Transnational corporations and education: Current issues and prospects

Two main questions are discussed. First, how might transnational corporations contribute to various forms of education in developing countries? Secondly, what measures should states take in education to help them get better advantage from the transnational corporations? Adopting a pragmatic approach, the paper points out that the most important form of education is often the most overlooked, namely, on-the-job training in a range of occupations from low skilled to top management. Although this is indeed supplemented by in-service training programmes, the latter are not always on offer. In general, transnational corporations are interested in education in their host countries only insofar as it affects their own operations. For their part, host country governments have a difficult task. On the one hand they need to educate their young people to be able to take advantage of the technology and expertise made available by the transnational corporations. On the other hand, they need to give them an education which will help them to preserve their culture, despite absorbing the technology and thereby also the culture of foreign firms. More particularly, host countries seem to lack the specialized training, which is necessary for dealing effectively and advantageously with the transnational corporations. In a final note, the paper considers what might happen if a ‘real’ NIEO were introduced.     

THE TRANSNATIONALIZATION OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL LIFE THROUGH MIGRATION: IS THERE AN IMPACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION?

In an increasingly interdependent and inter‐linked world, the phenomenon of migration takes on added importance. It has existed in Europe for many years even if in recent times the immigrants have come from outside Europe rather than from southern European to northern European countries. Economic problems have stimulated increased xenophobia on the part of host societies while at the same time, the children of the first generation of immigrants have faced challenges and have promoted the cultural enrichment that comes from bi‐culturalism. Multi‐culturalism is well worth studying and promoting for it represents a cultural enrichment for Europeans leading to a new cultural synthesis for the continent. Both schools and higher education institutions must take up the challenge of multi‐cultural education which should be more than a superficial dose of folklore, dancing, and exotic food. The children of the second generation of immigrants have frequently studied their home cultures and languages in their university courses, this in order to better understand themselves and their relationship to their two cultures. In their active lives, these graduates will further enrich European culture by helping to elaborate a new cultural synthesis.     

从时间、场合、对象看云南少数民族的性禁忌

对于很多民族来说，性行为本身并不是禁忌，关键是要看它发生的时间、场合和对象。云南少数民族几乎都有自己的性禁忌，并且关于性禁忌的认识也呈现出一个从神秘到理性的发展过程。云南少数民族有关性禁忌的观念虽然产生于迷信，但它在实践层面上也起着规范人们行为的作用。     

Education of children of nomadic pastoralists in Somalia: Comparing attitudes and behaviour

The paper reports on the choices nomadic pastoralists in Somalia have made and might make for the education of their children, based on a large scale household survey. Households were asked about their own and their children's education and the educational possibilities open to them; and, at the end, they were asked how they would use an unexpected remittance from a friend or relative abroad.The findings on their use of and expenditure on education for their children are briefly summarised and then compared with the findings on their priorities for using the unexpected remittance. A surprisingly high proportion (26%) said that they would use some of the at least some of the money to pay school fees, whilst less than half that (12%) said that they would keep the money for emergencies (including health care), even though households actually spent more than twice as much on health care than on education.     

The importance of context: Vietnamese,Somali, and Iranian refugee mothers discuss their resettled lives and involvement in their children’s schools

Parental involvement in schools is regarded as critical to student success in Australia, Canada, and the USA, the world’s top refugee resettlement countries. Refugees can be disadvantaged when they are unfamiliar with the practices and when their own cultural beliefs conflict with expectations in their new communities, or when they are consumed by other pressing needs. As part of an evaluation of a nonprofit US refugee agency’s liaison program, three groups of refugee mothers from different world regions spoke about their lives and connections with their children’s schools. Focus groups revealed satisfaction with many aspects of their children’s schools as well as contrasts between the groups’ needs and experiences. Differences indicate the need for the education community and other service providers to be aware of international backgrounds that bring refugees to the countries of resettlement and cultural differences that create diverse concerns of these groups.     

Using Games in Teaching Children English

In recent years,people realize primary education has been become the most important part in their whole life,especially English teaching.However,the English teaching in primary school still have many problems needed to be solved.A common phenomenon is that the children lack of interest in English.     

