higher public collective self-esteem and higher social…