Provides an overview of the structure and topics included in undergraduate course on Indian and Chinese history. Briefly reviews such topics as Land and People, Emergence and Evolution of Traditions, Expansion of Islam in Asia, European Imperialism, Nationalism and Independence, and Democracy and Development. (MJP)

Reports on a survey of Minnesota's African-American community college faculty concerning their own employment situations and the reasons why the recruitment and retention of African-American faculty have not been successful overall despite two decades of affirmative action. Looks at social and psychological barriers to increasing diversity, and…

A study validated a rating scale developed to measure six aspects of the work environment as perceived by women faculty: dual standards and opportunities for men and women; sexist attitudes and comments; informal social networks; balancing work and personal obligations; institutional policies and practices to remediate inequities; and mentoring.…

Expands the parameters of "parental involvement" in educational research regarding its effect on academic achievement. Includes talking with children about school-related activities and helping with homework in the new definition. Integrating these findings challenges the belief that lower-income parents are less involved with their…

Posits the Old Order Amish as an excellent subject for elementary students to learn about cultures different than their own. Includes a brief but thorough examination of traditional Amish ways and beliefs. Recommends a thoughtful comparison between Amish culture and mainstream U.S. culture. (MJP)

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…

Argues for the importance of teachers developing knowledge and skills related to curriculum development, action research, staff development, and collaboration to find unique solutions to the specific needs of language minority students. The paper examines how to incorporate such training into preservice teacher education for teachers of language…

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…

This study examined the cross-ethnic equivalence of several measures commonly used to tap contextual correlates (i.e., parental symptomatology, family relations, peer relations) of serious emotional disturbance in children. Subjects were 117 juvenile offenders with diagnosed substance abuse or dependence disorders and considerable psychiatric…

Investigates the relationship of attitudes and cultural background to reading comprehension in the second language (L2) of Israeli Arab students learning Hebrew and Israeli Jewish and Canadian Arab students learning English. Results showed that the motivation of students to learning their L2 was instrumental rather than integrative, regardless of…

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.…

Places the changing expectations and experiences of student life in a 1939 Abilene, Kansas, high school within the context of general institutional changes occurring at high schools. Maintains that schools reproduced the existing social structure through a variety of mechanisms. Notes the differences of expectations between male and female…

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…

Employed a method for assessing material well-being and social resources using a set of observable indicators such as adequacy of food, quality of housing, financial assets, consumer goods, and social resources. Identified two dimensions, consumption and social/financial capital, which when used to assign SES were predictive of a family's ability…

Connects the personal classroom experiences of a sociology professor with the changes in teaching methods over the last 30 years. Unequivocally, supports the more interactive teaching methods such as collaborative learning, role playing, simulations, and debates. Valuable appendix includes detailed descriptions of six group activities. (MJP)