Sanacore, Joseph (1997). Reaching Out to a Diversity of Learners: Innovative Educators Need Substantial Support. During the past several decades, educators have been experimenting with a variety of humanistic innovations to enrich students' academic, social, and emotional growth. These innovations include mainstreaming, inclusion, and detracking, and their intent is to reach out to all students, especially at-risk learners. To reach out, however, requires substantial support. Support is vitally important because students'"at-riskness" will not disappear and because the United States government and educational community continue to believe in the efficacy of raising academic standards. The following sources of support are therefore intended as a complement to and a scaffold for teachers and administrators who experiment with different ways of meeting a diversity of learning needs. At-risk learners benefit from instructional activities that are carefully planned and supported by classroom teachers and learning center staff. Unfortunately, in many schools, disabled students get a… [PDF]

Banks, James A., Ed.; Lynch, James, Ed. (1986). Multicultural Education in Western Societies. Western democratic societies share an egalitarian ideology which maintains that a major goal of the state is to protect human rights and promote equality and the structural inclusion of all racial, ethnic, and cultural groups into the fabric of society. Educational initiatives taken to implement reforms that reflect ethnic diversity and promote equality have created lively and sometimes embittered controversy because little agreement exists within each nation about what should be the proper role of public schools in the ethnic education of both majority and minority students. This book is divided into three major parts. Part I formulates a descriptive typology of the phases of ethnic revitalization movements, the paradigmatic responses that educators have made to these movements, and the limitations which characterize educational reforms that are based on single-factor paradigms. Part II describes examples of these paradigms and concepts by discussing multicultural education in the…

Jervis, Kathe, Ed.; Montag, Carol, Ed. (1991). Progressive Education for the 1990s: Transforming Practice. In this collection, educators examine progressive education from both historical and practical standpoints, addressing the daily struggles confronting progressively oriented teachers as they create classrooms to support their values. After an introduction, "Class Values," by C. Montag, the following essays are presented: (1) "Large Purposes" (V. Perrone); (2) "Honoring Diversity/Striving for Inclusion" (P. Carini); (3) "Urban Conversations" (M. Gaston, B. Kanze, and D. Murphy); (4) "Democracy, Progressivism, and the Comprehensive High School" (M. Lazerson); (5) "The Eight Year Study" (K. Irwin); (6) "John Dewey's School" (J. Katch); (7) "Twenty-Four, Forty-Two, and I Love You: Keeping It Complex" (E. Duckworth); (8) "Assessing Imperfect Conceptions" (H. Dyasi); (9) "Jason and Matt" (K. Hibl); (10) "Looking at a Child's Work" (K. Jervis and A. Wiener); (11) "Grounded…

Haynes, J. K.; Wilson, Donella J. (2002). ASCB Minorities Affairs Committee Goals: \Strengthening the Chain of Success\. Cell Biology Education, v1 n4 p105-106 Win. The Minorities Affairs Committee of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB-MAC) is an active standing committee of the Society with an aggressive agenda and a goal of inclusion. Its mission is fourfold: (1) To increase diversity among the ASCB members; (2) To bring issues related to minorities in science to the attention of ASCB members; (3) To assist in the professional development of minority scientists and in the education of minority science students; and (4) To provide opportunities for faculty members at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) not only to advance their research and teaching effectiveness, but also to establish long-term professional relationships with ASCB members. The Minorities Affairs Committee (MAC) began at the ASCB in 1980 as an ad hoc committee called the Minority Affairs Committee. It was the brainchild of Winston Anderson who, at a breakfast meeting (during the annual meeting) with the Society president, Bill Brinkley, and others, including Peter… [Direct]

Vasconcelos, Teresa (1996). Planting the Field of Portuguese Preschool Education: New Policies for Old Roots. This paper discusses the preschool component of the Educational Agreement presented to the Portugal Parliament in May 1996 to improve the quality of the educational system. Among the 10 Action Commitments in the Agreement is the creation of a national network for preschool education. The context of the inclusion of preschool in this Agreement is discussed, including the results of research documenting the need for preschool education in Portugal, such as low literacy rates and high secondary drop-out rates. Discussion of the current plan for expanding preschool education includes: (1) the changing role of governmental ministries in preschool education to consist of regulation, supervision, coordination, and compensation; (2) the need to respond to cultural diversity in preschool programs; and (3) new legislation, such as the Public Law on Preschool Education, which affirms the principle of social partnership for the expansion of the preschool program and delineates priorities for… [PDF]

