(1988). Task Force on Women, Minorities and the Handicapped in Science and Technology: Executive Session. Report of the Proceedings (Washington, D.C., May 24, 1988). The Task Force on Women, Minorities, and the Handicapped in Science and Technology was established by the U.S. Congress in Public Law 99-383 with the purpose of developing a long-range plan for broadening participation in science and engineering. Public hearings were held in Albuquerque (New Mexico), Atlanta (Georgia), Baltimore (Maryland), Boston (Massachusetts), Chicago (Illinois), Kansas City (Missouri), and Los Angeles (California) between Fall 1987 and Spring 1988. The final report of the task force was produced in December, 1989. This document is the verbatim transcript of the meeting. Co-Chairs Dr. Ann Reynolds and Mr. Jaime Oaxaca presided over the meeting. Discussions included: (1) An opening statement; (2) policy issues including the federal role in precollege education (Dr. Shirley Malcom), emphasis on specific actions for federal agencies (Dr. Mary Cutter), actions for industry (Dr. Harriet Jenkins), and a statement on racism, sexism, and discrimination against persons… [PDF]
(1986). Teacher Testing: I'm O.K., You're O.K., But Somebody's Not!. Concern about the preparation and competence of teachers has brought about a rapid spread of teacher competency assessment programs. Currently, 36 states test or plan to test teachers prior to certification. Two states, Arkansas and Texas, are already involved with testing teachers in service. Teacher competency testing has become embroiled in state and national politics, and has also become involved in charges of racism and anti-affirmative action. Even though teacher shortages promise to become more severe in the future, several states have exacerbated these shortages by requiring competency tests for teacher certification. Furthermore, while the competency tests produce shortages that result in suboptional instruction for pupils, they provide no incentive for highly qualified people to enter or stay in the teaching profession. While the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) support, to varying degrees, teacher competency testing prior…
(1980). Educational Vouchers and Their Implications for Equity. Program Report No. 80-B2. There has always been a tension in any form of democracy between the public good, majoritarian consensus, and the rights of minority groups and individuals. Some proponents of educational voucher plans suggest that putting more control in the hands of individuals through a laissez faire educational system will be in the public interest. John Coons and Stephen Sugarman claim that the family is the ideal educational decision-maker, that the best interest of the child must be given priority in educational decision-making, that this "best interest" lies in the development of the individual's autonomy, and that the quality of education will improve if educational suppliers must meet the demands of their clients. Coons and Sugarman also argue that educational diversity would foster a consensus supporting the present political system, would prove more democratic, and would reduce racism while increasing integration. These claims have no basis in established fact, but instead form… [PDF]
(1989). Multicultural and Global Education: Seeking Common Ground. Issues in Education. Multicultural education deals with human diversity at the domestic level. It incorporates the study of racial and ethnic differences, as well as issues related to gender, age, socioeconomic status, and physical disabilities. Its primary goals are to create a sense of understanding and respect for differences, to overcome prejudice and discrimination, to provide an understanding of the dynamics of racism, to replace historical and cultural distortions with accurate information, and to assure that all students receive equitable benefits from the educational system. Global education deals with diversity at the global level. Its primary focus is on those interrelated systems that affect the entire planet. The primary goals of global education are to build understanding and respect for peoples and nations outside the United States, to transcend the narrow Western-centric bias that pervades much of traditional curriculum, to provide an understanding of the dynamics of imperialism and… [PDF]
(1993). Assumptions of African-American Students about International Education Exchange. This study attempted to identify and compare some of the assumptions concerning international education exchange of first, the international education exchange community, and, second, the African-American student community. The study reviewed materials from published institutional literature for the assumptions held by the international education exchange community, and conducted a series of tape recorded interviews with eight African American students attending California State University (Los Angeles) to identify their assumptions concerning international educational exchange. Analysis of the data suggested that there may be a disproportionate cost paid by inner-city African-American students who study on campuses with an "international" focus. Students interviewed expressed the following attitudes: that new strains of racism and class prejudice are imported to their campus by foreign students; that foreign students shun, avoid and are afraid of African Americans; that,… [PDF]
