Uses stories of families in one early childhood program to illustrate educators' challenges to communicate with families whose backgrounds are different from theirs, including low income families. Identifies strategies for supporting and involving families, including using empathy and patience to forge relationships, linking families with needed…

This research examines the extent to which a mother's ethnicity, social class, and immigration status, singly or in interaction, are associated with her beliefs about how best to prepare her child for kindergarten. One hundred and fifty-six lower- and middle-class Euro-American, African-American, non-immigrant Latina, and immigrant Latina mothers…

Examines whether economic conditions similarly influence the college enrollment of adolescents from different groups. Indicates effects of income returns varies systematically by race, class, gender, and cognitive skills. Argues that college enrollment of white males from lower socioeconomic origins with lower cognitive skills is most consistent…

Adolescents with homosexual and bisexual orientations have higher levels of psychological distress than other adolescents. Drawing from previous studies, I hypothesize that this epidemiological pattern is due largely to the interpersonal problems that sexual minorities experience at home and at school. Analysis of longitudinal data based on a…

A case study was made of the implementation of an innovative measurement program. In this instance, curriculum implementation was seen as a process in pedagogical, occupational, and sociocultural contexts in which social groups with unequal power, and in contradictory ways, contended for control. "Beyond academic achievement" emerged as…

This paper reports the results of a comparative study carried out with populations from two distinct cultural environments: kibbutz and city raised children in Israel. The study examined how perceptions and responses to television differ across social environments and how children's perceptions of, and reactions to, television may affect…

Economic status determined the effects of declining public revenues and a tighter economy on residents of Farmville, Virginia, a small, conservative, rural, Southern community with underdeveloped social services, whose class relations still reflect racial segregation, whose concern for local autonomy is so great that external funding sources are…

In the broader context of school decentralization, two school-community groups in Toronto were studied in order to determine the establishment and developmental stages of such groups, and the processes whereby inputs are exchanged between school and community. One of the groups was Chinese and predominantly working class, the other was largely…

Fifty-four middle and lower class, black and white adolescents were observed interacting with their mothers during a discussion of seven child rearing problems. Maternal references to a range of disciplinary measures were identified, analyzed, and related to the subjects' scholastic performances. A factor analysis of process measures confirmed…

In this study, everyday mother-to-toddler speech patterns among disadvantaged and advantaged groups were examined in the home environment. The Schachter FIS-C (Functions of Interpersonal Speech of Caretakers) language measuring instrument was applied to mother speech in three sociolinguistic urban groups: black disadvantaged, black advantaged, and…

The findings of nine studies comparing the symbolic play of middle-class and lower-class children are summarized and examined in detail. Related research problems are discussed and directions for future research are indicated. Examination of the studies indicated that few general conclusions can be drawn from them about the relative quality of…

In the past five years, the Women's Movement and rising ethnic identity among white and racial minority groups have become facts of life in American society. Both movements challenged the myth of the American melting pot and the promise of "freedom, justice and liberty for all." The answer to apparent societal fragmentation may be found in an…

THE BEHAVIORAL NORMS OF LOWER CLASS DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN ARE DIFFERENT FROM CHILDREN IN MORE MIDDLE CLASS GROUPS. THE BEHAVIOR OF LOWER CLASS CHILDREN IS INFLUENCED NOT ONLY BY GENERAL SOCIAL CLASS AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND BUT ALSO BY SUCH SPECIFIC INTRACLASS VARIABLES AS FAMILY ENVIRONMENT. THE PRESENT ABSENCE IN THE LITERATURE AND IN PRACTICE…

A LANGUAGE ARTS PROJECT WHICH SERVES 1378 DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN FROM GRADES ONE THROUGH SIX IN 23 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS IS EVALUATED IN THIS REPORT. RELEVANT INFORMATION IS PRESENTED UNDER THE FOLLOWING RUBRICS--HISTORY OF THE PROJECT, OBJECTIVES OF PROJECT TEACHING, PERSONNEL INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER, CLASS ORGANIZATION, PROJECT TEACHER…

SEVERAL EXPERIMENTS ON THE CONCEPTUAL BEHAVIOR OF LOWER AND MIDDLE CLASS CHILDREN ARE DESCRIBED IN AN EFFORT TO CLARIFY AN APPARENT DISCREPANCY BETWEEN PREVIOUS LABORATORY FINDINGS AND OBSERVED CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE. IN THE FIRST EXPERIMENT, INDUCTIVE CONCEPT LEARNING WAS INVESTIGATED AS A FUNCTION OF SOCIAL CLASS MEMBERSHIP AND PRIOR EXPERIENCE.…