Considers the formal education of a group of Native American students who have not traditionally done well in school and suggests a cultural mismatch between the home culture of these students and the culture of the Western school. Findings indicate that culture influences discourse styles, expectations for classroom behavior, and classroom social…

Reviews an action research project undertaken by an EFL teacher with her Japanese students in a residential course in England. The study consisted of teacher-student interviews on differences between the British and Japanese ways of life. The article discusses the Japanese notion of "amae" and presents pedagogical implications for…

Tests the role of blame and ideology in antifat prejudice by comparing attitudes among college students (N=406) in the United States and Mexico. Mexican students were significantly less concerned about their own weight and more accepting of fat people than United States students. Prejudice toward fat people in the United States appears to have a…

Describes several programs in which music and dance are used to unlock doors that stereotypes of race, gender, language, religion, or ability have kept shut. Exposure to the music and dance of other cultures helps children's awareness of the diversity of the world and people's essential similarities. (SLD)

Examined the experiences of international graduate students enrolled in a Canadian university. Interviews with these second language learners highlighted recurrent themes related to practical concerns of daily life, development of the academic skills needed in North American universities, and the relationship of academic life to the personal…

Studies show a positive correlation between parental involvement and academic achievement, but the involvement of immigrant or poor parents is lower than that of native-born, middle-class parents. Reasons may include socioeconomic status, level of instruction, language fluency, status of immigrant community, years of residency, relations between…

This article introduces a forum that explores issues surrounding literacy in multicultural school-age populations. It discusses sociocultural factors that overshadow traditional literacy-learning objectives, the relationship between low socioeconomic status and low literacy, environmental influences that affect literacy, and culturally biased…

Reports a study in which Israeli researchers examined school cultural differences between effective and average secondary schools. The 20 participating schools taught mainly disadvantaged students. Teachers completed the Perceived School Culture Inventory. Results indicated that schools varied in their cultural dimensions, and the variation…

Whether goals held by students from diverse cultural backgrounds differ and the relationship of these goals to school motivation and achievement were studied with 2,156 Australian (Anglo, immigrant, and Aboriginal), 529 Navajo, and 198 Canadian Montagnais Betsiamite Indian secondary school students. Cross cultural and educational implications are…

Most identity development models are unidimensional and mutually independent. They rarely acknowledge multiple cultural identifications or their relationship to diversity-awareness training. This article discusses this relationship in a four-stage conceptual model for diversity identity development and its implications for the design, structuring,…

Describes a community asset assessment used as a mechanism for reaching and engaging an undervalued community. Latino adolescents were placed in leadership roles as assessment interviewers in a Puerto Rican community. Discusses challenges and implications for involvement of Latino youths in school and human-services agency asset research. (LSR)

A historic session on Native science at the 2003 conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science included discussions about the Indigenous approach to science, the Tribal Environmental and Natural Resources Management program at Northwest Indian College, the need to connect the spiritual element in Indigenous knowledge with…

Evidence is presented of culturally related differences in the attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ratings of teachers and students teachers from China (n=66), Hong Kong (n=109), and the United Kingdom (n=30). Teachers from China rated the videotaped behavior of a target child higher on a number of items than the other teachers. (Contains…

Examines cultural factors affecting black and Hispanic deaf students' achievement, discussing socioeconomic status and single parent families, parent educational levels, non-English speaking environments, inadvertent effects on the deaf child, family view of disability, and parent-school interactions. Notes strategies for developing parents as…

A study investigated Indigenous community perceptions of White school administrators in northern Canada via 44 individual and focus group interviews with local stakeholders at four schools. Community perceptions of effective school leadership were inconsistent, and communities and administrators were often at odds with regard to the role and…