Differences in Thai and American world views that point to cultural differences where misunderstandings can occur are considered. These differences reflect an alternative view of reality, not just language or verbal differences. Thailand has never been under foreign rule; most of the people are Buddhists; and 80 percent of Thai people are involved…

This paper presents selected research findings from Monitoring the Future, an annual series of national surveys focusing on lifestyles and drug use among representative samples of American high school seniors that has been conducted every year since 1975. The presentation focuses on two issues: aspects of lifestyle currently associated with drug…

Vocational education providers need knowledge of trends and critical issues in order to prepare workers for the future. The context of vocational education and training programs is greatly influenced by social, economic, and technological forces to which they must respond. Among the most important social trends are the following: (1) increase in…

This report provides a statistical profile for thinking about education and development decisions in North Carolina. It profiles the state primarily in terms of population patterns, economy, labor force, education, and environment; secondarily in terms of health and social services, infrastructure and aspects of government performance. State and…

This "communication lexicon," a new source of information in the field of language and area studies, describes how selected themes such as family, society, work, and entertainment are perceived and understood by members of the Mexican, Colombian, and United States cultures. It identifies broad trends of perceptions and evaluations…

Factors that have affected the decline in black college enrollments in the 1980s are explored. Demographics of the teenage cohort during 1973-1983 are reviewed, and attributes of blacks and whites are compared to determine any significant changes among or between the black and white teenage populations that would account for the decline in black…

Results of a survey of grade school and junior high school students suggest that Japan is now caught up in a TV game fad called Family Computer (Fami-Com). Fami-Com is a household electric machine for video games that allows players to use more than 100 currently marketed software products. Since its introduction in 1983, the popularity of the…

A discussion of the use of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines in teaching and testing less commonly taught languages (LCTL) describes a two-year project on that topic and looks at specific problems with four languages or language groups. The project was to familiarize LCTL teachers with the…

Hypotheses explaining the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score decline have been advanced in letters to the College Entrance Examination Board and to the Advisory Panel on the Scholastic Aptitude Test Score Decline, in magazine articles, and in newspaper stories. A list of these hypotheses are presented and categorized according to changes in the…

This is an introductory study of the mutual intelligibility among the various dialects and languages in the Manitowinini family. Specific languages considered include Powhatan, Lenape, Natick, Otchipwe, and Nanticoke. The goal of the study is not merely to comprehend inter-tribal relations better, but also to discover the actual…

This volume contains the proceedings of the symposium on African language, culture and society held at Ohio State University. Six of the papers deal with the related issues of language reform and language planning, including such aspects as the choice of national and official languages. They include both general proposals for theoretical models as…

There is an urgent need to formulate a new set of goals, methods and concepts for instruction in English as a second language (ESL) if it is to remain viable and make its potential contribution to American education. The present work draws on recent developments in linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and language pedagogy in an attempt to…

Attention to the quality of the learning environment (both the physical and human dimensions) is critical to positive outcomes for adult disadvantaged learners in basic education. It is necessary to understand the characteristics of the adult disadvantaged student, his/her social and cultural or ethnic background, and how these factors influence…

A five-year bilingual, bicultural program, part of the Experimental Schools Program, employed by the Edgewood Independent School District, San Antonio, Texas, was designed to enhance the affective characteristics of the predominantly Mexican American student population, to train teachers to avoid socioeconomic and cultural biases, and to improve…

The document consists of papers written by government and educational leaders in nations belonging to the Council of Europe on the theme of sociocultural community development. Sociocultural community development, also called sociocultural animation, is interpreted to include policies which make literature, visual arts, and performing arts…