This article introduces the topic of this special issue of the journal. Explains the separate worlds hypothesis, discusses feminist critiques of separate worlds, and introduces children's gender indexing and considerations of culture, context, and power. (Author/VWL)

The explicit theoretical frame in which topic transitions have been described and the types of transitions are discussed, based on a study of 12 physician-patient encounters. Reciprocal and unilateral activities are identified that relate to allocation of power. (34 references) (Author/LB)

Serious and systematic exploration of the differences between the language of women and men has come only since the late l960s, and to date little research has questioned whether and how works of literature reflect the reality described by linguists. One such informal examination was conducted in conjunction with a "Women's Language and…

Maintains that Gallas' book exemplifies her talent for and commitment to teacher research and that it richly documents students' social worlds. Asserts that two aspects of the investigation are problematic: the use of a male/female polarity that sometimes reifies stereotypes, and the consistent disavowal of racism in children. (Author/KB)

Investigates the effects of tutor gender in interaction patterns in postgraduate university seminars and focuses on the discourse patterns of two of these classes. The female tutor used more minimal responses and called on students more often by name and gaze than the male tutor; she occupied less floor-space than the male tutor, and her speaking…

A study of 68 children's contributions to dinner talk showed that, among Jewish American, Israeli, and American Israeli families, children have less access to the floor than adults. In the two Israeli groups, children were exposed more to topics raised by mothers than by fathers; the reverse was true for Jewish American families. (Contains 65…

By viewing women's literacy within the context of America from the Colonial period until the present, it is clear that men have traditionally shaped and controlled who shall be literate and what shall be viewed as literate, both within and outside the educational system. Women's writing from the Colonial period is virtually non-existent, and…