Argues that the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and its corporate sponsors discriminate against black students because the awards are based primarily on standardized test scores and that the separate program for African American students stigmatizes and insults them in a program that recalls the era of separate but equal. (SLD)

The curricula of black colleges and universities have long been limited by financial constraints, but they have also been hampered by narrow definitions that focused on manual and vocational instruction. This emphasis grew from the assumption of black inferiority that had been used to justify slavery. (SLD)

Nine educators comment on the issue of programs meant to increase racial sensitivity among college freshmen. It can be argued that these programs increase racial tolerance, but some suggest that they may heighten students' awareness of racial differences and actually foster racial separatism. Others merely doubt the utility of the approach. (SLD)

As a business, educating African Americans is a large enterprise, with total annual expenditures approaching $15 billion. Contrary to stereotypes, it cannot be regarded as a footnote to American higher education. Tuition expenditures account for nearly 8% of the total money income of blacks in the United States. (SLD)

Proposals for three-year college degrees would affect African American students by making larger enrollments possible, but the negatives would outweigh the positives. Black students would be less likely than others to take advantage of the situation and costs would probably rise on a per-semester basis. (SLD)

Presents responses to the inflammatory speech by Khalid Abdul Muhammad, a senior aide to the leader of the Nation of Islam, at Kean College (New Jersey) in November 1993. Although many repudiate his message of hate and antisemitism, others applaud his emphasis on black self-respect and condemnation of drugs. (SLD)

African American college presidents consider how they would spend a hypothetical $30 million grant for higher education for blacks in the United States. Suggestions range from individual grants for programs and institutions to establishment of particular institutes and centers to overall support for teacher education for African Americans. (SLD)

A new census report reveals that black Africans are now the most highly educated members of British society, with over 26% holding academic qualifications higher than "A" or college levels, in comparison with only 13.4% for white adults in British society. (SLD)

Blacks are nearly absent from the ownership of capital in the information society and are far less likely to be equipped to participate in the use and manipulation of information. The black-white technology gap begins early in life and continues through the school years. (SLD)

Interviewed 49 Scottish preschoolers about their understanding of literacy and numeracy. Found that children of this age group often held erroneous or conflicting beliefs about their ability to read or count. Subjects indicated some understanding of the generalities of story reading and counting before they could actually perform either activity.…

Examined four- through six-year olds' ability to diagram the configuration of a toy railway set they had assembled and to reconstruct the railway based on drawings. Found that motivation had a significant influence on the accuracy of drawings. Results suggest that semiotic activity with the help of schematic representations or drawings is in the…

Describes the concept behind a series of audiovisual media for preschoolers that feature traditional stories and games from German and Turkish culture. The series is intended to increase German children's awareness of and openness toward other cultures and languages and to meet the needs of minority children by strengthening their bilingual and…

This longitudinal study examined the effects of nonparental care on the development of 47 children, birth through age 5. Found that children who had a nonparental care experience during infancy had a developmental quotient inferior to those who did not have such experience. Results suggest that quality of the child care setting is the determining…

Observations and interviews of five groups of children and staff at different day-care centers found that circle time is both a ritual and a meeting. For staff, circle time allowed for structuring of activities and a sense of accomplishment. For the children, circles were both a positive, affirmatory experience and a restraint, wherein discipline…

Surveyed 190 Greek kindergarten teachers about their academic background and use of mathematical activities in the classroom. Found that teachers with advanced academic preparation, with more experience, who taught in urban areas, or who taught at private kindergartens, used more mathematical activities with their students than less educated, less…