Since 1989, large numbers of "ethnic returnees" have settled in Germany and Japan. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, 2.8 million "Aussiedler," or ethnic German returnees, came to Germany from the former Soviet Union. In Japan, immigration reform driven by low-skill labor shortages induced nearly 300,000…

Social workers in urban areas attempt to carry out the profession's commitment to social change and social justice amid growing inequality, racial polarization, and a physical environment that reflects fears and antipathy toward poor people who reside there. The authors argue that changing urban conditions have prompted a need for innovative…

This article presents a preliminary analysis of a rural junior high school. This school is situated in S town, J county, Shandong province, and, in keeping with the procedure followed for naming the majority of schools in China by location of school + type of school, this school is called S Junior High. J county is one of Shandong's poor counties,…

This paper explores "meaningful learning" as influenced by "constructivism." The study focused on assessing and comparing the quality of essays written by students who learnt a given topic in a classroom setting ("control") to those who learnt the same topic in the field ("experimental"). The objective was…

This booklet describes for elementary students the many contributions of people, traveling many places, over many years to bring the tomato to Philadelphia. The booklet includes the following: (1) "Introduction to the Tomato"; (2) "Where Does the Tomato Come From?"; (3) "The Spanish Tomato"; (4) "The Philadelphia…

This text explores an isolated and indigenous people who live in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico. Isolation has allowed the Cora Indians to maintain their traditional customs to a much greater extent than many other groups of Native Americans. The historical and geographical contexts of the Cora are presented in this curriculum resource.…

This report describes an expanded and revised version of the Economic Research Service's 1979 classification of nonmetro counties, commonly called the ERS typology. The classification has been widely used by researchers, policy analysts, and public officials as a source of information about the economic and social diversity characterizing rural…

This unit examines questions about biodiversity and its preservation through six activities. Each activity allows students to explore a particular approach to preservation and to identify some of the challenges facing policymakers. Through the introductory activities and the six focused activities, students develop an understanding of the dynamics…

A classroom activity designed to explore local culture and community development by collecting, mapping, and analyzing migration patterns and ethnicity is described. (DE)

A course using English literature and urban geography to study the development and lifestyle of the city is described. (DE)

This course uses urban geography and literature to involve students in the urban environment. Six humanities units on the topics of individual identity in the city, history and growth, form and fiction, urban living, urban problems, and individual creativity in the city are described. (DE)

A review of some of the trends in the geography of black America indicates a shift from a rural or regional focus toward an emphasis upon urban black America. Prior to 1965, when this shift occurred, American geography had a history of racial bias. (JR)

Ten issues of a monthly social studies resource, each with a different topical focus, are included in this document. The issues focus on: the American family; the environment; the developing world; U.S. and world population; U.S. and world energy; the arms race; employment and housing; world product and trade; social programs in the federal…

An overview is provided of the demographic and economic characteristics of the geographical area defined by the Peralta Community College District's boundaries in Northern Alameda County, California. In addition, projections are presented concerning the population and economy of the county until the year 2005. Highlighted findings of the…

This Digest explores the nature of geographic literacy. Part 1 discusses fundamental themes of geography, including absolute and relative location, the natural and cultural characteristics of place, the development of human-environment relationships and their consequences, human movement and interaction, and the formation and change of regions.…