There is an alluring, daunting, and haunting desire for practical knowledge in the contemporary social and education sciences about school change. This desire is not new: it haunts the turn of 20th century social sciences to change urban conditions and populations, and appears today in international school assessments and professional education.…

This study provides empirical data about the role and work context of the school principal in the Lebanon. The study applied grounded theory methods in collecting and analysing the data. The data were collected through a series of open-ended interviews with 53 secondary school principals, and focus group interviews with 8 principals from public as…

This paper compares the ways in which gender was articulated and experienced through the construction of children's education in two very different community-led educational initiatives in Britain: turn-of-the-century Socialist Sunday Schools and late-twentieth-century Black Supplementary Schools. Exploration of these historical examples of…

This research examines the effects of culture on a child's perceptions of his or her neighborhood by comparing the neighborhood sketch maps of a group of Amish and non-Amish children from the same rural Pennsylvania neighborhood. The results of this study lend credence to the belief that early and intensive acculturation helps define our sense of…

A picture inventory symbolically portraying two alternative value systems in a preschool setting was administered to 172 mothers and 66 female teachers of preschool children. Differences were found between the behavioral expectations of teachers and mothers who were either non-Anglo, working class, or both, but not between teachers and Anglo…

Examined conceptions of emerging adulthood among Argentinians in their middle twenties. Found wide support for individualistic criteria for adulthood, but also criteria suggesting more collectivistic values. Identified gender, social class origin, and educational attainment differences. Concluded that emerging adulthood is a distinct developmental…

Israeli children of Jewish parents from Europe and America had higher average achievement test scores than did the children of Jewish fathers from Africa and Asia outside of Israel. The difference in means between the two groups did not increase between grade four and grade six. (CTM)

This book seeks to develop sociological theory adequate to deal with the various uses to which racism has been put. How particular political orders apply "scientific" rationalizations, including race, to disguise their true origins in force, violence, and usurpation is demonstrated. Analysis of exploitative conditions starts with an objective…

Value orientations and academic achievement of Mexican American and Anglo public school youth were studied with regard to (1) differences between Mexican American and Anglo values; (2) value differences within the Mexican American pupil subpopulation; and (3) the relationship between value orientations and academic achievement of Mexican American…

Examined personal storytelling of European-American preschoolers from working- or middle-class families as a medium through which they construct autonomous selves. Found that children in both communities had extensive rights to speak of past experiences and limited rights to author experiences. Middle-class communities viewed expressing one's view…

A study was conducted to identify and compare the prevalence of communication apprehension among foreign, black, and white students. Data from a survey of basic English and speech classes were used to locate 83 nonapprehensive and 64 apprehensive foreign, black, and white students, who were then identified as low communication apprehensive or high…

Compared conceptions of the transition to adulthood among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and white, European Americans. Found wide support for individualistic criteria for adulthood among the three ethnic groups, but each held culturally distinctive criteria, and all three endorsed collectivistic criteria more widely than European…

Arguing that consultative and authoritative frameworks for rural development programs allow those in a superior position to define development priorities and to determine when and to what extent those in subordinate positions can participate, this paper outlines the need for participative-group management of such projects. The paper notes that…

Relates several social, cultural, and aspirational factors to achievement measured by grade point average among 38 Sioux and 48 White college students. Finds high school GPA and parental encouragement most important for White students, cultural identity and retention of native cultural traditions most important for Sioux students. (LFL)