This publication contains two papers that describe Australian immigration policies, ethnic relations, and multicultural educational practices. Australia contains people from over 100 countries who speak approximately 50 different languages. The first paper, "Immigration Policies and Ethnic Relations in Australia," presents a historical…

Using a model of educational attainment modified to take the Mexican-American experience into account, data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Study were analyzed in an attempt to identify factors important to high school graduation for Mexican-Americans and Whites. Findings show that, among Whites, the general factor of family…

Efforts are underway to determine if there are any unique ways to Navajo thinking and thus to the way they might learn. Studies have shown a consistent lag in achievement levels for Native Americans, especially after seventh grade. At least three possible explanations for this phenomenon are viable: (1) They are deficient in the needed skills to…

A study of student opinions in a developing country--Malaysia--shows that the institutionalization of education in developed countries has been transferred to developing countries in the status given to Western degrees. Ideas about what constitutes knowledge and professionalism, disseminated by universities of the Western world, have come to…

"Outlier studies" identify items for which extreme differences in performance by contrasting groups occur; these extreme items are the "outliers" referred to. Review of the studies conducted on tests receiving major use in higher education reveals that though one cannot make a priori classifications of outliers with confidence,…

Focusing upon the interactive work-group communication patterns of employees classified as "managers," this paper compares such communication observed in Japanese and United States business and industrial organizations. The paper first describes several models of decision making within American and Japanese organizations, highlighting…

Twenty-four mother-toddler dyads, 12 each from the Hmong and Caucasian communities of the Twin Cities, took part in a cross-cultural study of maternal-child interaction and its links to health and development. Findings showed that the Hmong mothers were rated as more attentive, expressive, sensitive, responsive, and patient in childrearing than…

The refugee experience--migrating against one's will--is a source of immense psychological stress. This paper therefore draws on empirical findings and theoretical discussions from the psychological, psychiatric, nursing, social work, sociological, and anthropological literature in order to identify the major stressors encountered in the…

Studies of student persistence in higher education often concentrate on members of ethnic minority groups who fail to persist. A study was conducted concentrating on the successes of persisting students and representing a preliminary effort to develop a model of student competency. The population consisted of 70 new first-time full-time Native…

The concept and intercultural application of a "common sense" approach to communication deserves close scrutiny. In an intercultural context, "common sense" should be renamed "cultural perception." In fact, there is nothing that can universally transcend culture and be called "common sense.""Common…

The Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Austin, Texas defines a dropout as a student who leaves AISD and for whom there is no evidence that he/she is pursuing an education in another district or institution offering a high school diploma. All students who withdraw from AISD are initially considered dropouts. When a request for a…

Major writing style differences between Korean and U.S. essayists are examined in order to determine: (1) the types of relationships expressed in a specific essay; (2) the sequence in which related ideas are expressed; and (3) the distance between two ideas that comprise each relationship. Eighteen basic types of relationships were examined in…

In an analysis of Japanese, Korean, and American elementary school reading textbooks to determine their differences, the weight and size of each book were measured, the number of pages totaled, and the content analyzed. Categories chosen for the content analysis included science (physical, life, and social science), literature, and basic skills.…

This workbook is a special report on Asian Americans, part of a series on ethnic perspectives. In three chapters, it covers Asian American culture, history, and immigration experiences. Study questions for recall and analysis of the text are presented at the end of each chapter. The following topics are covered: (1) the Chinese experience; (2) the…

This bibliography of books and journals has been designed to aid San Diego and Imperial County (California) health care professionals in dealing with patients from three special population groups prevalent in that area: Hispanics, Native Americans, and Pan Asians. The bibliography is divided into four sections, the first of which lists general…