This issue dealing with language discusses language and social structure, social progress and sociolinguistics, oral and literate traditions, Portuguese Creole dialects in West Africa, a framework for describing how languages spread, socio-cultural conflict and bilingual education, linguistic variation in one-language societies, the language…

In this interview, Neil Postman responds to questions about the destruction and preservation of childhood by such influences as television, computers, the woman's movement, and academics for young children. Emphasizes roles and responsibilities of parents, teachers, and schools in maintaining tradition and culture amid changing social values and…

This book contains a collection of papers presented at the SEAMEO RELC International Seminar, held April 18-20, 2005. The sixteen papers contained in this volume deal with various aspects of the field of learning and teaching oral communications skills. These include the theoretical background, practical applications and the assessment of oral…

This TAP presents seven papers submitted to the 2004 National Rural Alcohol and Drug Abuse Network (NRADAN) Awards for Excellence. Each paper describes effective and innovative models of treatment and prevention services in rural populations. This publication seeks to promote and showcase research addressing the unique and special challenges of…

Researchers have seldom examined whether risk and protective factors are consistently linked to substance use across historical time. Using nationally representative data collected from 22 consecutive cohorts of high school seniors (approximate N=188,000) from the Monitoring the Future project, this study investigated whether correlates of…

A discussion of in-depth interviewing as a method for research on language teaching and learning situates the technique within the continuum of research methodology and differentiates it from quantitative research methods. The strengths and weaknesses of in-depth interviewing are examined, methods of sampling are discussed, and advice on the…

Sixty-five first graders from various sociocultural backgrounds and their parents/caregivers participated in a study designed to look at the relationship between home literacy environments and children's motivations for reading. Each child completed a Motivations for Reading interview, and parents of all children were interviewed regarding their…

With large-scale immigration in the last 20 years and a high birth rate, Chicanos now comprise the second-largest minority in the United States. This ethnohistorical account attempts to unravel the multiple heritages and influences shaping Chicanos from pre-Columbian Mexico to present-day United States. The book focuses on questions of land,…

In many areas of education, Chicanos and Latinos have the lowest achievement and attainment of the major ethnic groups in the United States. In contrast to various deficit theories, this book argues that the Hispanic educational experience and outcomes can only be understood in relation to the development of U.S. and global capitalism and the…

This volume contains 12 papers originally presented at the 14th Rutgers Invitational Symposium on Education in 1999. The symposium explored contemporary issues of ethnic, cultural, and national identities and their influence on the social construction of identity. Papers include: (1) "Reconceptualizing Ethnicity and Educational…

Reasons for which children of Bhutan learn English better than their native language, Dzongkha, are explored, including the overall language situation in Bhutan and its economic and cultural influences. Recommendations are made for increasing the learning and use of Dzongkha while retaining English in the school curriculum. The spread of English…

A study of limited-English-speaking Vietnamese children (K-12) showed that the best predictors of reading performance were grade, Vietnamese language background, amount of English spoken at home, higher level paternal occupation, and ESL class participation. Predictors not found significant included gender, siblings, television viewing, library…

Examines changes in the broad cultural background which provide the context for thinking, and how such life-style changes may have influenced the decline of reasoning skills and styles fundamental to the sciences. Considers peasant/rural farming, new world, and postaffluent society life-styles and science education in the latter. (Author/SK)

Current standards for and assessments of teaching that rely solely on teacher knowledge, reasoning, and sociocultural issues are incomplete. The perspective of teaching as a way of being creates a more comprehensive picture of what it means to be a teacher. A model of teaching that envisions good teaching as wise practice is presented. (SM)

Conducted in-depth interviews with early childhood teachers in Sweden, Russia, and United States as to their society's influence on early childhood education. Found differences in responses related to the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels of the societal system. Findings deepen understanding about multidimensional relationships between early…