Contends that governments around the world are working to eliminate racism and racial discrimination. Maintains that Canadian education has problems resulting from racial differences and immigration. Concludes that Canadians must move forward in racial and cultural harmony. (CFR)

Diagnostic assessment combining cognitive science and psychometrics, cognitively diagnostic assessment (CDA), is characterized in terms of the intended use of the assessment and methods of developing and evaluating assessments. Societal trends motivating the development of CDA and efforts to develop a five-step methodology for CDA are outlined.…

Reports the results of the National Adoption Study of Canada (NAS), which is based on demographic adoption statistics and a survey of adoption agencies and practitioners. The NAS found that between 1981 and 1990 the number of adoptions decreased by 47% and that private adoptions are accounting for an ever-increasing proportion of infant…

The author, president of the Canadian Guidance and Counselling Foundation, advocates development of a Career Development Culture to increase people's awareness of the role of career in their life satisfaction and to foster a sense of empowerment and planfulness when approaching career-related concerns. Schools and school counselors have a crucial…

In a study involving 43 Norwegian high-ability 16-year olds, the superior achievement of males in both mathematics and general factual knowledge is interpreted as supporting a sociocultural explanation of sex differences in achievement. Parent education was also correlated with achievement. (SLD)

Contends that for 30 years the study of moral development has been prominent in psychology and education. Argues that there are two major cognitive components underlying moral action: (1) the interpretation of moral situations; and (2) the resolution of moral conflicts. Discusses this viewpoint in relation to moral orientation and moral character.…

In an examination of the feasibility of developing a "European melting pot," the psychosocial situation of Italian youth in Germany was studied. The need to develop a consciousness for political and social, not just economic, unity of all European countries is noted. (12 references) (Author/LB)

Suggests the most important issue facing Catholic educators is whether to mirror contemporary society's individualism or act as leaven to transform it. Views such social trends as the emphasis on lifelong development, recognition of spirituality, and awareness of different styles of learning as promising for change. (BCY)

Discusses implications for community colleges of five observations about contemporary society: political processes/institutions unable to deal with significant issues in substantial ways; a seeming return to local responsibility/control; a dichotomy between problems and solutions; a reluctance to face facts; and the persistence of turfism.…

Notes the omission of a historical perspective in the research papers in this special issue on prosocial and aggressive play. Maintains that the past several hundred years can be characterized as a time of domesticating children's play, and that more research on rough-and-tumble play is needed. (LB)

Discusses the wave of cocaine abuse that followed the drug's recommendation by the late nineteenth-century medical community as a cure all. Details drug addiction among ethnic and social groups at the turn of the century. Warns that drug epidemics have important social and legal consequences. Suggests legal pressure may alter the form of drug…

The author presents culture as a psychological construct. Since both intracultural and intercultural views mirror each other, all interpersonal encounters are cross-cultural in nature, requiring counselors to confront barriers in interpersonal understanding. Overcoming these barriers demands both an awareness of cultural processes and the…

The distinction between the culture of a country and the culture of an individual is discussed, and its implications for second-language teaching are examined, particularly in the multicultural classroom. This concept is illustrated through use of a French travel and for second-language instruction. (MSE)

Contends that education was an important instrument of social change during the French Revolution. Argues that education became a way to speed up social modernization and, at the same time, hide the contradictions of modernization. (CFR)

Discusses demographic trends affecting all Western countries that have an impact on the symbolic and social role of the family. Considers the effects of women's increased labor force participation on the timing of childbirths and women's likeliness to accept or seek divorce. Also considers the role of grandparents in child care, and explores…