Argues that special and segregating programs for students having difficulty learning focus on within-child deficits, keep students apart from their peers, and lower teacher expectations. The authors make a case for urban schools and teacher preparation that enhance skills in dealing with diverse learners and encourage inclusion. (GR)

Presents an ecological model for examining the educational and familial contexts that influence the educational achievement of language minority students. The framework outlines conceptual and philosophical bases to serve as guiding principles for urban school reform efforts committed to developing multicultural, pluralistic environments where all…

Describes a longitudinal research project to introduce holistic-constructivistic pedagogy into bilingual special education classrooms. The authors report the process of teacher change as teachers shifted from a medical model to a contextual-performance model for viewing abilities and disabilities, the changes in students' attitudes toward reading…

Argues for the development of school-wide reform plans derived from research on individual differences in learning and effective school practices. Data are presented from three urban schools where a systematic school restructuring effort enabled the establishment of strong family-school-community connections and effective and efficient delivery of…

Reviews recent demographic changes in the United States and projections for the future. Suggests that the response to the new diversity can emphasize either assimilation or cultural pluralism and cultural transformation. Introduces eight articles in which anthropologists take a strong position in favor of the latter course. (EVL)

Suggests that Margaret Mead's distinctions among three kinds of culture--here referred to as "traditional,""transitional," and "learning"--are useful in understanding the current controversy over how much the Western tradition should be emphasized in the curriculum. (EVL)

Notes Allan Bloom's attack on anthropologists and the concept of cultural relativism. Rejects the idea that the study of other cultures leads to giving up one's own culture. Suggests that Bloom represents a nativistic revitalization movement which has found that anthropologists make excellent scapegoats. (EVL)

Discusses the limitations of Hirsch's concept of cultural literacy and suggests that the anthropological concept of cross-cultural literacy is more appropriate. Reviews (1) the resolutions of the Council on Anthropology and Education that are concerned with cultural diversity; and (2) the controversies surrounding bilingual education. (EVL)

Argues for a cultural policy that emphasizes pluralism, dialogue, and cultural transformation. Suggests that the arts provide a critical vehicle for promoting cultural equity. Uses the example of Hartford (Connecticut) to demonstrate the difficulties that face minority arts institutions and minority artists. (EVL)

Notes Allan Bloom's attack on feminists and suggests it is part of a neoconservative reaction to a groundswell of educational reform that is already under way. Discusses the contributions that feminist scholarship is making to curriculum reform, particularly with respect to anthropology. (EVL)

Suggests that the "culture of the university"--whether it embraces diversity--is crucial for the retention of nontraditional students. Discusses how changes in relationships among administrators, faculty, and students, as well as in the curriculum, are necessary to improve the campus climate. (EVL)

Describes the accomplishments and shortcomings of educational reform movements from the early 1960s to the present. Concludes with priorities for curricular and instructional reform in urban schools that emphasize cognitive and developmental learning over fragmented and remedial learning. (CJS)

Curriculum and teaching should be dialogic, multifaceted, critical experiences, not merely exchanges of information. Discusses the teacher's role in stimulating thinking processes and getting urban students to ask questions about class material and their own world. (CJS)

Challenges the following assumptions: (1) parental choice will motivate schools to improve programs to compete more effectively for students; (2) private not-for-profit schools will respond to marketplace incentives; (3) research indicates an advantage of private over public organizations; (4) public choice theory promotes school improvement; and…

Argues that the following steps will effectuate educational reform: (1) provision of more latitude and flexibility in school governance; (2) business commitment to using and upgrading the inner-city workforce; (3) consumer understanding of rights and options available within public education; and (4) government understanding of the danger of…