In this age of world-mindedness, children should develop an appreciation and understanding of people of other cultures. This document contains some of the material presented in a workshop on teaching children about the cultures of the Pacific Rim through the use of folklore and folktales. A dialogue from Peter Parley's Adventures of James Jenkins…

This study was conducted to compare the social style of Japanese and Americans. Participants included 241 Japanese students from Otsuma Women's University and Nihon University (Tokyo, Japan) and 252 American students from West Virginia University (United States). Each completed the Richmond-McCroskey Assertiveness-Responsiveness Measure (which…

This publication emerged from an invitational meeting held by "Project Zero to Three" to address how best to provide effective, culturally sensitive, and comprehensive early intervention programs to all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in an equitable way. Following an overview of the concept of culture and how that…

Suggestions are made for teachers considering teaching abroad. The following topics are covered: (1) problems encountered in working in a foreign environment, e.g., culture shock; (2) general considerations in making the decision to teach overseas; (3) steps to follow when seeking an overseas position; (4) overseas employment opportunities with…

The manual describes a variety of media approaches in the United States, Hong Kong, India, and Pakistan to changing attitudes toward the disabled. Four principles of media communications are stressed: (1) children's television is an important vehicle for changing attitudes; (2) it is vital to know the audience; (3) active participation by the…

The teaching of writing to students who speak nonstandard English can be difficult because students' linguistic differences rarely indicate true incompetence, and students' writing problems may result from conflicts between the cultures and language uses at home and school. Factors found to encourage writing improvement are the following: (1)…

Everyman's University (EU) in Israel acts as a social safety valve by providing an avenue for education to students who are unable to attend conventional universities; however, the heterogeneity of EU's student population creates many problems for course developers and coordinators. Differing from other Israeli universities, EU operates by…

The report discusses the Ford Foundation's support for the arts in the United States since 1981. The premise upon which the Foundation provides such support is that the arts provide an immediate and intense means of communication, both in the present and across the centuries. A potent reflector and interpreter of values, art illuminates the…

How background knowledge of the content of a text affects reading comprehension and the role it plays in the diagnosis and instruction of reading comprehension skills for linguistically/culturally diverse (L/CD) students may be demonstrated through schema theory. Since a schema represents what is believed to be generally true about a class of…

In seeking to define and describe culturally and linguistically different exceptional (CLDE) children, common problems in distinguishing a disability from a cultural or linguistic difference are discussed. The legal mandates affecting the assessment of CLDE students are summarized. An appropriate nondiscriminatory assessment process is defined in…

This article analyzes the term bourgeois liberalization and describes how it is used by the Chinese government as a label for unwanted U.S. influences. The discussion is based on a review of literature about the Chinese government and a written survey of student opinions at Northern Jiaotong University (Beijing). The Chinese government officially…

Systematic observations of thousands of high school students in the California Mentally Gifted Minors/Gifted and Talented Education programs identified five principles underlying the development of high level thinking skills in this population: (1) Exceptional performance on any criterion requires mutually reinforcing antecedents, the effects of…

Because people meeting across cultures often carry with them misunderstandings and suspicions--relationship problems which must be resolved before any task can be completed--the phrase "problem-solving" must be defined more literally when applied to intercultural communication. Sources of cultural conflict must be recognized and…

These nonfiction, first-hand accounts of the experiences of two young women sojourning in foreign countries offer insights into the cultural adjustments, problems, and rewards foreign exchange students may encounter. A Danish woman recounts her difficulty in readjusting to her home country following a year in Kenya, emphasizing the cultural and…

A series of three studies investigating affective warmth was conducted. For the purpose of investigation, this quality was conceived as (1) a long term pattern of parental attention and responsiveness with positive affective tone (i.e., love), and (2) a reinforcer manipulated to shape behavior in the present. Each of the first two experiments…