契丹服饰文化与社会生活

契丹民族服饰的特点与其游牧的生产生活方式有着密切的联系。随着契丹疆土的不断扩大,契丹民族与其他民族广泛接触,特别是与汉民族接触的机会增多,契丹服饰也在不断发生变化。服饰文化的演变对契丹社会生活也产生了深远的影响。     

Schooling of Children with Rare Diseases and Disability in Europe

ABSTRACT

Inclusive education of disabled students has been promoted in European disability policies. However, the transition process from more segregated system is slow. The purpose of this study was to provide an insight about different types of schooling of disabled children affected by a rare disease across Europe and to evaluate their and caregivers’ well-being. We analysed data from a cross-sectional study (BURQOL-RD) of persons with rare diseases that cause intellectual and/or physical disability: Prader-Willi syndrome, fragile X syndrome, three types of mucopolysaccharidosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The sample consisted of 359 children aged 6–17 and 269 caregivers from eight European countries. Results showed differences between countries in proportion of students placed in special schools, which are still valid option in countries such as Germany, France or UK. Within the inclusive education modalities, lack of special support for disabled students was observed especially in low-income countries. No association between the type of schooling and quality of life was observed, but the subjective caregivers’ burden seems to be higher in special schools. The study shows existent differences in implementation of inclusive education in Europe. More research is needed in the field of rare disease disability and educational needs.     

Researching nomadic education: a Nigerian perspective

The emergence of nomadic education as an important sub-system of the formal educational system in many African countries is the direct consequence of the state's commitment to equalizing educational opportunities for all social groups irrespective of ethnic or geographical origins, gender, or social class. In Nigeria, a special educational program is being implemented for two migrant groups, namely the nomadic pastoralists and the migrant fishermen. The major purposes of this chapter are to:     

10.

The legal status of home education in post-communist countries of Central Europe     

Yvona Kostelecká 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2012,19(3):445-463

As new laws on education were gradually adopted in post-communist states after 1989, the countries also dealt with the problem of how to include home education in their own legislation. This article investigates the development of legislation on home education in five states of post-communist Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary. This analysis of the legal environment for home education confirms on the one hand that these countries’ approach is similar in many aspects. Generally, laws tend to regulate home education rather strictly, all home-educated children must be enrolled at some school, and these schools are mandated by the state to serve as supervisory bodies for home-educated children. This legal arrangement puts the parents of home-schooled children in a very subordinate position in relation to the school. Despite these restrictions, however, the states have gradually opened up the option for home education to quite a broad pool of potentially interested people. On the other hand, the findings show that there are also significant differences between individual countries. These differences provide a good illustration of the fact that, despite historical, economic and cultural similarities, political institutions and state bureaucracies in individual states act autonomously, which leads to different policy outcomes.     

11.

中世纪西欧儿童的日常生活和教育   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

郭法奇 《首都师范大学学报(社会科学版)》2009,(2)

儿童的生活和教育问题是中世纪西欧教育研究的重要问题之一。在西欧中世纪,儿童的日常生活和教育在很大程度上是受成人影响的。他们的生活不仅依赖于成人,其教育也是被成人严格控制的。主要原因是由于儿童生活在成人世界里,与成人没有完全区分开,学校发展也有限。儿童的存在是一种依附的存在,儿童的发展和地位是有限的。     

12.

The legal status of home education in post-communist countries of Central Europe     

Yvona?KosteleckáEmail author 《International Review of Education/Internationale Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft/Revue internationale l'éducation》2012,58(4):445-463

As new laws on education were gradually adopted in post-communist states after 1989, the countries also dealt with the problem of how to include home education in their own legislation. This article investigates the development of legislation on home education in five states of post-communist Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary. This analysis of the legal environment for home education confirms on the one hand that these countries’ approach is similar in many aspects. Generally, laws tend to regulate home education rather strictly, all home-educated children must be enrolled at some school, and these schools are mandated by the state to serve as supervisory bodies for home-educated children. This legal arrangement puts the parents of home-schooled children in a very subordinate position in relation to the school. Despite these restrictions, however, the states have gradually opened up the option for home education to quite a broad pool of potentially interested people. On the other hand, the findings show that there are also significant differences between individual countries. These differences provide a good illustration of the fact that, despite historical, economic and cultural similarities, political institutions and state bureaucracies in individual states act autonomously, which leads to different policy outcomes.     

13.

论19世纪末20世纪初俄罗斯音乐的主要民族风格趋势     

王铁 《山东教育学院学报》2014,(6):152-155

19世纪末20世纪初,在东欧和北欧的一些国家先后出现了一批作曲家,他们立志于发展本民族的音乐,在各自的创作中采用民族的题材和民族的形式,反映了民族的风情和民族的精神,这些作曲家被称为＂民族主义作曲家或民族乐派作曲家＂,其音乐被称为＂民族主义音乐＂。在俄罗斯,由于俄罗斯音乐的先驱格林卡的创作达到了一个新水平,因此这一时期被称为俄罗斯音乐的黄金时代,为俄罗斯民族音乐的发展奠定了基础,指明了方向。     

14.