McCracken, Janet Brown; Starr, Rhea (1998). YWCA Cares for Children: A Guidebook for YWCA Child Care Centers. Providing child care to young children has been an important part of the mission of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) since the early days of the organization. Noting that one of the most frequently identified needs of current YWCA child care programs is a guide for providing child care within the association's mission, this guidebook for YWCA child care centers compiles resources contributed by YWCAs across the country. Part 1 of the guidebook presents an overview of YWCA child care, including a history of the organization, description of basic requirements for a mission-driven YWCA child care program, and a description of the current social-political context in which child care operates. Part 2 contains a multitude of resources submitted from YWCAs across the country and is organized in the following areas: (1) basic YWCA child care operations, including philosophy, community needs assessments, funding mechanisms, ethics and confidentiality, and operating policies and…

(1999). The New York Times Guide to the Best Children's Videos. More parents than ever before are making a conscious decision to be more selective about what their children watch and the types of games they play. This guide lists recommended videos and provides parents with informative guidelines to enable them to make informed program choices. The first part of the guide presents brief reports from the field: (1) "TV for Girls" (Jan Benzel); (2) "Congress and TV: Living with the Law" (Lawrie Mifflin); (3) "Teletubbies" (Sarah Lyall); and (4) "Reinventing Children's Television Workshop" (Anita Gates). The remainder of the guide present the descriptions and ratings of the videos. Baseline criteria for inclusion in the guide include: (1) no gratuitous violence or sexual behavior; (2) no physical or verbal abuse; (3) no racial, gender, cultural, or religious bias; (4) no condescension toward children; and (5) no unsafe behavior. Each title is rated with one, two, or three stars. The accompanying review…

Hulse-Killacky, Diana (1990). Effective Group Work in Community Colleges. As college student populations become more diverse and classes become more heterogeneous, instructors have an opportunity to implement leadership models based on the goals of empowerment, cooperation, inclusion, and collaboration. A heterarchical notion of leadership (in which information and authority flow across channels and input from all members of a collective is considered valid and important) can be useful for increasing classroom participation and helping students learn to work in groups. One of the ways to begin building connections across similarities and differences is to provide mechanisms for people to talk to one another. Such opportunities set the stage for students to work together in collaborative and mutually affirming ways. Instructors can serve as key players in this learning process by setting norms that support an open discussion of individual differences. For example, students may be asked to write about the differences they observe in their classmates… [PDF]

Cortes, Carlos E.; And Others (1986). Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority Students. This book aims to help educators improve their understanding of minority students within the American social context. It contains seven chapters, each written by different authors. The introductory chapter, \The Education of Language Minority Students: A Contextual Interaction Model\ by C. Cortes, provides an overview of a theory for how the many sociocultural factors influence language minority education. The next chapter, \Ethnic Minority Issues in the United States: Challenges for the Educational System\ by S. Sue and A. Padilla, looks at historical explanations for why some groups do better in school than others. \Understanding Sociocultural Factors: Knowledge, Identity, and School Adjustment\ by J. Ogbu and M. Matute-Bianchi analyzes sociocultural factors such as group attitudes toward education, self-identity, historical experiences, cultural values, and job ceiling. The next chapter, \Sociocultural Contexts of Language Development\ by S. Heath, stresses the inclusion of…

Howery, Carla B. (1988). Pushing against the Margins: A Commentary and Response to \Patterns of Social Fragmentation and Cohesion: The Social Context of 21st Century Education for Citizenship by David Watts, Donald Matlock, and Alvin Short.\. The inclusion of more sociology related materials in the 8th and 9th grade civics curriculum can push the margins of civics education to a more broadly conceived notion of citizenry and make civics and sociology more relevant to students' lives. The goal should be to help students understand society, not the discipline of sociology. Sociology instruction can channel the developmental characteristics of adolescents (insecurity, rebelliousness) and help connect these personal biographies to larger social forces. David Watts and his colleagues contribute to using sociology to expand the parameters of the traditional civics course by emphasizing the following themes: (1) the centrality of community; (2) the mutual influence of the individual with the group; (3) the importance of demographic information; (4) the pluralism of family forms; (5) the complementary nature of sociological research in citizen development; (6) the need for a core culture; (7) the need for repair of social…

