Examines the effects of linguistic and cultural diversity on the educational achievement of working class and minority students by reappraising the deficit/difference controversy of the 1960s and 1970s and examines how class and politics shape both cultural-linguistic and school-based assumptions about language and literacy. (Author/BJV)

Examines class and ethnic differences in narrative style. Reviews recent research and outlines the basic differences between White middle-class narrative and the styles of various cultural groups. Explicates some of the uses of narrative in educational research and deals specifically with the educational implications of narrative differences. (CMG)