Adolescent Literacy in Europe — An Urgent Call for Action     

Sari Sulkunen 《European Journal of Education》2013,48(4):528-542

This article focuses on the literacy of the adolescents who, in most European countries, are about to leave or have recently left basic education with the assumption that they have the command of functional literacy as required in and for further studies, citizenship, work life and a fulfilling life as individuals. First, the overall performance level in the EU member countries with a special focus on poor literacy is examined. Also, the most persistent inequities in adolescent literacy are reviewed, including the gender gap, the socio-economic gap, the migrant gap and the digital gap. Secondly, the focus turns to developing adolescent literacy and reading education in Europe in a constantly changing global context with increasing literacy demands calling for a lifelong and a life-wide development of literacy. The article outlines elements of effective literacy education for adolescents in Europe.     

15.

The cultural responsiveness of teacher candidates towards Roma pupils in Serbia and Slovenia – case studies     

《师资教育杂志》2012,38(4):359-376

In many countries, there is a growing need for teacher awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences, what is often called culturally responsive teaching. This is why teacher education institutions are making significant efforts to require student teachers to enrol in courses that focus on understanding, tolerance and acceptance of differences in others. Determining beliefs of student teachers towards the diversity of pupils at the onset of their studies is critical for providing teacher education that more efficiently challenges implicit beliefs and biases. The main objective in this paper is therefore to determine the initial beliefs of student teachers concerning the Roma population, Europe’s largest ethnic minority. Research was conducted at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the Teacher Training Faculty at the University of Belgrade in Serbia. The results of the study suggest that most student teachers are in favour of schooling Roma pupils in regular schools; however, most of them would not like to have them in their classes. Most student teachers are aware of the discrimination against Roma pupils in schools; however, they are not ready to engage in closer interactions with Roma families. The implications of these findings for teacher education programmes are subsequently discussed.     

16.

Gypsy children,space, and the school environment     

Martin P. Levinson  Andrew C. Sparkes 《International journal of qualitative studies in education》2013,26(6):751-772

This article draws on data generated from a 3½‐year ethnographic study of the interface between Gypsy culture and the educational system in England. The evidence suggests that Gypsy children have distinctive spatial orientations that are embedded in their own culture and life experience. These relate to issues revolving around degrees of nomadic and sedentary lifestyles, and also around spatial awareness deriving from the site environment. In combination, these features have the potential to make the transition between home and school problematic. Moreover, the utilization of space by Gypsy children is often misinterpreted within schools, being at odds with, and constituting a challenge to, the structured social space of the school environment. In view of the multiple meanings of space, this raises issues about the lack of flexible responses in institutional contexts.     

17.

The teacher education curriculum and the world of work: A study of teachers of disadvantaged children in Nigeria     

《Teaching and Teacher Education》2006,22(7):777-787

A key element in the current attempt to actualise the goals of the Dakar Framework of Action for Education for All in Nigeria is the broadening of access to education for disadvantaged groups. These groups include: nomadic pastoralists; migrant fishermen; and out-of-school children and youth. Special educational programs are being provided for them so as, inter alia, to: integrate them into the mainstream of Nigeria's social and political life; disseminate modern occupational and life skills; and promote cultural renewal based on reconstructionist principles.The major concern of this paper is to analyse the teacher education curriculum in Nigeria vis-à-vis the concrete existential realities in which teachers of these disadvantaged groups teach. It critically examines the extent to which the curriculum prepares teachers for the world of minority children, particularly the realities of the schools and the cultural contexts within which teaching takes place. To what extent has the teacher education curriculum adequately prepared teachers for the realities and challenges of teaching disadvantaged children? What do the teachers themselves think of the training they have received? How have their experiences as teachers of disadvantaged groups influenced their sense of marginalisation, professionalism and sense of worth? These questions are posed using quantitative and qualitative strategies so as to determine the level of congruence or incongruence between the existential realities of teachers’ work and the teacher education curriculum. Finally the paper highlights the suggestions made by the teachers sampled for this study about how to reform the teacher education curriculum in order most effectively to address the peculiarities and challenges of the cultural and educational contexts in which they work.     

18.

