This article is an exploration of differences among adults studying beginning English as a Second Language (ESL). Data was obtained through interviews with 20 Washington, DC-area Spanish-speaking adults enrolled in beginning ESL classes who had a range of different literacy levels in their first language. The interviews included two phases, one…

This study identified the views of state administrators from seven midwestern states about cultural diversity and workforce 2000. A survey of 500 high level state public administrators from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin was conducted in Spring 1993. Respondents (n=125) were 66 percent male, 77 percent white, 98…

This paper presents an overview of a 3-year, federally funded comparative study of 11 public school districts and 40 schools in metropolitan areas of California, Arizona, and Nevada. The purpose was to identify school districts that are successfully meeting the challenge of educating relatively high numbers of newcomer students (ethnic and…

This paper focuses on parents' attitudes about their children's maintenance of their native language (L1). It is part of an inter-nordic study of immigrant languages between generation one and generation two, that interviewed 276 parents of North American, Finnish, Turkish, and Vietnamese origin, residing in Denmark, Norway, Finland, and Sweden.…

The first program session, "Exercising Fair Use Rights in the '90s and Beyond," addressed the exercise of fair use rights, focusing on intellectual property management with special emphasis on the rights and perspectives of users, librarians, and educational institutions. The second session, "Organizational Change and…

Students' experiences are important in shaping their subsequent practice of the teacher role, and teacher educators should look at the connections between life histories, beliefs about teaching, and classroom practice. Five undergraduate seniors and one graduate student (of various ethnic and racial groups) in preservice elementary education…

This multidisciplinary anthology with chapters by faculty members, administrators, and students consolidates moral and political views of multicultural education and the institutional changes that have taken place in the past 20 years in higher education. Selections include: (1) "Rethinking America: The Practice and Politics of…

The Aide-to-Teacher Project is a teacher recruitment and preparation project for culturally diverse paraprofessional classroom aides, initiated at California State University Dominguez Hills in 1987. The program works in collaboration with seven school districts to provide paraprofessionals with the financial, academic, and personal support they…

This paper discusses common miscommunication problems that occur between Japanese and Americans, even when both are speaking Japanese, with a focus on high contextuality and women's position in business organizations. It also examines how these cultural differences can be addressed through the use of videotaped conversations. One of the preeminent…

This paper examines the importance of culturally-specific learning styles within the context of the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. The Act posits that all students can learn, that students learn differently, and that students learn better when they are taught utilizing their preferred learning modalities. A review of the literature…

If an institution's goal is cultural diversity, the institutional response must go beyond a core curriculum that transmits culture or a multicultural curriculum which transforms culture, and embrace a curriculum which enhances individual differences. The core curriculum has an unabashed European cultural bias and requires assimilation to the…

The study reported in this paper describes the first school encounters of four Hmong third-graders and their difficulties in adjusting to classroom learning activities. Three boys and one girl were chosen for observation. Two of the boys were classified as learning disabled, and the other two children were being considered for recommendation to…

This paper examines multicultural postsecondary education and provides a framework through which equal learning outcomes can be delivered. The paper begins by clarifying what constitutes multicultural education, defines it, discusses common misconceptions, and examines how the goals of multicultural education have changed over the years. Next, the…

This manual identifies critical factors to consider when conducting a least biased assessment of children from a non-English speaking background. The first section identifies relevant linguistic issues. The second section discusses aspects of English as a Second Language including legal issues, alternative means of assessment, testing without…

The report is developed around five priorities which are based on the premise that English as a second language (ESL) students in general, and the reservation bound Indian students specifically, are isolated both educationally and culturally due to conflicts of language and learner based confusion of terms, ideas, and concepts as a result of…