(1990). Race Relations on American College Campuses: The Need for a Higher Level of Inclusiveness. Responding to declines in the percentages of minorities enrolled in college, 24 educational leaders from around the country met to discuss their campus race relations problems and to formulate a statement on their findings. This document reproduces that statement. The signers see three national imperatives: (1) a moral imperative to make a new commitment to equal access to education; (2) an economic imperative of economic progress dependent on the national ability to educate the work force; and (3) a political imperative that the viability of a free democracy depends on a fully educated and participating citizenry. They also recommend that educational leaders allocate funds in such a way as to increase diversity on campuses, value diversity, overcome racism and ethnocentrism, work to increase retention of economically disadvantaged students, enhance employment opportunities within the university for minorities, invest in and prepare the next generation of teachers in a way that…
(2005). Affirmative Action: From before "Bakke" to after "Grutter". NASPA Journal, v42 n4 p430-459. Affirmative action as a policy to solve past racism has existed since the civil rights movement in the mid-twentieth century. Since its inception there has been controversy as to whether affirmative action can stand legal scrutiny. If it can, then under what circumstances and for what programs may it be used? Since the "Bakke" case in 1978, a variety of lower federal courts have sought to determine whether diversity is a compelling state interest in higher education admissions and other related programs, or whether race may even be used as a factor in admissions. The recent Grutter and Gratz cases have helped to clarify those issues, but they have left many questions to be answered by policy makers and the courts. Since the Grutter and Gratz decisions, new challenges have been raised to affirmative action. This article describes the history of affirmative action, describes the controversies and current status of the law with regard to public postsecondary institutions…
(1990). Voices in American Education: Conversations with Patricia Biehl, Derek Bok, Daniel Callahan, Robert Coles, Edwin Dorn, Georgie Anne Geyer, Henry Giroux, Ralph Ketcham, Christopher Lasch, Elizabeth Minnich, Frank Newman, Robert Payton, Douglas Sloan, and Manfred Stanley. Interviews expressing a variety of viewpoints on the present and future status of education on a national and global scale are offered by 14 major educators and public figures. The theme of educational reform frames each interview. Patricia Biehl reflects on the diminishing effectiveness of secondary education. Derek Bok favors the teaching of ethics. Applying the humanities is the focus of Daniel Callahan's argument that the acquisition and application of knowledge should be interdisciplinary. Robert Coles comments on the moral power of literature. Edwin Dorn punctuates his interview about racism in America with a plea for race awareness. Education for global understanding underpins Georgie Anne Geyer's belief that nations must cooperate rather than confront. Henry Giroux's dream of radical education includes educating students for public life by training them to be critical of the existing social order. Inadequate citizenship education can only be resolved by training citizens to…
(2005). When the Rules Are Fair, but the Game Isn't. Multicultural Education, v13 n1 p14 Fall. This article discusses the inequality in public education. The core issues of educational inequality are related to matters of race, social justice, democratic equality, and the diversity curriculum. Many of these issues are only marginally understood or accepted as legitimate by most teachers, teacher educators, and administrators (of any race) who are entrusted with the equal education of all children. Based on their own experiences, most White teachers are blind to issues of racial inequity, and often refuse to recognize differences that separate races. They believe that society is fair and just. In fact they believe that the United States was built on principles of fairness, justice, and equality. For most Black teachers, on the other hand, race is a concept that they cannot ignore. It is a concept they have to reconcile with on a daily basis, and many of them understand institutional racism at a gut level, but are reluctant to articulate it. This classroom activity provides a… [PDF]
(1993). The Children of Metropolitan St. Louis: A Report to the Community from Project Respond. This report presents a picture of the welfare of children in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Developed by Project Respond, a group addressing the needs of at-risk children in the community, it is an attempt to measure the treatment of children by families, private institutions, government, and other facets of society. The introduction describes the purpose, objectives and methods used for this report. The second section of the report presents the findings in eight categories identified as major factors contributing to childhood risk. The eight categories are: (1) parenting and family environment; (2) basic material needs; (3) maternal and child health; (4) child care and developmental enrichment; (5) education and basic schooling; (6) community and neighborhood environment; (7) poverty and employment; and (8) racism and racial isolation. Each risk factor is briefly discussed, with statistical information presented in tabular form by zip code, and graphically with a map. The final… [PDF]