Self-esteem: A cross-cultural comparison of British-Chinese,White British and Hong Kong Chinese children     

Yiu Man Chan 《教育心理学》2000,20(1):59-74

Total raw self-esteem scores of 1303 children, including Chinese children in Britain and Hong Kong and White British, were assessed by using the Self-esteem Inventory developed by Coopersmith (1967). Across all samples, the results show little differences between children of different ages, whereas statistically significant differences occur in the independent variables of ethnic groups, gender and educational aspiration. Despite the social disadvantages that the UK Chinese may face, they have significantly higher self-esteem than their Hong Kong Chinese counterparts, but have little differences from their White peers. This indicates that they are likely to have positive feelings and academic confidence in being themselves and as part of the host society. In contrast, Hong Kong children tend to have low levels of self-esteem, which may be caused by the more self-effacing and modest values in Chinese culture, a traditional authoritarian style of education or highly competitive pressures created by schools, families and society.     

19.

Latin American immigrant women and intergenerational sex education     

Maria Cristina Alcalde  Ana Maria Quelopana 《Sex education》2013,13(3):291-304

People of Latin American descent make up the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the USA. Rates of pregnancy, childbirth, and sexually transmitted infections among people of Latin American descent are higher than among other ethnic groups. This paper builds on research that suggests that among families of Latin American descent, mothers have a particularly strong influence on the sexual attitudes and behaviours of their children, yet that parents of Latin American descent communicate less with their children about sex than parents of other ethnic groups. It examines the messages about sex women received as children in their countries of origin, and how these messages and their views of the USA influence the sexual education women provide for their children. On the basis of data from focus groups, we suggest that, in spite of the persistence of sexual silence, some women's self-reflective analyses of their own sexual education as well as their views of the USA as a sexually more open society contribute to their views of silence as dangerous and trigger more open communication with sons and daughters. Mothers hope to break the cycle of unwanted pregnancy by speaking with daughters about the consequences of menstruation and with sons about contraception.     

20.

Evaluations of child transgressions, disciplinary choices, and expected child compliance in a no-cry and a crying infant condition in physically abusive and comparison mothers     

Caselles CE  Milner JS 《Child abuse & neglect》2000,24(4):477-491

OBJECTIVE: Several components of a social information processing model of child physical abuse were tested. Abusive and comparison mothers' evaluations of children's transgressions, choices of disciplinary techniques, expectations for children's compliance following discipline, and appraisals of the appropriateness of disciplinary choice were examined in a no-cry and a crying-infant condition. METHOD: Thirty physically abusive and 30 matched comparison mothers were individually matched on ethnic background, age, education, marital status, number of children, and cognitive ability. Mothers were asked to respond to questions related to vignettes describing children engaging in moral, conventional, and personal transgressions. RESULTS: As predicted, abusive, relative to comparison, mothers evaluated conventional and personal, but not moral, transgressions as more wrong, used more power assertion (physical and verbal force), expected less compliance from their own children, and appraised their own disciplinary responses as less appropriate. In contrast to expectations, there were no group by cry condition interaction effects on any of the study measures. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide additional support for the view that abusive, relative to comparison, mothers are different in their evaluations and expectations of their own children's behaviors and that they more frequently select aversive disciplinary techniques. However, given the lack of an expected differential impact of a stressful condition on the cognitions and disciplinary choices in abusive mothers, additional research is needed.     

The legal status of home education in post-communist countries of Central Europe

As new laws on education were gradually adopted in post-communist states after 1989, the countries also dealt with the problem of how to include home education in their own legislation. This article investigates the development of legislation on home education in five states of post-communist Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary. This analysis of the legal environment for home education confirms on the one hand that these countries’ approach is similar in many aspects. Generally, laws tend to regulate home education rather strictly, all home-educated children must be enrolled at some school, and these schools are mandated by the state to serve as supervisory bodies for home-educated children. This legal arrangement puts the parents of home-schooled children in a very subordinate position in relation to the school. Despite these restrictions, however, the states have gradually opened up the option for home education to quite a broad pool of potentially interested people. On the other hand, the findings show that there are also significant differences between individual countries. These differences provide a good illustration of the fact that, despite historical, economic and cultural similarities, political institutions and state bureaucracies in individual states act autonomously, which leads to different policy outcomes.     

