National educational reform must be interpreted from a broader sociopolitical vantage point. Following the introduction, "The Change Process and Educational Reform" by Val D. Rust, the four papers in part 1 are devoted primarily to conceptual issues related to educational reform. They include: (1) "Problems of Educational Reforms in a Changing…

A cultural profile of the French-Canadian business community of Quebec is presented, focusing on seven aspects of business communication: language; environment and technology; social organization; degree of contextual understanding; authority conception; nonverbal behavior; and temporal conception. The history of French and English language use in…

Four aspects of English pragmatics that are often puzzling to students of English as a Second Language (ESL) are discussed and exemplified: certain mechanics (ellipsis; blended words; a-grammaticality); vague superordinates (generic verbs such as "get,""let,""do,""be,""have"; preposition with metaphoric extension such as "up,""in,""off,""through";…

The contents of documents prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Cold War, on onomastic aspects of personal names for over 30 languages, are summarized. The languages range from those commonly taught to less commonly taught ones. The number of speakers of the languages range from 1.35 million (Estonian) to 610 million…

Six stories told by Teddy Charlie, an Alaska native, in the Lower Tanana Athabaskan language of Minto, Alaska are presented here and illustrated with maps and photographs. A foreword offers background information on the storyteller and the recording of the stories. The six stories include: "When Minto Village First Began"; "How We…

A growing literature has emerged concerning group-based difference in academic achievement, much of it pointing to the role of psychocultural factors. To study this observation, the educational achievement of children of immigrants, in the context of socio-psychological characteristics and ethnicity, is examined here. Data were taken from…

Since the Indochinese War ended in 1975, over one million Southeast Asians have entered the United States as refugees. School psychologists, counselors, and other professionals may utilize the ecological approach in order to more effectively serve this population. The ecological approach allows more accurate assessment of the student's…

This book is designed to help identify, analyze, and address problems that are found in rural parts of the United States. It focuses on the community as the place where individuals come together in order to solve those problems. The book's 13 chapters are divided into 4 sections. The first section discusses rural definition and community…

This speech focuses on the protection of institutional autonomy in higher education. The speaker opens by offering some of his own basic beliefs. The balance of the paper considers three key issues central to institutional autonomy. The first issue involves specific threats to autonomy: the socio-cultural mistrust of authority and institutions,…

The booklet is part of a grade 10-12 social studies series produced for bilingual education. The series consists of six major thematic modules, with four to five booklets in each. The interdisciplinary modules are based on major ideas and designed to help students understand some major human problems and make sound, responsive decisions to improve…

Seven papers on various topics in language research are presented, including: "What Makes the Japanese Inscrutable?: A Linguistic Perspective" (Julie Bruch); "A New Look at Old English Metrics" (Alison K. Huettner); "A Class of Indefinites in Vietnamese" (Laura A. Michaelis); "Cohesion and the Yiddish Consecutive…

In his well-known article "The Coming White Underclass" and other writings Charles Murray has suggested that welfare is the primary cause of out-of-wedlock childbearing. He contends that welfare, including Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), food stamps, and subsidized housing, should be eliminated. While Murray's views have…

Critical evaluation of instructional materials is an important but often neglected aspect of instructional preparation. This study proposes evaluation that is more theoretically grounded in sociocultural and context-sensitive bases than are many evaluation guides. A new instrument was developed and applied to materials for teacher education as…

The development of vocational education in modern China may be traced through four stages. The progress made during the experimental stage (1949-1965) was largely reversed during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), at which time many secondary technical and vocational high schools were closed. The period 1977-1984 marked a recovery stage when…

This article discusses factors affecting parents in contemporary Europe. The focus is on family development, mechanisms conditioning social and family interactions, and the historical processes that are resulting in changes in family structure. Family changes discussed include the declining birthrate, structural conditions for parenthood, changing…