(1990). Teacher and Administrator Training, Recruitment and Retention. INAR/NACIE Joint Issues Sessions National Indian Education Assocation (NIEA) Annual Conference (22nd, San Diego, California, October 15, 1990). This report summarizes two joint sessions held by the Indian Nations At Risk Task Force and the National Advisory Council on Indian Education to hear testimony on Native American issues in educator training and employment. Issues and problems related to recruitment of Native Americans into teacher education include raised admission standards, more stringent requirements, culturally or linguistically biased admission tests, the lure of better paying professions, and eligibility requirements for financial aid. An effective Arizona recruitment program targets teacher aides with 2 years of college, while the Alaska state university system has special teacher education programs for Natives in villages and urban areas. Retaining Native students in teacher education is hampered by insufficient financial aid and by racism on campus and in the curriculum. The Mohawk Nation addresses this problem through a cooperative program in which university professors teach courses in the community on… [PDF]
(1994). Outcast England. How Schools Exclude Black Children. The number of black children "excluded" each month from schools in England and Wales is greatly out of proportion to their relative enrollment. Exclusion includes suspension for a fixed or indefinite term or expulsion from a particular school, and can include in-school exclusions of isolation. The term "black children" is taken to include various groups of color, including Asians. Exclusion is seldom the measure of a child's capacity to learn, rather it is usually an indication of the teacher's refusal to be challenged. The exclusion of the black child is regarded as an element in the pathology of the black family rather than as an indicator of structured racism. How the situation developed is traced, and new government policies designed to educate the excluded child are reviewed. Exclusion is shown to be related to the current government's overall education reforms. Individual case studies illustrate exclusion, as it may reflect cultural and racial bias. There…
(1974). Education for an Open Society. This yearbook focuses on the issue of opening the society for all people, particularly for those who have not been properly represented heretofore. Part 1 reviews some of the progress made toward an open society during the past two decades. It delineates the exasperatingly slow but important gains that have been registered since the Supreme Court decision of 1954 initiated progress toward a desegregated education for children and youth in the United States. Part 2 deals with some of the basic problems and concepts with which professional educators have had to cope since the late 1950's and early 1960's. Four chapters suggest methods for dealing with racism, creating better media, improving teacher education, and remaking of faculty education practices. The third section on the use of power in an open society faces the implications of developments in the 1960's and early 1970's: the problems and paradoxes of "power" and its important emerging components. While readers are… [PDF]
(1995). The Social and Political Dimensions of Achieving a Multicultural College Curriculum. This paper examines research on multicultural education and multiculturalism and two forces, prevailing social and political dimensions, that impinge upon the full implementation of multiculturalism in higher education curriculum. Multicultural education is defined as one that incorporates the concepts of cross-cultural understanding and reflects an underlying principle that different groups learn and benefit from each other. Many educators, however, are inadequately prepared to incorporate multiculturalism, and because curriculum affects all students, faculty, and departments on campus, discussions surrounding multiculturalizing the college curriculum generally become a matter of political discourse rather than an act of intellectual and educational integrity. Various approaches to incorporating multiculturalism in the college curriculum are explored, and 15 social conditions and problems that hinder the development of multiculturalism, including racism, are delineated. These… [PDF]
(1990). Making "A World of Difference" in Teacher Education. A program titled "A World of Difference" (AWOD), designed to reduce racial, ethnic, and religious prejudice and discrimination, is incorporated into teacher education classes at California State University (Los Angeles). AWOD is a school-, community-, and media-based program, originally introduced in 1985, The program includes lessons on American beliefs and values, prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, scapegoating, and racism. Each community that adopts AWOD develops its own local educational materials. The AWOD elementary and secondary classroom curriculum developed for multicultural communities in southern California provides strategies to reduce intergroup tensions and prejudice and enhance self-esteem. Activities and strategies in the lessons help develop students' cognitive sophistication. The paper presents several examples of AWOD lessons incorporated into the syllabi of certain methods courses, noting that teachers need techniques to enable every child to…