An educator reflects on preservice teachers in his class who were concerned with issues of interpersonal relations and classroom dynamics but not with socioeconomic, intercultural, and political contexts of education. Nevertheless, there were some faculty and students involved in urban schools bringing reconstructionist ideas of education for…

Discusses issues related to ethical instruction in relation to cultural pluralism. Asserts that increased understanding may serve to intensify differences and that toleration may slide into indifference. Provides a background for teaching about cultural differences and concludes that it is possible to be moral and multicultural at the same time.…

Maintains that rural school reform in California between 1900 and 1940 was motivated by many of the same concerns that underlay the national movement to reform rural education. Describes the growth of state control over classroom teachers. (CFR)

Explores ideas to help college educators empower students through their teaching. The article discusses assumptions of power and privilege that underlie empowerment, providing examples of how educators can disempower. Biological, psychological, and sociocultural processes of empowerment as related to race, gender, and disability are examined. (SM)

Presents a method for teaching about cultural landscapes in introductory geography classes by comparing Italian Renaissance gardens with Japanese Zen gardens. Discusses the background and attributes of both garden types. Maintains that, by contrasting the two traditions, it is possible to illustrate cultural landscapes. (CFR)

This article explores the many facets of the contemporary family in the United States, including their variations in structure, size, and ethnic and linguistic characteristics; the impact of sociohistorical factors on family functioning and lifestyle; implications of models of child development; and policy recommendations. (JDD)

Reviews how ethnicity, race, and gender affect women's professional participation in academia, particularly in psychology departments. Examines minority women's inclusion at undergraduate, graduate, job entry, and senior level positions within academic psychology; and reviews economic and social-psychological processes that unjustly serve as…

Examines whether U.S. public is underinvesting in its children. Several measures indicate a deterioration in the well-being of children in the past few decades, and some measures suggest a decline in crucial inputs from parents to children (i.e., parenting hours). Ways to increase society's investment in children are discussed. (SLD)

A study of self-report depressive symptoms measured by the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was conducted in Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United States with 953 college students. There are marked differences among countries in symptoms reported. Research designs and measurement strategies for cross-cultural research are discussed. (SLD)

Examines 115 successful television series portraying white and African-American families across 4 decades of U.S. prime-time television for the structure and characteristics of the families. The data show a trend toward more equal presentation of conventional and nonconventional families, few divorced or female single parents, and few minority…

Comprises "The Underclass and the Great Migration" (N. Lemann) and "The Migrants' Tale and Ghetto Culture" (D. Whitman). Lemann's book "The Promised Land" discusses the Black migration to northern U.S. states. Whitman argues that Lemann exaggerates the Black sharecropper's contribution to the development of the…

Introduces a special section containing three articles and six commentaries, which discuss the form that multicultural education should take and consider whether children are well-served by a unified curriculum for all or ethnocentric curricula for various ethnic groups. Provides several examples of a multicultural approach. (SLD)

Links between family structure and the changing poverty of 231,996 U.S. children are examined using child records from 1960, 1970, and 1980 Public Use Microdata samples and the 1988 March Current Population Survey. Results suggest that child poverty and racial inequality cannot be separated from changing family structure. (SLD)

Discusses educational planning and management in Europe during the present move to international cooperation. Includes economic and political developments, social and cultural developments, migration and demographic trends, and educational developments. Suggests that a change in the educational environment is required to match the changes in the…

Discussion of computer-assisted mathematics instruction focuses on a study of high school students that examined the instructional effectiveness of computer-managed videodisc instruction for precalculus mathematics. Highlights include a comparison with traditional classroom instruction and theoretical perspectives, including sociocultural theory,…