Identifies the social dimensions of learning. Advocates a teaching approach that is sensitive to the various barriers encountered by a diverse body of students seeking to negotiate access into the subculture of school science. (Author/CCM)

Addresses concerns at the community, state, and federal level regarding illiteracy that have led to the demand for educational reform. Quotes statements from the 18th century to the present. Discusses the social/cultural context of literacy and learning, and casts a critical eye on several documents significant to the nation's view of literacy and…

Presents the structure and organization of science education in Kenya from preschool to university level. Addresses such sociocultural issues as religion and acceptance or resistance to science by Kenyan society. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the role of the lesbian writer in addressing the invisibility of teenage readers. Argues that writing about homosexuality is a matter of presenting it rather than promoting it. Includes a review of "The Year they Burned the Books." (NH)

Explores the possibilities provoked by the construction of the category of "youth-at-risk." Argues that discourses which attempt to regulate the behaviors and dispositions of youth provoke dangerous possibilities for the increased surveillance of, and intervention into, young people's lives by regulatory authorities. (Contains 67…

Surveyed adolescent girls regarding body dissatisfaction, dieting, and internalization of sociocultural values, media-influenced knowledge, acceptance of varied body shapes, and media exposure. Girls understood media influence on self-image and behavior and accepted varied body shapes. Significant numbers reported dissatisfaction with weight and…

Adopts a sociocultural perspective to investigate the role of discourse in children and teacher mathematical meaning making in a 5th grade inquiry classroom. Examines the process whereby individual and group developmental trajectories are constructed and allows exploration of the relationship between discourse and knowing. Argues for a more…

Comments on the papers presented in this special edition of this journal. The papers present a major step in conceptualizing what is happening in mathematics classrooms. Suggests that research on discourse in the mathematics classroom should proceed on the present high level of empirical analysis. (Author/MM)

The 20th century brought great changes. Scientific advances have improved transport, communication, and information for millions but the development of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction has threatened us all. Now we must continue our first steps towards a war-free world by developing a loyalty to humanity. Scientists must accept…

Classified, selected bibliography for Appalachian Studies includes over 400 entries: books, journal articles, government documents, and dissertations published 1996-97. Contains 25 categories including agriculture; Appalachian Studies; architecture, historic sites; arts, crafts; Civil War; coal, industry, labor; description, travel; economic…

Discusses Jean Fritz's book "Homesick" as a work of art on the borderline between biography and fiction. Suggests young readers should be provided accurate historical knowledge in order to (1) understand the characters' emotions and experiences, and (2) prevent traditional misconceptions from being perpetuated. (NH)

Considers the relation between literacy research and practice as it applies to new digital technologies. Discusses how new technologies intersect with a broad range of issues and practices in literacy instruction. Concludes that researchers and practitioners need to seek understandings that take into account the unique interaction among cognitive…

This article urges a shift in intervention approaches with students who have communication disorders to include sociocultural activities. Data reported support the integration of sociocultural learning and apprenticeship in the current paradigm of intervention practices. Discussion considers intervention practices as development in context,…

We draw on two studies of student teachers as they learn about learning while interacting with pupils. We argue that the affective notion of relational agency needs to become more central to understanding pedagogy if we are to prepare learners for the demands of the knowledge age. Here relational agency is defined as a capacity to engage with the…

The paper considers the definition of high quality preschool from a Vygotskian perspective. Similarities and differences in the issues faced in Russia and those in the United States are discussed as background. Three major ideas are considered from the work of Vygotsky and of his students/colleagues, Daniel Elkonin and Alexander Zaporozhets. The…