Tracked one prekindergarten teacher's experience to determine whether a relationship exists between student outcomes and a teacher's ability to use sign language. Found enriching preschool curriculum with sign language improves hearing African American children's receptive English vocabulary and confirms research that simultaneously presenting…

Presents a theoretical framework suggesting ways to design peer intervention programs and group existing programs. Suggests criteria for effective racial awareness programs, discussing examples of successful college prejudice activities. Notes diversity education efforts are most successful when based on a theoretical model that recognizes the…

Reports a study that examined resilient and nonresilient urban middle school students' perceptions of their classroom learning environment. Data analysis revealed that resilient students had higher perceptions of involvement, task orientation, rule clarity, pacing, satisfaction, and feedback than nonresilient students did. Resilient students also…

Describes a multimethod study of the perceptions of master's students in student affairs programs. Focused on self-reported, descriptive information about students' backgrounds, behaviors, skills, knowledge and comfort level concerning women, people of color, and gays, lesbians, or bisexuals. Also includes students' perceptions of the graduate…

Interviews with 28 Hispanic and Black former foster youth in Los Angeles County (California) found that emancipating from foster care placed individuals at risk because of a lack of education, marketable skills, or general living skills. Relationships overshadowed skill development in participants' memories of independent living programs.…

Argues that minority dental school faculty are needed to train a pluralistic dental labor force, and describes the University of Iowa's long-term affirmative action and minority faculty recruitment efforts. Discusses issues in retention, particularly workload concerns and acculturation, and the use of mentoring and other support mechanisms to…

This study evaluated the association between middle school students' perceived risk of fighting and actual fighting behavior, examining the effects of race, gender, and grade. Surveys indicated that perceived risk of fighting was high, and one in five students fought regularly. There were associations between race, gender, grade, and fighting. (SM)

Quantified ethnic elementary school student underachievement data in the compulsory subjects of mathematics, science, and English, with a focus on Black and African Caribbean students. Negative influences to academic achievement in the school environment, including student-teacher relationships and lack of parental involvement, are discussed. The…

Studied factors associated with sexual intercourse and substance use among young, low income, African-American adolescents. Found that sexual activity was associated with parental conflict and having sexually active friends. Boys reported less parental monitoring and family and community support than girls and were more likely to report sexual…

Differential item functioning (DIF) methodology for revealing sources of item difficulty and performance characteristics of different groups was explored. A total of 150 Scholastic Aptitude Test items and 132 Graduate Record Examination general test items were analyzed. DIF was evaluated for males and females and Blacks and Whites. (SLD)

Describes the Teaching Enrichment Activities for Minorities (TEAM) project designed to give minority students in Dade County (Florida) elementary schools experience in the type of thinking skills that are required for placement in gifted and advanced programs. (FMW)

Describes the Rice Computer Education Center, a cooperative after-school project for providing computer training for at-risk elementary school students in Chicago (Illinois). (FMW)

A survey of 90 former Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Ethnic Minority Doctoral Fellows found Hispanic Americans were most likely to be full, tenured professors, and that more males than females were tenured, most who applied had been awarded promotion and tenure, scholarly productivity was attributed to a minority of respondents, and…

Reveals that, among a low-income Latino population, parents who participate in school choice programs share significant characteristics. These include mother's education, high parental involvement, and higher education expectations. Characteristics remained the same for parents choosing private or public schools. (MJP)

Contends that research confirms that too many names, dates, and facts can make social studies boring and irrelevant. Proposes a four-step approach to help students examine issues rather than merely learn facts. Describes a lesson on ethnic discrimination and presents a composite teacher-student dialog. (ACM)