(1983). Hearing on the Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1983, before the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the Committee on Education and Labor. House of Representatives, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session on H.R. 2397 (April 6, 1983). The Reagan Administration's education voucher proposal was the subject of these hearings on H.R. 2397, a Bill To Improve the Educational Achievement of Educationally Deprived Children by Expanding Opportunities for Their Parents To Choose Schools That Best Meet Their Needs, To Foster Diversity and Competition among School Programs For Educationally Deprived Children, To Increase Private Sector Involvement in Providing Educational Programs for Educationally Deprived Children, and for Other Purposes. Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell presented a statement outlining the Administration's reasons for introducing the voucher proposal. Statements opposing the voucher system were made by the following: Mary Hatwood Futrell of the National Education Association; Gregory Humphrey of the American Federation of Teachers; Grace Baisinger of the National Coalition for Public Education; Althea Simmons of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Joseph Scherer of the… [PDF]

DiPardo, Anne (1992). Nested Contexts: A Basic Writing Adjunct Program and the Challenge of "Educational Equity.". Conducted at a public university that had long been overwhelmingly Anglo despite being located in a state noted for its linguistic and cultural diversity, an ethnographic study examined one adjunct writing program and the varied students it serves. Data sources were both numerous and varied–data were collected concurrently at the campus level and within the various layers of the program. Two concerns (about academic standards and about cultural separatism) emerged as campus administrators struggled to explain their mixed feelings about the "equity policy" (designed to promote the academic and social adjustment of underrepresented students). Tensions also surfaced repeatedly at the English department and the small-group leader levels. In interviews with writing program administrators, faculty, and small-group leaders about the role of the program, the same dilemmas surfaced again and again–Should small group leaders: (1) consider cultural and linguistic backgrounds of… [PDF]

Sheets, Rosa Hernandez (2004). Preparation and Development of Teachers of Color. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, v17 n2 p163-166 Mar-Apr. Teachers are the single most important resource in any classroom. As a result, few institutions hold as much potential and responsibility for improving schooling as those who prepare, hire, develop and retain teachers. Children's school experiences of success or failure, acceptance or rejection, and equity or bias often depend on the teachers' ability to understand how, when and what is needed for particular children in specific situations. While teachers currently may have the potential to inspire, they have not consistently demonstrated the capacity to educate a professoriate who can prepare preservice candidates to succeed in diverse settings, nor have they developed reliable and replicable teacher preparation programs that understand how to select programmatic content, experiences and strategies needed to help teachers develop from novice to expert levels and to apply cultural and language dimensions to curriculum and practice. Preparing teachers to meet the needs of… [Direct]

Cuenca, Fredericka (1991). National Testing: The National Debate. ASPIRA Issue Brief. The issue of a national assessment tool in the form of national testing has recently gained momentum. The expectation is that tough national tests would raise national standards and improve educational equity. The goals are ambitious ones and the stakes are particularly high for disadvantaged youth who currently experience the worst effects of testing practices and an inequitable education system. Even current levels of time and money spent on preparation for and administration of standardized tests may have some of the following consequences: (1) narrowed curriculum; (2) teaching that resembles the tests; (3) downgraded teaching skills and stifling of creativity; and (4) tracking of students with the lowest scores (often minorities) into lowest performing classes. Prominent on the current political scene is the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Those who criticize the NAEP focus on the issue of national versus local control. Several alternative proposals are…

(1995). Early Childhood Education. IDRA Focus. IDRA Newsletter, v22 n4 April. This newsletter contains seven articles on developmentally appropriate and equitable practices for use in preschool and primary classrooms and at home. Examples frequently relate to Hispanic or limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. "Parents As First Teachers: Creating an Enriched Home Learning Environment" (Abelardo Villarreal) outlines what parents should do and what they should avoid in providing learning opportunities for preschool children. "Guiding Success for Preschool Age Children: An IDRA Training Program" (Abraham Dominguez, Abelardo Villarreal) describes training for teachers and caregivers in preschool classrooms that encompasses seven competency areas. "Creating Gender Equitable Early Childhood Environments: A Look at What's So–the Status of Education" (Michaela Penny-Velazquez) describes gender-biased methods still practiced in early childhood classrooms, and ways that preschool teachers can promote gender equity through appropriate… [PDF]

