Race Relations and Cultural Differences Educational and Interpersonal Perspectives

A collection of key papers given at three international conferences in Britain, the United States and Canada on race relations and multiculturalism are drawn together in this book. The first section includes three papers on the state of theory in race relations; the second contains papers on educational themes, examining in particular the pitfalls in multicultural education. It also looks at the development and problems of second language education for minority groups in several countries. The final section focuses on special topics including the adjustment and identity of children of mixed race marriages; the plight of children from Canada’s native communities; and the hearing impaired as a minority group.

Introduction. Multicultural Education: Problems and Issues G K Verma and C Bagley. Part 1: Race Relations, Cultural Differences and Ethnocentrism. 1. Race Relations and Cultural Differences: Some Ideas on a Racial Frame of Reference Peter M E Figueroa. 2. Toward An Explanation of Ethnocentrism Versus Ethnorelativism Based Upon Reference Group Orientation. James C Mayer. 3. Toward a Typology of Stranger-Host Relationships. William B Gudykunst. Part 2: Language, Education and Minority Groups. 4. Multiculturalism and Education: Prelude to Practice. Gajendra K Verma. 5. Education, Language and Ethnic Groups in Britain. Olav A Rees. 6. Language, Disadvantage and Minority Education. John Edwards. 7. The Education of Children of Immigrant Groups: A Comparative Perspective of Britain, France, The Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. Arpi Hamalian and Joti Bhatnagar. 8. Using a Multicultural Context as a Basis for a Core Curriculum: Cultural Difference as Educational Capital. James Lynch. 9. Children’s Books and Ethnic Minorities. Gajendra K Verma and Kanka Mallick. 10. Second Languages in the Primary School: The Australian Experience Barbara McLean. Part 3: Minority Group Children in Multicultural Contexts. 11. Cultural Diversity, Migration and Congnitive Styles: A Study of British, Japanese, Jamaican and Indian Children Christopher Bagley. 12. The Welfare, Adaptation and Identity of Children from Intercultural Marriage Christopher Bagley & Loretta Young. 13. Native Indian and Metis Children in Canada: Victims of the Child Welfare System. Bradford Morse. 14. A Matched-Guise Methodology for Measuring Attitudes Toward Sign-Language Speakers R Bruce Anderson and Robert Benford. Indices.

Gajendra Verma, Christopher Bagley