This book examines Polonia, the Polish ethnic community in America created by three giant waves of immigration between 1880 and 1990. The complicated history of this ethnic group is reflected in the lives of increasing numbers of Polish Americans, including recent immigrants brought by political and economic changes, as they achieve middle class…

The latest immigration surge, which began in the 1960s, has facilitated urban renewal by strengthening small businesses, providing low-wage labor, and maintaining the population base needed to sustain a high level of economic activity. In spite of the contributions of immigrants, American central cities continue to face serious economic…

This report describes a program that was designed to end the isolation typically experienced by language minority students in traditional bilingual education and to provide language majority students the opportunity to acquire proficiency in a second Language. The program served 4 classes of approximately 22 students each (85 students) in…

How the trend toward school-based management since the 1988 Education Reform Act has affected racial educational equality in England and Wales was studied through an examination of the policies and practices of a British Local Education Authority (LEA), identified as Woodshire. A review of the policies, practices, and events in the Woodshire…

Many international documents, building on the philosophy and contents of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations, support this declaration's standards and stress teaching and education as effective ways to make these standards reality. The two papers in this document describe and analyze some international documents for…

Students have diverse learning styles, and the challenge to educators is in designing a balanced curriculum across all styles, teaching essential content through a rich repertoire of instructional strategies. This short guide presents information essential to individualized teaching for diverse learning styles. The guide begins with an explanation…

This booklet is a basic introduction to the people, history, and culture of Somalia. It is designed primarily for service providers and others assisting Somali refugees in their new communities in the United States. Somalis have a long tradition of going abroad to work or study, and today, about 1 million Somalis live scattered around the world.…

This paper addresses the question of how to infuse multiculturalism and diversity into American higher education curriculum. It argues that mutliculturalism is not a fad, but a dynamic framework that values the complex diversity of America's pluralistic society and institutes innovative avenues for shared human interactions. The infusion of…

A preliminary investigation has been made of some claims regarding alternative assessment. Using the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS)--Middle Grades Mathematics Performance Assessment as a platform, the study examined how alternative assessment operates in actual practice. Early findings are presented in the following areas: (1)…

A pilot study was undertaken to determine the impact that two models of instruction had on students' learning. The two models: the Societal Curriculum/School Curriculum Model (SCSCM) and the Multicultural Education Infusion Method (MEIM) were incorporated into a preservice teacher-education course. Subjects were 16 white females and 4 white males,…

In 1993, a team of seven researchers at the University of South Australia investigated student diversity among its population in relation to the curriculum in action, student experiences of exclusion and inclusion, and staff experiences of attempting to understand and counter exclusion. This paper reports on a case study based on the newly…

Examining the learning experiences of four Laotian students at a mainstream secondary school, this book describes and interprets the students' learning situations and reveals their perspectives along with those of their teachers. The book introduces readers to the Savang family, refugees who left Laos. The book also shows how open journal writing…

This newsletter issue focuses on the assessment of school-aged children to: (1) determine if a child has a disability and is eligible for special services, and (2) provide information that can drive educational programming. Section 1 is an introduction which addresses a definition of assessment, how students are identified for assessment, federal…

This monograph was developed to assist states and communities in planning, designing, and implementing culturally competent systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances. It highlights the culturally competent aspects of 11 programs serving people of color. Each program targets at least one of the four major ethnic minority…

Close to 250,000 Jews from the former Soviet Union have arrived in the United States since the early 1970s. In recent years, former Soviets have been the largest refugee population to enter the United States. These immigrants are generally well-equipped for adjusting to American life. They are skilled, educated, and possess urban experience.…