Thirty-two author-contributed chapters were selected from 369 papers presented at the 1981 World Conference on Gifted and Talented Children. Authors included psychologists, educators, geneticists, researchers, and sociologists. Papers address five topics (sample subtopics in parentheses): social contexts (parent and family role, gifted adults at…

Each child is to some extent like all children, to some extent like some children, and to some extent like no other child. There are at least three sets of universals that characterize children: (1) they have the same needs and rights; (2) they go through the same developmental stages; and (3) they have essentially the same developmental goals,…

The way in which sources of information are perceived in the classroom, in this case by American Indian and Afro-American students, greatly influences the learning process, for the perception determines both the amount of mental effort or cognitive engagement the student decides to invest and the cognitive processes used. Perceptions are…

The past decade has seen a surge in both popular and scholarly work on the issues that affect women's lives. To discover events perceived to have been turning points in the identity formation of Hispanic women, 25 Mexican-American women and 25 Puerto Rican women living in Chicago were interviewed by two female Hispanic interviewers. In addition to…

The integration of American and European mass communication research models would provide a broader sociocultural framework for formulating communication policy. Emphasizing a functional approach, the American diffusionist model assumes that society is a system of interrelated parts naturally tending toward a state of dynamic equilibrium. The…

A study was made of cross-cultural patterns of achievement motivation in relationship to the mathematics achievement of Japanese and American boys and girls approximately 16 years of age. Sample sizes were 9,582 for the United States subjects (specifically, from Illinois) and 1,700 for the participants from Japan. Data came from performance on the…

A group supportive testing procedure and acculturation level are investigated as to their influence upon achievement test scores of 150 culturally diverse inner city school students in grades four through six. The group supportive testing procedure was specifically designed as a facilitation strategy that attempted to mirror the more typical…

Perspectives on studying abroad in third world countries are presented. Fewer than 5% of Americans who study abroad do so in Third World Countries, although economically and politically the United States and these countries are interdependent. In addition, many employers are seeking individuals with cross-cultural training and sensitivity. The…

This report on the educational concerns of Asian and Pacific Islanders is part of a four-part study of minority education in the United States by the National Education Association (NEA). Data were gathered from 14 site visits to a wide variety of schools and programs and from the testimony of over 50 representatives of community organizations,…

This paper examines the problems encountered by part-time English instructors at Cuyahoga Community College (CCC) and describes an effort undertaken to address them. An informal survey in the spring of 1988 of 36 part-time instructors as well as administrators and program coordinators found general agreement that, despite the provision of sample…

This paper examines the similarities and differences among five countries (West Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, and Singapore) concerning teachers' perceptions of administrators and of administrative tasks or policies as sources of both enthusiasm and discouragement in their work. The study also summarizes the explanations offered…

Sixty-six Nigerian and 120 U.S. rural children and adolescents (ages 6-18) from three social classes were interviewed about their conceptions of economic inequality. The rich and poor were described referring to central (traits, thoughts) and sociocentric (class consciousness, life chances) characteristics. Age was a factor in change of type of…

Visual processing of televised information was compared among 85 Japanese and 111 American boys and girls at the kindergarten and 4th-grade levels. The literatures on cognition and learning indicate that language and child rearing factors are more conducive to the development of iconic processing skills in Japanese children than in American…

A discussion is presented on a cluster of related research studies conducted on the adequacy of multicultural education in current teacher education programs. The first was designed to determine whether preservice teachers lack relevant background experiences in multicultural settings, perceive a need for multicultural training, and would be…

Written by selected faculty members associated with the adoptions training project of the University of Southern California, the eight papers in this collection reflect the content of intensive, short-term educational programs for administrators, supervisors, and workers employed in adoption services. Individual papers provide an introduction to…