A report is presented on school reform interventions and outcomes of the Howard University Center of Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR)/Capstone Institute that uses evidence-based strategies to promote the academic achievement and social competence of African American children. The "participant action research" and the…

Examined the effects on reasoning performance of incorporating cultural factors into task material presentation and context. Low income African American students listened to stories under high movement expression (HME) or low movement expression (LME) conditions. Story content contained either high or low movement themes (HMT/LMT). Children…

Examined the effects of task variability on academic task performance and task motivation. Low-income African American elementary students completed four types of academic tasks in low- and high-variability contexts, and they were assessed for task motivation in the two variability contexts. Academic task performance and task motivation were…

The primary thesis proposed in this article is that Black children, because of their home experiences and cultural factors, are more responsive to variety in teaching and learning formats and more intolerant of the monotonous ones of their mainstream counterparts. (Author/EB)

Describes and assesses different explanations for the low reading achievement level amongst Afro-American children and critiques traditional attempts to remedy this dilemma. Recommends a holistic approach that fuses cultural difference and social structural approaches to reading and acknowledges that motivational processes are central. (RDN)