Provides a comparative study of two different cultures of learning--the Korean and the British. Data are case studies of teaching and learning at the mainstream beginner level: English in Korea and French in Britain. Focuses on how the notion of communicative is interpreted, the idea of "good language learner," and whole-class…

Discusses the use of a sociocultural perspective on learning and learning disabilities for understanding learning problems within culturally diverse groups. Reviews assumptions about ethnicity and culture (supposed homogeneity within cultures) and describes ways to distinguish ethnicity and culture. Discusses implications for assessment,…

Reports findings from case studies of eight gifted minority children in second and third grade who participated in a Project START (Support To Affirm Rising Talent). Discusses factors that promoted and discouraged success in the regular classroom and in transition to special services for gifted learners. (Author/CR)

Technology is not a quick fix for American schools. Technology must be understood as a composite of social forces, cultural influence and values, and technical mechanisms. Argues that educational reform must not look solely to technology but also at the surrounding environments, focusing on macro-level issues: race, ethnicity, class, language and…

Presents strategies for reading visual images. Illustrates how visual systems inform the process of listening for the meaning of foreign language words and phrases. Suggestions are provided on how these strategies apply to a larger curricular program that integrates media into its overall learning objectives. (35 references) (Author/CK)

Examines the effects of migration on parent-child relationships, family hierarchies, economic relationships, kinship, and friendships among Iu Mien Americans. Results reveal significant generational differences exist in values which mediate intergenerational conflicts. Such conflicts are believed to hold important implications for the mental…

Provides several contextual and theoretical frameworks through which to make connections between the articles in this special issue, which examine global trends affecting children and their families in rapidly changing environments. Discusses how cross-national perspectives on issues affecting children and their families are becoming increasingly…

A teacher realized she had been using language in a way that alienated the minority students in her eighth-grade English class. Discusses the language of power, indirect commands, the need to know a variety of speech types, the importance of validating students' language and culture, and the teacher's responsibility to explicitly give students…

Focus groups or interviews with 31 family members and 8 adolescents from minority communities investigated barriers families encountered as their adolescent youth with disabilities move into adulthood. Barriers included insensitivity/discrimination, lack of accommodations, and unresponsive services. Survey findings from 308 parents were consistent…

Examined variations in adolescent time use within Europe and their relation to culture, focusing on organization of free time, most frequent leisure activities, and resulting emotional states. Found that European adolescents spent free time in a range of activities, including electronic media, computer games, playing musical instruments, reading,…

Interlinks crucial cultural themes emerging from preceding chapters, highlighting the contextual constraints in adolescents' use of free time. Draws parallels across the nations discussed on issues related to how school molds leisure time, the balance of passive versus active leisure, timing of leisure pursuits, and the cumulative effect of…

Discusses refugee and immigrant students' education, highlighting three high school students' experiences based on the notion that such students' school life can be examined from a critical and political perspective. Face-to-face encounters in school settings made possible a new politics of truth for these students by their assumption of control…

This article explores how use or nonuse of augmentative and alternative communication can be affected by the ongoing development and interaction of a child's identity through various cultural milieu. It examines the student's role in the selection and use of devices and the effects of family, school, and community. (Contains references.) (CR)

Compared gestures of Chinese and American deaf children who had not been exposed to a usable conventional language model with speech of hearing children learning Mandarin or English. Found that deaf children conveyed central elements of motion events in their communications. Deaf American and Chinese children used gestures to express motion in…

Conducted observations, interviews, and videotaped lessons at a multiethnic high school to investigate sociocultural factors influencing school suspension. Suspensions frequently occurred in the absence of physical violence or blatant verbal abuse. Suspensions were generally preceded by a series of nonviolent events, with one disruptive event…