The purpose of this study was to explore American and Chinese college student underlying cultural assumptions, which influence their perceptions and behaviors in various domains of life. The objectives of this study were to: (a) To generate timely knowledge of Chinese and American youth's cultural images, meanings, and frame of reference. (b) To evaluate the extent and nature of psycho-cultural difference between American and Chinese population samples. (c) To increase the cross-cultural awareness of both cultural groups and offer deeper insights of perceptions and belief system of their contemporaries. (d) To examine how the economic, social and political changes affect people's images and cultural frame of reference. (e) To provide a better tool to prepare future study abroad students. The methodology employed in this research includes Associate Group Analysis (AGA), focus groups, and participant observation. The data derived from 73 returned surveys on 25 stimulus words (42 from Chinese respondents and 31 from American respondents). These were analyzed using AGA. Focus groups and participant observation were used as follow-up research methods to clarify, extend, and qualify findings on the topics explored in the analysis. The findings revealed that American self-image and their attitudes towards family, education, values, conscience and other domains of life showed strong individualistic traits with an emphasis placed on self-reliance. Compared to American students, Chinese students' cultural assumptions are related to broad cultural factors derived from Chinese traditional beliefs about self-control and group harmony. Under the influence of western culture, Chinese youth have undergone certain changes in their perceptions and practices. They are experimenting with independent thinking and more concerned with developing their interests and potentials. They readily visualize their material goals and struggle for more personal freedom. However, in spite of the strong pull of western culture and materialism, Chinese students still hold the traditional aspirations of "group harmony," "reciprocity," "mutual obligation" and "self-cultivation," reflecting the stability of community norms over time. / Graduation date: 2003

This study was an investigation of the beliefs, values, and attitudes of black students which guide their behavior. The cultural factors investigated included: student occupational and educational aspirations; student academic strategies; and people and.forces impacting upon student beliefs. The purpose was to determine if the characteristics of a caste minority, as defined by Ogbu, were exhibited by the black students in a relatively affluent school district. Ethnographic methods were selected for data collection and analysis. Participants in the study were 46 black students attending a small, intermediate school and their teachers, counselors, parents, peers, and significant others. Findings indicate that the black students seem to be part of a modified caste system. They had high occupational aspirations but perceived a "secondary job ceiling", requiring them to be better qualified than whites competing for the same job. Few students who aspired to professional or celebrity careers were aware of the training, discipline, and good fortune needed to achieve their goals, and few of them selected school strategies to promote academic success. Parents spoke of their belief in education but were frequently unable to translate their belief into active support for students. Teachers exhibited a lack of knowledge of the black student culture and attributed black underachievement to cultural deprivation and lack of parental concern. Educational planners must be aware of the difficulties faced by black students in selecting goals and strategies and need to develop and reorient programs to assist black students in crossing cultural barriers. / Ed. D.

Figures from the 2010 Census indicate that there are 50.5 million Latinos (16% of the total population) living in the United States (US) today. From 2000 to 2010, the Latino population experienced a very rapid growth rate of 43%, which accounted for over half the total population growth. More and more Latino students are entering our public schools and face the reality that 62 years after the Brown V. Board of Education ruling to integrate schools and equalize educational opportunities, schools are more racially and economically segregated and more unequal than they were more than half a century ago. As a group, Latinos continue to struggle academically and there is a large academic achievement gap between Latino students and White students. Using the lens of Latino Critical race theory, this narrative study was an attempt to understand the educational experience of five Latino students in a two-way immersion program within a racialized public education system in which negative stereotypes, such as lack of intellectual abilities, could create a threatening environment hindering their academic success. This narrative inquiry study sought to understand how, if at all, Latino students in a fifth grade two-way immersion program experienced anxiety about the ways they believe to be perceived in the classroom and school settings by their teachers and other classmates. Finding of this study confirmed the relative success of two-way immersion programs educating Latino students and highlighted the urgent need to conduct more research in bilingual settings trying to understand the role stereotype threat might play in the educational experience of Latino students. The fact that Latino students were still lagging behind their native English-speaking counterparts in the TWI program is a reality that must be researched further to understand the lived experiences of Latino students in bilingual programs.