This special issue summarizes parallel studies in five countries (Japan, Greece, Thailand, Republic of China, United States) investigating the causal linkages among socioeconomic status variables, family processes, and school variables on the mathematics achievement of urban elementary school children. Methodological problems in cross-cultural and…

Describes the history and role of human rights education in Latin America. Links these efforts with relevant political histories, cultural phenomena, and social movements. Maintains that occurrence human rights violations are a basic initial stimulus for human rights education. (CFR)

Examined the role of pretend play interactions in stimulating social and emotional competence by comparing the quality of pretend and nonpretend social play. Found that pretend play involved more complex, mutually responsive, and emotionally invested social interaction than nonpretend play. Expression of psychosocial issues within pretense was…

This article describes the creation and initial teaching of a teacher education course, Gender Socialization in Schools. The course provides an understanding of the role gender plays in teaching and learning in schools and helps prospective teachers, parents, and others in designing educational programs that reduce gender bias. (SM)

Presents an interview by National Endowment for the Humanities chairman, Sheldon Hackney, with historian John Higham on multiculturalism and national identity. Contends that the centrifugal forces of national, ethnic, and religious diversity need countervailing forces to hold the nation together. (CFR)

Reviews a book that focuses on the sociocultural nature of both first- and second-language acquisition and on the importance of the school maintaining and developing the language and culture of students' families and local community. The book contains many practical suggestions for teachers working with language-minority children, including such…

Contends that citizenship and democracy are two of the most overused words in social studies classrooms. Maintains that schools must walk a tightrope between those fostering patriotic attitudes and those fostering critical-mindedness and protest. Includes four suggestions for critical thinking in social studies. (CFR)

Investigates the factor structure of a measure of racial socialization attitudes for African American adolescents to determine whether the components of the construct are reliable and measure different phenomena. Four factors, based on research with 200 inner-city adolescents, were found to be very meaningful and moderately reliable. Development…

Examines how African-American alternative masculine behaviors are expressed within same-sex peer groups and friendships. It is proposed that African-American males have adopted an alternative style of masculinity to cope with social and interpersonal pressures, even though it can sometimes be dysfunctional and associated with negative…

Praises Anton S. Makarenko's work and pedagogical theories. Calls for research into applying Makarenko's theories to the Soviet Union's current educational reform. Highlights Makarenko's success at unifying theory and practice at his labor collective school. These theories focus on democratizing school relations, promoting individual development,…

This article describes the evolution of a project pairing graduate students (at Duke University) with faculty in a liberal arts college (Guilford College) to improve preparation of future college teachers. Implications for general reform of college faculty preparation are also outlined. (MSE)

Five questions about the academic, psychological, and socialization effects on gifted and talented learners of grouping for enrichment, of cooperative grouping for regular instruction, and of grouping for acceleration are addressed. Analysis of 13 research syntheses supports sustained periods of instruction in like-ability groups for gifted and…

Analyzes religious, environmental, and imperialistic rationalizations for racism throughout history. Examines how racist doctrines, stereotypes, and racial prejudice were instilled in the British education system through school textbooks and children's literature. Suggests this process of socialization created implicit, deeply rooted prejudices…

As part of a longitudinal study of psychosocial development, 148 girls and 130 boys were administered a questionnaire about a close friend in their eighth grade school year. The subjects began the study in the sixth grade. Findings on intimacy and emotional closeness are discussed concerning gender socialization and friendship. (SLD)

Differences in the age of entry to kindergarten and the use of kindergarten retention as functions of a child's sex and ethnicity were assessed for over 1,800 Anglo and Latino kindergarten students in 3 California school districts. Impact of these policies on early school failure are discussed. (SLD)