Kugelmass, Judy, Ed.; Mitchell, David, Ed. (1997). New Models for Re-forming Special Education. DISES Volume 4. View Finder, v4. The seven articles in this monograph explore the relationship between legislation and policies/regulations directed at the education of students with special educational needs, and actual practices in schools and classrooms. The first article, \The Impact of Special Education Legislation on Schooling: A United States Perspective\ (Mary Lynn Boscardin), discusses the possibilities and problems associated with the impact of special education legislation and school reform movements on the education of student with disabilities in the United States. \Dilemmas, Contradictions and Democracy: Models in the Governance of Special Needs Education in England and Wales\ (Alan Dyson), describes the tensions posed by the realignment of power and responsibility among the central government, local education authorities, and individual schools in special education in England and Wales. \Special Education Legislation and Policies in the Context of Education Reforms: The New Zealand Model\ (David… [PDF]

Venkateswaran, Uma (2004). Race and Gender Issues on the AP United States History Examination. History Teacher, v37 n4 p501-512 Aug. Over the past two decades, remarkable strides have been made in examining, documenting, and incorporating race and gender issues in history courses, but it is time to take a look at the ways in which these curricular and pedagogical changes have impacted the Advanced Placement United States History Examination. This paper focuses on three interrelated issues: first, the inclusion of race and gender questions on the examination; second, the steps taken to ensure that the exam is fair to all candidates; and three, the performance of women and minority students on the examination. Similarities and differences between female and male educational learning styles and achievements is an intriguing and perplexing problem. Several studies have documented that girls have greater verbal ability while boys have stronger quantitative and visual skills. Standardized test results indicate that on history examinations women, African Americans, and Hispanic students tend to perform better on… [Direct]

Moyer, Joan, Ed. (1995). Selecting Educational Equipment and Materials for School and Home. This revised publication focuses on selection issues relating to multicultural anti-bias curriculum, diversity, and inclusion while giving special consideration to the use of computers in classrooms. The first part of the booklet deals with the learning environment. The first article, "Creating the Learning Environment: Context for Learning and Living" (S. Vianne McLean), discusses the role of the environment in building the curriculum and factors to consider when setting up a classroom environment. The second article, "Collecting, Compiling, Constructing, Creating" (Oralie McAfee), offers suggestions for evaluating materials in commercial kits and help in selecting materials appropriate for achieving a teacher's curriculum goals. The third article, "Some Considerations in Equipping a Child Care Center or School" (E. Anne Eddowes), addresses the specifics of selecting equipment on the basis of program goals, children's needs, cultural factors and… [PDF]

Casey, Theresa (2005). Inclusive Play: Practical Strategies for Working with Children Aged 3 to 8. Paul Chapman Publishing Inclusive play embraces dimensions of richness, diversity, appreciation of difference and is both simple and complex too. By aiming for inclusive play educators are simply aiming for the best play experiences to all children. Play opportunities ought to be full of possibilities with which the children can engage and questions that they can pose for themselves. Play recognizes that children, including children with disabilities or additional support needs, are active seekers and makers of meaning. They are explorers, discoverers and experimenters. Inclusive Play: Practical Strategies for Working with Children aged 3 to 8 comes about through experience of developing and enabling inclusive play in a number of settings and therefore identifying the contribution it has to make. This book draws on contemporary research, in particular the findings of the Play Inclusive (P.inc) Action Research project. This was a two-year project looking at the ways in which play supports inclusion of…

O'Keefe, Joseph M. (1993). Working toward an Inclusive School Culture: A University-Secondary School Collaborative Model of Reflective Practice. Since the mid-1960s, some affluent white schools, both public and private, have made efforts to welcome low-income students of color into their student bodies. However, studies of these efforts have usually ignored the complex and deep ambivalence experienced by many young people of color in white middle-class institutions. This paper attempts to gain insight into the challenges that young men of color face in education, with a focus on faculty and student development, and to clarify the phenomenon of institutional inclusion and exclusion. It describes a university-school collaborative effort to create a more inclusive school environment at an urban high school of 1,110 male students. The school increased its minority student population from less than 5 percent to 12 percent in 1991. A new Director of Diversity, a graduate student of color at Boston College, the second member of the partnership, was hired to work collaboratively with faculty, students, and a college faculty member…. [PDF]

