Investigates the relationship between students' previous school knowledge about a particular natural phenomenon and the teaching of a science lesson about that phenomenon. A group of 198 secondary school students from Sierra Leone, West Africa, and 21 junior high students from the United States participated. (HM)

A study to determine the extent to which teacher education majors, from different cultural and geographical backgrounds, have an understanding of their own culture and that of a target culture. Indicates that both White and Black students' perceptions of their target cultures were at variance with that group's perception of itself. (JMD)

The study evaluated the effectiveness of three instructional methods in promoting speech sound discrimination and reading achievement over a 3-year period. (Author)

Methodological and theoretical options confronting second-language textbook authors are outlined. Analytic and synthetic methodological approaches, linguistic options, geographic variability, registers of language, spoken versus written language, cultural materials, and learners' level are discussed. (SW)

Activities that make middle school students more aware of and sensitive to the different cultural backgrounds of various races and disabled populations (particularly the deaf and hearing impaired) include student reflection on self-perception; an International Day presenting materials from various populations; and role playing and perspective…

Considers several factors that combine to hinder a learner in the task of second language acquisition, including barriers related to culture and society and the classroom environment. Appropriate teaching strategies for Spanish classes and research opportunities are also discussed. (CB)

Discusses the signals that are used to create, sustain, and end conversational involvement in two different languages, with examples provided of paralinguistic attention getters, linguistic conversation initiation signals, "in-tune" signals, and "face-saving" signals from a study of English and Greek. (CB)

Discusses the meaning of counseling from nonwestern perspectives and suggests some considerations for counselors. Discusses cultural differences related to stress, myth and superstition, social change, and social attitudes related to physical and mental health in six cultures. (JAC)

Provides a secondary teaching unit on the Islamic religious faith and government. Maintains that students must understand the totality of Islam in order to make sense of recent events in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, and the Sudan. Included are complete teaching instructions and necessary handouts. (JDH)

Examination of the child development beliefs of 40 families reveals that Greek-Australians regard behaviors reflecting initiative and independence, personal maturity, and interpersonal sensitivity to be appropriate at a later age than do Anglo-Australians, but the converse holds true for respect, self-control, and unsupervised activities. Parents'…

Victims of both racial and sex discrimination, women of color face special obstacles to achieving success and equity. If the perspectives of women of different ethnic heritages never enter the realm of academic discourse, it makes these perspectives invisible. The dominant culture has no knowledge of what it is missing. (MLW)

Comparison of maternal speech to three-month-olds between American (N=20) and Japanese (N=20) mother-infant dyads revealed that infant gaze affected the intended functions of maternal speech differently for the two groups. Cultural differences were also seen in the nature of function-form and function-referent relationships. (Author/CB)

Data from eight countries were analyzed to explore hypotheses about cross-cultural differences in childrearing patterns. Particular attention is given to LeVine's and Kohn's theories, and Hoffman and Hoffman's new theory that contends that children satisfy certain parental needs and that the satisfaction of specific needs affects parents'…

Disability is a human constant: all human societies have and have always had disabled members. Although the presence of such individuals is a constant, culturally shared responses to them vary greatly across time and social context. (Author/BJV)

Argues the importance of teaching students about the common culture of our diverse democracy. States that this common culture is composed of the democratic, work, and Judeo-Christian ethics. Describes how these ethics function to help preserve and transmit our common culture. (JDH)