A hypothesis (based on conflict theory) that the police are more likely to use extreme force where economic inequality is most pronounced was tested with data on killings committed by policemen in the United States. The hypothesis was found to accurately predict the number of police-caused homicides. (Author/GC)

Childhood and adolescence in the United States today are more distinct from other stages of life than in less industrialized societies or in America's past. (MM)

Student and beginning teachers often feel that a low achievement rate among students may be a reflection of their teaching ability rather than a function of the student's economic disadvantagement. (LH)

Personality differences among Jamaican and American Black populations of varying socioeconomic backgrounds were investigated using several personality assessment instruments. Differences in personality traits and social constructs were found to be consistent with those that might be predicted between members of a more traditional society and those…

Investigates three propositions: that important political learning occurs during childhood and adolescence, that such learning is shaped by socializing agents, and that early political learning tends to persist and/or to exert an impact on later political learning and behavior. Discusses an analysis of data concerning adolescent and adult…

Language cultivation includes any activity aimed consciously at influencing a language so that it improves or does not deteriorate. Three dilemmas face Swedish language cultivators: (1) the complexity of societal ideology; (2) the complexity of language itself as a social institution; (3) the balance between social integration and individual…

Explored the simultaneous sequential transition patterns of preschoolers' social play within classroom settings. Found that the proportion of social-play states did not vary during play episodes even when accounting for type of activity center, gender, and SES. Found a reciprocal relationship between parallel-aware and other social-play states…

Explores the extent to which diverse school populations truly benefited from the creation of a mass system of public high schools in Australia. Uses the Melbourne Public High School to assess the higher drop-out rate for girls and the influence of social class on access to a high school education. (KO)

Examines the work of Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker for depictions of Black women as the victims of a tripartite oppression comprised of racism, classism, and sexism. (FMW)

Analyzes the way black and white working-class women define and claim knowledge, challenging feminist analyses that have identified a single or universal mode of knowing for women. Contends that women speak to complex gender, racial, and class relations of power that shape how they think about learning and knowing. (Author/SLM)

Examines the personal and interpersonal struggles that arise when differences among women in knowledge, class, and sexuality become visible in the feminist classroom. Suggests that a hierarchical mode of conceptualizing and responding to these differences typically emerges. Offers suggestions for changing this pattern of response. (SLM)

Used psychological tests to examine the effects of early childhood experiences on interaction patterns that have resulted from East and West German children growing up in different social contexts. Subjects were 140 East and West German adolescents. Found that West German adolescents showed more prosocial tendencies and had stronger emotion-based…

Describes techniques that can help classroom science teachers promote enthusiasm for activities and retention of information among all students, including females and minority students. (JJK)

Language minority parent involvement in schools should not be judged by white, middle-class models. Minority parents must bring new and different knowledge to schools to ensure equitable policies, bilingual education, and support for diversity. (SK)

Responses of university administrative support workers (n=292) showed that job and workplace characteristics are important predictors of class identity for women. Although greater use of video display terminals is linked with working-class identity, workers form a more middle-class identity the longer an office has been automated. (SK)