Newton, Priscilla, Ed. (2000). TASH Newsletter, 2000-2001. TASH Newsletter, 26-27 2/3-12/1 Feb/Mar-Dec/Jan 2000-2001. Nine year 2000 issues of the newsletter of TASH, formerly The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, comprise this document. Each issue typically contains news items, a column by the organization's executive director, reports from special interest groups, legislative testimony, conference information, and several major articles relating to equity, quality and social justice for people with disabilities. The February/March 2000 through December 2000/January 2001 issues address: (1) 1999 TASH conference highlights, including excerpts from keynote addresses by Rich Villa and Kyle Glozier, and Inclusion and Universal Cooperation (Rosangela Berman Bieler); (2) inclusive schooling, with articles such as Including Students with Disabilities in Standards Based Education Reform (Kathy Boundy), Collaboration at Whittier High School (Mary Falvey and others), Whole Schooling: Linking Inclusive Education to School Renewal (Michael Peterson), The Inclusion of a Youth with Significant… [PDF]

Jones, Betty B. (1993). Working with the "Only One" in the Division. The call for greater diversity among college faculty and administrators is a prominent feature in the literature of higher education and especially of community colleges. For faculty members and administrators who may be the only, or the first, or even the token minority within their division, it is important to resolve what being the "only one" means and what opportunities it represents. Interviews with five African Americans, two Hispanics, one Native American, one Asian, two physically handicapped, and one female vocational education instructor, each identified as the "only ones" in their academic departments, combined with a review of the literature, helped to identify a number of issues that were common in the experiences of the "only ones." These issues include: (1) the comments or behavior of these individuals tended to be enlarged and generalized to the groups they represented, often leading to overachieving behavior; (2) the individuals often… [PDF]

Marshall, Catherine, Ed. (1993). The New Politics of Race and Gender. Education Policy Perspective Series. This book demonstrates that liberal policy cannot adequately address deep-seated assumptions and traditional practices that undermine minorities and women in schools. Chapters focus on educational policy and its implementation at all levels of school politics in the United States, Australia, and Israel. Part 1, "Cutting Across Race and Gender," includes the following: (1) "Demographic Politics and American Schools: Struggles for Power and Justice" (James Gordon Ward); (2) "Categorical Wars: Zero-Sum Politics and School Finance" (Thomas Timar and Dale Shimasaki); (3) "Accountability, Invisibility, and the Politics of Numbers: School Report Cards and Race" (Carolyn D. Herrington); (4) "Race, Ideology, and the Battle over Curriculum" (Caroline B. Cody, Arthur Woodward, and David Elliott); (5) "The Micro-Politics of Student Voices: Moving from Diversity of Bodies to Diversity of Voices in Schools" (Gary L. Anderson and Kathryn…

(1989). Report of the VCCS Task Force on Educational Telecommunications. The Task Force on Educational Telecommunications was formed to develop a statewide approach to educational telecommunications (e.g., public, cable, and satellite television; audio and video tapes; teleconferencing; and computer conferencing) for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The task force assumed that the instruction should have the same academic rigor and quality as traditional course offerings; that the systemwide approach should take into account diversity among individual colleges; and that the goals of media-based instruction should be to increase educational access, while increasing efficiency and reducing the costs of course delivery. The task force identified several key instructional and faculty issues, including equity of course availability, flexibility without compromise of academic quality and integrity, planning and evaluation, balance in resource allocation, interaction between teacher and learner, faculty employment, instructional quality, staff…

(1988). Report of the New York State Board of Regents' Panel on Learning Styles. This report comprises the results of a panel commissioned by the New York State Board of Regents to review the status of knowledge on learning styles and group tendencies in learning behavior. The panel commissioned background papers, and debated various aspects of learning style as they relate to education. Of particular note was the role of culture and learning style, cognition, multiple intelligence, left brain-right brain development, and environmental conditions. The panel also considered pedagogy, instructional strategy, school organization and administration, diversity and educational equality and equity, and educational policy and practice as each related to learning style and behavioral tendency. The deliberations of the panel were consistently framed in the historical and educational experience of African-American and Latino American children in particular, and people of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural difference in general. Recommendations are provided to advise…

