Compares parents' knowledge of behavioral capabilities of young children in a sample of low-income Hispanic, Black, and Anglo communities. Results indicate foreign-born Hispanics, more than other groups, perceive children's motor skills and language abilities as developing at later age. Discusses implications for social programs. (Author/TES)

Young children from five ethnic groups completed surveys about self-concept, self-esteem, racial awareness, and knowledge of racial terms, attitudes, and preference. Anglo-American children had a viable self-concept. Most children were highly aware of distinct ethnic differences and liked all colors. Most minority children chose friends outside…

The Parent as a Teacher Inventory was used to determine expectations of Anglo and Hispanic parents whose children were underrepresented in gifted education programs. Parent responses to the inventory, and a parent education curriculum that was developed based on the responses, are discussed. (BG)

Study assessed the cultural sensitivity levels of female Anglo- and Mexican-American elementary preservice teachers (n=51) upon completion of a multicultural education course. Results indicated one course was insufficient to change attitudes to accept and respect student diversity. Most preferred not to work with students from different cultures.…

Examines the comparative research on maternal teaching behaviors of minority and low-status families. Offers some exploratory data that reexamines the verbal teaching behavior of Chicana- and Anglo-American mothers while instructing their children to tie their shoelaces. Contrary to earlier studies, the findings support that ethnic differences in…

Presents data on rapid growth of the Latino population during the 1980s. Outlines ethnic and racial differences in educational attainment, family income, language status, age distribution, and other demographic variables. Discusses the impact of school segregation, growth of youth population, and low socioeconomic status on Latino access to…

Background: This study examined whether behaviour problems and adaptive behaviour of low functioning young adults, and well-being of their families, varied by diagnostic syndrome intellectual disability (ID) only, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, as well as by cultural group. Methods: Behaviour disorders in young adults with moderate to…

Research suggests that public schools and their authoritarian organizational structure contribute to adolescent alienation, which in turn fosters gang membership. This paper examines alienation and gang membership among eighth-graders in a rural middle school in south central Texas. All 147 students in grade 8 completed a modified version of the…

Rural counties are among both the most and the least ethnically diverse, conditions that offer different but equally compelling rationales for multicultural education. Diverse communities need to acknowledge their cultural wealth, creating community structures that respect differences and build on the strengths of each culture. Homogeneous…

Little prior research exists on the achievement motivation of Mexican American students. In a rural south Texas junior high school, 120 eighth-grade students completed the 1969 Achieving Tendency Scales and demographic and socioeconomic questionnaires. Subjects were equally divided among four groups: Mexican American males and females and Anglo…

For an ethnographic study of the personal and educational needs of Hispanic and Anglo adolescent mothers and the services affecting their decision to remain in school, researchers interviewed eight teenage mothers--four in a special high school teen parents' program and four who had dropped out of the program. Two young women in each group were…

This study assessed the usefulness of the dynamic testing approach to optimize testing procedures by reducing or eliminating bias, conceived of as error in measurement attributable to factors entering into performance which were not the target of the assessment. The study examined: (1) whether the dynamic assessment approach yields information…

Attributions for school success and failure were examined among 112 Native American and 99 Anglo students at a large, urban multi-campus community college system in the Southwest, by using the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale. All subjects were in remedial reading classes; 48% were male and 52% were female. Mean age was 24.1,…

Summarized in this document are results from a survey conducted from 1975 to 1977 with parents, neighbors, and fifth-grade teachers as part of a needs assessment of Phoenix, Arizona, South Catchment Area children. A questionnaire consisting of 34 items, generated from studies reviewed in the area of children's behavioral symptoms and strengths,…

The Office of Migrant Services' (OMS) summary presents demographic data on the 2,500 migrant families in 25 housing centers in 14 California counties in 1980. The typical migrant family in an OMS center is shown to be a Mexican family of 4, with 2 parents between the ages of 18 and 44, who have completed 2 to 6 years of school, and have 2 to 3…