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…

Class differences and class warfare have existed since the beginning of western civilization, but the gap in income and wealth between the rich (top 10 percent) and the rest has increased steadily in the last twenty-five years. The U.S. is heading for a financial oligarchy much worse than the aristocratic old world that our Founding Fathers feared…

"Culture shock" is the expression generally associated with the frustrations that occur when persons have difficulty functioning in a different culture or when persons are exposed to individuals from another culture. Culture shock typically occurs in a 4-stage process that can unfold over varying lengths of time: the honeymoon, crisis,…

This case study describes the Internet correspondence using MOO, a multiuser, object-oriented site, that was developed between six third-grade girls and TCC, an adult with blindness. The changes from the students' original attitudes toward blindness, that blindness posed a barrier to communication and relationship-building, into their acceptance…

A study investigated the patterns of question use in Mandarin Chinese-speaking parents' and caregivers' interactions with children, and how they characterize social class differences. Subjects were 10 children, aged 21-23 months, and their families, selected from immunization records in Beijing, China. Parents were all native speakers of Mandarin…

This study examines the influence of differing social contexts on the historical understanding of primary and elementary students in Northern Ireland and the United States. Although children in both locations learn about the past not only at school but from relatives, historic sites, literature, and the media, the U.S. emphasis on a narrative of…

Findings of a study that examined high-income mothers' views toward their children in relation to those of lower-income levels and attitudes toward educational segregation are presented in this paper. Conducted as part of a broader examination of social class influences on schooling, this study is based on interviews conducted with 20 high-income…

The high school experiences of gay young men, the management of these experiences, and the relationships of these experiences and their management with organizational and personal factors provide the focus of this study of a small, carefully selected sample of gay young men who attended public high schools in the state of Washington. An…

This document comprises four papers which were presented at the Advanced Professional Development Symposium on the Educational System of Korea. The papers discuss various topics on the education of Koreans both at home and in the United States including employment for U.S.-Trained Koreans in Korea, and linguistic, cultural and educational…

Disaggregation of standardized test data is essential in determining the differential effects of the school's climate and program upon groups of students formed by social class. In a recent secondary school study comparing the outcomes of two approaches to school assessment (the Connecticut School Effectiveness Survey vs. The National Study of…

This research investigated factors affecting children's health, based on empirical analyses of data from Washington, D.C. and national data. By most measures, poor children experience disproportionate morbidity and mortality. Yet certain ear and vision problems exhibit a U-shaped relation to family income in both national statistics and the…

Investigated were school children's recognition of social class distinctions, cues they used, and the relationship of their ideas about social class to other beliefs and attitudes about the social world. An ethnically mixed group of 201 male and female subjects participated in the study. Five age groups were represented: second, fifth, and sixth…

Until the 1960s schooling in Korea was looked upon quite favorably as a means of achieving equal social and economic opportunities. In the 1970s, however, many began to raise the question of whether the expansion of educational opportunities really did reduce social inequalities. This report discusses research that analyzes available evidence…

This paper is a summary of a longer report on a 1982 study, "Amish and Conservative Mennonite Schools in Ohio: A Comparative Study Incorporating Ohio's Minimum Standards for Elementary Schools." The purpose of the study was to evaluate the growth and progress of Old Order Amish and Conservative Mennonite schools in Ohio since 1960, when…

This booklet was written for Vietnamese adolescents who are living with American families. The booklet describes, in both Vietnamese and English, the structure and mores of American family and social life. Concerns common to teenagers are also discussed. Among the topics addressed are: school; typical weekdays and weekends; forms of address;…