Hopson, Rodney; SenGupta, Saumitra; Thompson-Robinson, Melva (2004). Cultural Competence in Evaluation: An Overview. New Directions for Evaluation, n102 p5-19 Sum. Evaluation inarguably takes place within social, cultural, historical, economic, and political contexts–the contexts defined by human existence and experience. These contexts envelope many dimensions. Race, ethnicity, language, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation are among the commonly listed demographic attributes of contextual diversity. Not so commonly discussed in conversations about evaluation are the contextual dimensions of power, economy, living situation, and class, among other denominators of equity and sociopolitical status, \and\ the contextual dimensions specific to culture. That is, despite the recent flurry of activity and discussion in a number of disciplines meant to lift issues of culture and cultural context to the fore of discovery, theory, and application, the evaluation field has lagged behind. Yet culture is an undeniably integral part of the diverse contexts of evaluation, and therefore an integral part of evaluation. Culture is present in… [Direct]

Cox, Martha J., Ed.; Pianta, Robert C., Ed. (1999). The Transition to Kindergarten. A Series from the National Center for Early Development and Learning. On the premise that early school transitions affect children's future educational success and that these critical transitions need to be improved, this book explores the research on early schooling and reexamines educational beliefs, policies, and practices relating to the first years of school, including readiness assessment, entrance ages, diversity, and personnel preparation. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: An Ecological Approach to Kindergarten Transition" (Robert C. Pianta, Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, and Martha J. Cox); (2) "Early Schooling and Social Stratification" (Doris R. Entwisle and Karl L. Alexander); (3) "Assessing Readiness" (Samuel J. Meisels); (4) "Promoting Educational Equity and Excellence in Kindergarten" (Nicholas Zill); (5) "Diverse Perspectives on Kindergarten Contexts and Practices" (Elizabeth Graue); (6) "Families and Schools: Rights, Responsibilities, Resources, and Relationships" (Sandra L…. [PDF]

Azin-Manley, Mariam; Olson, Christine (1997). The Governor's Pilot Distance Learning Project: The Experiences of Four Wyoming Schools. This report presents the results of the evaluation of the Governor's Pilot Distance Learning Project conducted during the spring of 1997 in four rural Wyoming high schools that served as pilot sites for the use of compressed video technology. Such technology provides coursework via two-way interactive video and is used in several states as a way of expanding the diversity and equity of curriculum offerings available to geographically disperse populations of students. Sections of the report provide: (1) description of the evaluation methodology employed; (2) an overview of the pilot project in terms of enrollment by course and school, academic performance of student participants, dropout rates, and how the technology was used; (3) a detailed description of what supports will be needed to promote effective statewide implementation of distance learning; (4) participants' perceptions and attitudes about the appropriateness of the technology for different content areas and audiences,… [PDF]

Castellano, Jaime A., Ed.; Diaz, Eva I., Ed. (2002). Reaching New Horizons: Gifted and Talented Education for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. This book provides 14 readings on issues in the education of gifted and talented students from culturally or linguistically diverse populations. Its overall theme is the insoluble and reciprocal dependence of excellence and equity in education. Chapters include: (1) \Framing an Historical Context for the Education of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Gifted Potential: 1850s to 1980s\ (Eva I. Diaz); (2) \Framing a Contemporary Context for the Education of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students with Gifted Potential: 1990s to the Present\ (Eva I. Diaz); (3) \Advanced Cognitive Development and Bilingualism: Methodological Flaws and Suggestions for Measuring First- and Second-Language Proficiency, Language Dominance, and Intelligence in Minority Children\ (Virginia Gonzalez); (4) \Voice and Validation: Creativity and Bilingualism\ (Jo Ann Robisbeaux and Mary M. Banbury); (5) \Renavigating the Waters: The Identification and Assessment of Culturally and…

Akinyela, Makungu M. (1997). Culture and Power in Practice: Cultural Democracy and the Family Support Movement. Best Practices Project Commissioned Paper III. The Best Practices Project of the Family Resource Coalition of American (FRCA) began in 1991 with the aim of meeting the need for better definition and articulation of what constitutes best practice in family support programs. This monograph, the third in a series of four, reports on some of the ideas about cultural democracy which have generated debate, challenge, and change within the FRCA. Cultural democracy is an operational framework in which family support professionals actively seek to include the experiences, ideas, and practices of ethnic and language minority family members, practitioners, academics, and lay workers in family support policy implementation, program development, and service delivery. Rather than being a dispassionate study of the phenomenon of cultural diversity within the family support movement, this monograph is written from the perspective of the Latino and African-American Caucuses of the FRCA and reflects their concerns. It discusses issues that have… [PDF]