This study investigated the relationship between classroom student diversity (how students differ in their attributes, educational requirements, learning styles) and teacher capacity (skills, abilities, knowledge) to student performance in Texas public schools. Teacher ethnicity and gender, class size, and classroom per pupil expenditure were…

Research on the relationship between early childhood literacy experiences and subsequent reading acquisition is reviewed, with a focus on awareness and knowledge of print. Research studies included children, preschool age to age 7, who were identified as normally achieving, at risk, and linguistically diverse. One of the studies involved children…

This paper describes an exploratory study in which three groups of Latina and Latino high school students, previously identified as "at risk," performed at a level of "giftedness" after an instructional intervention grounded on the theoretical orientations of cultural discontinuity and self-efficacy. A total of 29…

Educators face no greater challenge than improving the academic odds for economically disadvantaged, minority children, because they are at the greatest risk for failure. A recent study from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill uncovered ways in which, despite good intentions,…

This paper identifies issues associated with the supply and demand of culturally and linguistically diverse teaching professionals, particularly special educators. It notes an alarming disparity between the supply and the demand of special education teaching professionals representing diverse populations. First, data on general and special…

This paper addresses some of the challenges and dilemmas faced by two instructional designers as they incorporated visual imagery and audio components into the design of two distinct interactive multimedia products. Each instructional product was designed as a professional development seminar or series of instructional seminars for two distinctly…

This newsletter feature issue focuses on services for persons with developmental disabilities that support the whole person by acknowledging, respecting, and incorporating aspects of identity such as race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, and class. Articles include: (1) "Serving the Whole Person: The Journey to Embracing…

The goal theory of achievement argues that the goals stressed by schools have dramatic consequences for whether children develop a sense of self-efficacy, or whether they avoid challenging tasks, giving up when faced with failure. It is commonly believed that the goals stressed by Western-oriented schools are inappropriate to indigenous minority…

This proceedings is presented in three parts. Part 1 contains summaries of the keynote speech and one paper: "Sa-Jiao: An Important Concept in Understanding Chinese Students' Social Behavior" (Jing-Jyi Wu); and "Our Choices Create Our Future: A Chinese-American Perspective" (Rose Tseng). Part 2 contains summaries of three panel…

By discussing commonly held myths and misconceptions about second language learning, this discussion attempts to clarify a number of important issues concerning the ease and rapidity with which children learn a second language, the optimal age at which to begin second language instruction, the importance of the extent of exposure to the second…

Developed in response to requests from public school providers to the Massachusetts Department of Education for technical assistance, this publication offers guidance on how best to care for and educate young children whose first language is other than English and/or who are from diverse cultural backgrounds. The question and answer format…

This study discusses the racial and ethnic composition of Minnesota's children and child care providers, focusing on the need for more multi-ethnic, culturally-appropriate programming for the increasing number of children of color in the state. A 1992 survey of 1,003 day care centers and 35 Head Start programs found disparities between numbers of…

This study examined whether and how an institution of higher education's emphasis on diversity affects students of color differently from white students. Data, which were drawn from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program, involved 15,600 students who were freshmen in 1985 and were followed up in 1989 and who identified themselves as…

The classifications of 11 attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality by participants in 7 countries (China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Spain, and the United States) were compared in a cross-cultural study. The attributions were: (1) bias; (2) help; (3) luck; (4) ability; (5)…

This document, which was developed to assist individuals working in publicly sponsored literacy programs in Georgia, offers instructional plans and practical strategies designed to help teachers help students of adult literacy, adult basic education, General Educational Development, and English as a second language understand complex social…