In the mainstream discourse on child development and education, 'school readiness' has been conceptualized as the skills and knowledge that children need when they enter school in order to learn effectively in the school environment. However, school readiness is an idea which is entwined with our beliefs about child development and child needs (E.…

This article is a series of excerpts from 11 papers which the editors requested from foreign colleagues who visited the U.S. Particularily emphasized are the points of difference and similarity between what they see in their own countries and what they see here. (HMV)

Moves beyond the dual perspective model and beyond medical and ecological systems models to suggest a sociocultural approach and presents a three-stage model for practice with minority clients. Suggests that practice with minorities focus on the degree and kind of dislocation--social, cultural, or sociocultural--suffered by individual clients.…

Discusses the Eurocentric nature of the United States social reality, and investigates psychological and mental health implications for the African-American community. Outlines the basic themes, emphases and criteria of Euro-American cosmology and describes how it can come to dominate the Afro-American's self-consciousness. Suggests ways to…

Area/cultural studies have not enjoyed their rightful place in foreign language teaching because of their lack of orientation. They should not only be seen as revealing "sets" of data; they should be analyzed for patterns in terms of the target area rather than the native culture. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

The biology, the behavioral, the cultural, and the social dimensions of agression are reviewed in relation to the role of teachers in the role of learning about conflict and conflict resolution. (KM)

A high percentage of Rom (Gypsy) families do not send their children to school. Most Rom in the United States are illiterate. Rom families believe that from the viewpoint of their culture, formal education is a destructive force. The strictures that govern their everyday lives influence standards of personal cleanliness, food preparation, sex…

The sociocultural problems of Turkish children living in Germany are explored. Turkish immigrant children in Germany must be socialized in two societies, the traditional Turkish culture of their parents and that of German society. Religion and the Islamic-value system are often at odds with German values. (SLD)

Used data from 200 maritally intact Puerto Rican families in New York City to examine the hypothesized linkage between heterogamy and low marital quality. Findings confirm the existence of homogamous patterns based on age, education, and adherence to cultural values, but do not support the hypothesis that heterogamous dissimilarities in such…

Describes the role of music in society. Discussion concerns music in the context of purpose, intention, understanding, social reality, stereotypes, awareness of difference, and other areas. (RJC)

A sociohistorical approach identified differences in the way management is perceived and practiced in Britain and France. Two distinct managerial types--British gifted amateurs and French bright cadres--must be recognized to plan joint management development programs. (SK)

Crime seriousness studies have consistently shown wide consensus regarding the high perceived seriousness of violent offenses. However, socio-cultural models suggest wide variability between social groups with regard to the seriousness of certain types of violent crime. This is particularly true in the case of male violence against female intimate…

A comparative analysis of the five universal problems of cultural orientation: 1) human nature, 2) social relations, 3) man and nature, 4) time, 5) space, as they are reflected in German and American culture. (PP)

By using multivariate statistical techniques, various demographic and descriptive variables were related to a behavioral measure and an attitudinal measure of volunteer behavior among college students. The findings reveal some significant differences in the antecedents and motivations of Chicano and Anglo college student volunteer workers. (Author)

Argues that the generation gap is the collision of two distinct cultures--a youth culture and an adult culture. Each culture is expressed through verbal and nonverbal norms that enhance a feeling of group kinship but hamper communication with members of the other culture. (JG)