A study examined the administratively sponsored rituals of academic and student life at a long-established, women's liberal arts college as metaphors for the ways students make meaning from the college experience. It is concluded that rituals can embody institutional mission, explain important educational processes, and shape views of the…

This article reviews major social, technological, economic, and political trends in the United States and relates this larger perspective to the practices of speech language pathologists and audiologists in the schools. Implications of these trends for alternative futures are drawn. (Author/DB)

Suggests nonformal education can be defined only with respect to its function in a specific context, its objectives established on an individual basis. Argues that it cannot be centralized or institutionalized. Includes nonformal education as a method of broadening access to education, providing second chance programs, and serving a Gandhian…

In industrialized societies, life expectancy is increasing while the elderly are increasingly marginalized. Aging, especially with respect to social demography, should be an essential educational topic for teachers and those who care for the elderly. Education for the elderly should help them assume the role of transmitting their knowledge and…

Outlines the recent social history of Mauritania, focusing on the effects of sedentarization and rapid urbanization on a primarily nomadic people. Offers an instructional approach for teaching young people about these social phenomena, highlighting particular cognitive and attitudinal objectives. (DMM)

Describes a 1990 United Nations summit on children's rights. Examines problems facing children worldwide and the relationship of children's rights to environmental concerns and education. Discusses efforts of the World Organization for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) to implement summit resolutions, highlighting projects of four OMEP National…

Provides a critical overview of research on play and cognitive development and an analysis of the two major theoretical frameworks (from Piaget and Vygotsky) that have informed it. Outlines the key features of a more powerful research perspective that defines and shapes the context of play as a social activity. (Author/BB)

Historical, political, and sociolinguistic aspects of the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Puerto Rico are examined. It is suggested that the apparent failure of ESL instruction is in reality a motivated failure: a society's successful resolution of a conflict between government planning for bilingualism and social pressure for…

Two sociocultural value clusters that predict an English-as-a-Second-language and an English-as-a-Foreign-Language approach are juxtaposed, respectively, to English language acquisition management. The two approaches are described in educational terms and related to the changing functions of English in the world and to national language…

A new policy study finds that Latinos are the ethnic/racial group with the least amount of education and highest labor force participation. It concludes that more education would decrease Latino poverty. Suggested solutions include equalizing educational attainment, eliminating employment discrimination, making work more rewarding, guaranteeing…

This study explored the curricular differences between five public and five private schools in Hobart, Australia. The probable effects of such differences, educationally and socially, are discussed and also related to studies in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Alternatives are proposed to reduce the sociocultural schism.…

A content analysis of 21 elementary and secondary software programs reveals the nonneutrality of educational software. The software is heavily biased and exposes pupils to dominant explanations, values, beliefs, assumptions, and ideologies that are projected as objective and legitimate. Content-specific software is deeply enmeshed in cultural…

Extensive interviews with 30 working and nonworking mothers (Chicanas and Mexican immigrants) found that immigrants had a broader conceptualization of motherhood that encompassed employment outside the home, whereas Chicanas were more likely to seek an idealized middle-class "stay at home" motherhood and thus experienced more ambivalence…

A Mohawk farmer reflects on the value of farming in relation to maintaining political sovereignty, observing and valuing nature and its cycles, developing a sense of community and family responsibility, traditional religion, sharing, and appropriate family living. Views are given on natural pest control, intercropping, use of herbs, reviving…

Analyzes the content of 20 "Book Club Discussion Guides" from 13 different commercial publishers to understand the particular constructions of readers and reading embodied in these materials. Finds that the "curriculum" of these guides is not likely to foster a collective cultural or critical reflection on self or world--they…