Presents the Chicano and Black experience at UCLA. Provides an examination of differences in social backgrounds, school experiences, and the relationships between these factors and college adjustment and achievement. Findings show Blacks more likely to feel alienated and perform poorly regardless of social class status. (Author/SA)

Students at two large urban high schools were given questionnaires which sought their opinions on the quality of their school, their teachers, and whether their school was meeting their personal goals. One surprising result was that students at the more affluent school were less satisfied with their schooling. (KH)

Intuitively, "sponsors" seems a fitting term for the figures who turned up most typically in people's memories of literacy learning: older relatives, teachers, priests, supervisors, military officers, editors, influential authors. The concept of sponsors helps to explain a range of human relationships and ideological pressures that turn…

Professional literature about managing conflicts associated with declining enrollments indicates the existing tension in this area. A research study shows that, while upper-middle class districts may succeed using a rational approach to decision making, lower class districts, for various reasons, may not. Special problems of urban districts are…

Investigated the need for local and/or separate racial-ethnic group norms on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC). A sample of 420 children was stratified according to gender, age, racial-ethnic group, and socioeconomic status. Results indicated a need for local norms for only the low socioeconomic status Mexican-Americans. (Author)

Reports findings of a recent New Jersey study which indicate that significant gaps still remain between White and minority youth in the areas of health care and education. Statistics are cited on White/non-White differences in illness rates, disciplinary treatment, special education labeling, and expenditure per student. (Author/SJL)

Analyzing the serious discipline problems existing in inner-city secondary schools plus teacher and administrator perceptions of it, the author tells educators that they cannot expect to alter the home/school socioeconomic clash which generates the problem, but they can create a positive learning climate which will raise student achievement. (SJL)

It was hypothesized that distinctive verbal processing styles would be characteristic of different social classes and different sexes, and that these differences could be largely explained by earlier socialization experiences. (BW)

Reviews studies investigating the language and conceptual abilities of children from different types of home background and the relationship of these abilities to school readiness and to later school achievement. (MP)

This study examined the exposure to multiple physical and psychosocial stressors among low-income, rural, white 8- to 10- year-olds. Findings indicated that low-income children confronted a wider array of multiple physical and psychosocial stressors than did middle-income counterparts. Children showed evidence of higher levels of self- and…

Examined the relations between school-relevant activities of preschoolers and teachers' subsequent perception of the children's competence once they had entered school. Found that middle-class preschoolers engaged in more school-relevant activities than working-class preschoolers. Elementary students who had initiated and engaged in more…

Describes theory of broad and narrow socialization with emphasis on placing family socialization in its cultural context. In cultures characterized by broad socialization, socialization is intended to promote independence, individualism, and self-expression. Cultures with narrow socialization encourage obedience and conformity. Seven sources of…

This study investigated the relationships among selected aspects of normal language development, emerging metalinguistic skills, concepts about print, and family literacy experiences in 43 preschoolers from various socioeconomic backgrounds. It found that family reports of literacy activities were associated with income and that children's…

Observed universal and culturally specific features of play conditioned by ecological factors, social class, and gender in India. Found that, although ecological constraints conspired against the urban child's natural propensity to play with joyous spontaneity, there were also conscious community endeavors to create play environments. Children…

Examined the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires with 96 low- and middle-income parents on their child from 4 to 30 months. Found that percent agreement between a professionally-administered standardized assessment and questionnaires completed by low and middle-income parents was 80% to 91% and 85% to 93%, respectively. (Author/KB)