According to the National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) (2008), social studies programs should provide meaningful opportunities for students to view human experience from past, present, and future perspectives. NCSS calls for schools to provide children with a sense of history in order to develop an appreciation of the diverse heritage of the…

This article describes a study that addresses the cultural, historical and political contexts of immigrant bilingual education in Australia and particularly, Victoria. Data was collected through participant observation, audiotaped interviews, and library research to build ethnographic portraits of three schools containing four bilingual programs,…

Investigated the perceptions and images of diverse student teachers in an elementary science methods course about what constituted a scientist. Data from surveys, interviews, and observations indicated that students displayed common stereotypic features of what constituted a scientist (white males working in laboratories) and demonstrated how…

A program on Hmong culture, language, and history was implemented in a diverse, urban, public elementary school. Observations of two Hmong students while in the Hmong program and in their regular classroom were compared. Being in a classroom with children of the same language and background, as well as having a Hmong teacher, promoted higher…

Studied the impact of urban-based field experience on the attitudes of 75 elementary-education majors. The effects of the field experience were generally positive, with 55% of the urban placement group indicating that they were inclined to pursue inner-city teaching, compared to 20% of the suburban placement group of 101 students. (SLD)

Describes implementation of the Fight Free Classroom intervention (designed to decrease fighting and aggressiveness by helping students take ownership of their behavior) in an urban elementary school that included students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Overall, aggressive acts among students with and without EBD decreased…

Examines the history of education in Jamaica, then discusses why there is an absence of male teachers in younger grades. Interviews with teachers and principals from six primary and elementary schools indicate that, similar to educational staff in North America, respondents have stereotyped attitudes regarding the teaching of young children being…

Reports on an effort developed in 1997 to expose elementary education majors to issues of social inequality through immersion in a 2-day symposium. Responses of 527 participants suggest that the impact of the symposium on student attitudes was significant. Identifies recurrent themes in student responses. (SLD)