Commonwealth College was the longest lived and most notorious of the resident labor colleges operating during the 1920s-30s. Founded in 1923 at NewLlano Cooperative Colony in Louisiana, the school was modeled on the self-maintenance characteristics of an abortive pre-war experiment in social education: Ruskin College. Disputes over priorities with…

A framework within which to discuss recurrent education is outlined. Its roles and functions are considered, and the conceptual differences between recurrent and continuing education are highlighted. Political, social, and economic dimensions are surveyed. (Availability: Falmer Press, Falmer House, Barcombe, Nr Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5DL, UK.) (SK)

Interviews with eight families showed that literacy materials and goals for using literacy differed between middle and working class families, with middle class families drawing on more resources to learn about the child's classroom. However, all families expressed value for literacy activities, challenging the myth that working-class families do…

A network-analytic framework for understanding minority socialization illuminates institutional and ideological forces that hinder access to social capital and institutional support for minority children. Successful socialization goes beyond learning to decode the system: it entails learning to manage life in multiple worlds. (SK)

Case studies of the University of Leeds' action research projects in the local community illustrate the use of mainstream and other sources of funding to fulfil a social purpose agenda. Recent funding changes may jeopardize community-based adult education, despite rhetoric about universities and their communities. (SK)

Reexamined relationship between sex-role differentiation and family socioeconomic status. Analyzed attitudinal and behavior data of high school seniors (N=5600) to determine validity of hypothesis that sex-role differentiation is more pronounced in lower socioeconomic status groups. Found sex-role differentiation greater among higher socioeconomic…

Explores the danger and promise inherent in grounding educational reform in "professionalizing" teaching. One author offers a Marxist critique as contributing to the oppression of the working class. Another argues that professionalizing teaching misconstrues "education" and "profession" and proposes a professionalism…

Russell states that Britain's General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) enable women to have paid, volunteer, and community achievements recognized and accredited. Kilminster argues that GNVQ health and social care courses are too strongly driven by ideology. Tiernan shows how women's community groups use NVQs with volunteers. (SK)

Interviews with six women from working class backgrounds, who had succeeded in higher education, identified common issues in growing up gifted and talented in the working class, the dearth of role models and mentors, the loss of connection with family and friends, and a sense of impostership. (DB)

Examined the degree to which African-American mothers took a parent- versus child-oriented approach to disciplinary practices. Found associations of maternal education and age with mothers' use of physical punishment; mothers' age and concerns about child victimization with mothers' use of social control; and maternal education with restrictive…

Examines the variable distribution of word-final consonant devoicing (WFCD) among working-class speakers in the Roubaix district of northern France. WFCD is shown to affect coronals, labials, and velars in that order and to be favored by prepausal position. WFCD is primarily associated with female speakers over age 45. (40 references) (MDM)

Investigated 40 working-class and 40 middle-class parents' beliefs about the meaning of schooling by conducting in-depth interviews. Results indicated that middle-class parents tended to value schooling more for the credentials schools offered, whereas working class parents tended to value schooling more for the learning opportunities (applied and…

Discusses how both novels share key thematic elements pertaining to the experiences of migrants from rural Appalachia to multiethnic industrial centers of the urban north. Notes that a focus on the authors' handling of material culture helps to point one with increased clarity and precision to the writerly method by which Attaway and Arnow convey…

Proposes a comparison of immigration to France and the United States during the period (1880-1930) when industrialization called for a mass working-class migration. Reports that collective immigration in France led to treating foreigners as individuals, while U.S. immigration was understood as an individual act but led to the collective expression…

Explores circumstances in which working-class and low-income custodial African American fathers (N=24) gained custody of their children and transitioned to full-time parenting. Findings suggest that these men are often reluctant to take on single, full-time parenting role. Adaptation to role seems to be enhanced by use of extended kin support…