中世纪西欧儿童的日常生活和教育

儿童的生活和教育问题是中世纪西欧教育研究的重要问题之一。在西欧中世纪,儿童的日常生活和教育在很大程度上是受成人影响的。他们的生活不仅依赖于成人,其教育也是被成人严格控制的。主要原因是由于儿童生活在成人世界里,与成人没有完全区分开,学校发展也有限。儿童的存在是一种依附的存在,儿童的发展和地位是有限的。     

The legal status of home education in post-communist countries of Central Europe

As new laws on education were gradually adopted in post-communist states after 1989, the countries also dealt with the problem of how to include home education in their own legislation. This article investigates the development of legislation on home education in five states of post-communist Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland and Hungary. This analysis of the legal environment for home education confirms on the one hand that these countries’ approach is similar in many aspects. Generally, laws tend to regulate home education rather strictly, all home-educated children must be enrolled at some school, and these schools are mandated by the state to serve as supervisory bodies for home-educated children. This legal arrangement puts the parents of home-schooled children in a very subordinate position in relation to the school. Despite these restrictions, however, the states have gradually opened up the option for home education to quite a broad pool of potentially interested people. On the other hand, the findings show that there are also significant differences between individual countries. These differences provide a good illustration of the fact that, despite historical, economic and cultural similarities, political institutions and state bureaucracies in individual states act autonomously, which leads to different policy outcomes.     

论19世纪末20世纪初俄罗斯音乐的主要民族风格趋势

19世纪末20世纪初,在东欧和北欧的一些国家先后出现了一批作曲家,他们立志于发展本民族的音乐,在各自的创作中采用民族的题材和民族的形式,反映了民族的风情和民族的精神,这些作曲家被称为＂民族主义作曲家或民族乐派作曲家＂,其音乐被称为＂民族主义音乐＂。在俄罗斯,由于俄罗斯音乐的先驱格林卡的创作达到了一个新水平,因此这一时期被称为俄罗斯音乐的黄金时代,为俄罗斯民族音乐的发展奠定了基础,指明了方向。     

Adolescent Literacy in Europe — An Urgent Call for Action

This article focuses on the literacy of the adolescents who, in most European countries, are about to leave or have recently left basic education with the assumption that they have the command of functional literacy as required in and for further studies, citizenship, work life and a fulfilling life as individuals. First, the overall performance level in the EU member countries with a special focus on poor literacy is examined. Also, the most persistent inequities in adolescent literacy are reviewed, including the gender gap, the socio-economic gap, the migrant gap and the digital gap. Secondly, the focus turns to developing adolescent literacy and reading education in Europe in a constantly changing global context with increasing literacy demands calling for a lifelong and a life-wide development of literacy. The article outlines elements of effective literacy education for adolescents in Europe.     

The cultural responsiveness of teacher candidates towards Roma pupils in Serbia and Slovenia – case studies

In many countries, there is a growing need for teacher awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences, what is often called culturally responsive teaching. This is why teacher education institutions are making significant efforts to require student teachers to enrol in courses that focus on understanding, tolerance and acceptance of differences in others. Determining beliefs of student teachers towards the diversity of pupils at the onset of their studies is critical for providing teacher education that more efficiently challenges implicit beliefs and biases. The main objective in this paper is therefore to determine the initial beliefs of student teachers concerning the Roma population, Europe’s largest ethnic minority. Research was conducted at the Faculty of Education at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia and the Teacher Training Faculty at the University of Belgrade in Serbia. The results of the study suggest that most student teachers are in favour of schooling Roma pupils in regular schools; however, most of them would not like to have them in their classes. Most student teachers are aware of the discrimination against Roma pupils in schools; however, they are not ready to engage in closer interactions with Roma families. The implications of these findings for teacher education programmes are subsequently discussed.     

Gypsy children,space, and the school environment

This article draws on data generated from a 3½‐year ethnographic study of the interface between Gypsy culture and the educational system in England. The evidence suggests that Gypsy children have distinctive spatial orientations that are embedded in their own culture and life experience. These relate to issues revolving around degrees of nomadic and sedentary lifestyles, and also around spatial awareness deriving from the site environment. In combination, these features have the potential to make the transition between home and school problematic. Moreover, the utilization of space by Gypsy children is often misinterpreted within schools, being at odds with, and constituting a challenge to, the structured social space of the school environment. In view of the multiple meanings of space, this raises issues about the lack of flexible responses in institutional contexts.     

The teacher education curriculum and the world of work: A study of teachers of disadvantaged children in Nigeria

A key element in the current attempt to actualise the goals of the Dakar Framework of Action for Education for All in Nigeria is the broadening of access to education for disadvantaged groups. These groups include: nomadic pastoralists; migrant fishermen; and out-of-school children and youth. Special educational programs are being provided for them so as, inter alia, to: integrate them into the mainstream of Nigeria's social and political life; disseminate modern occupational and life skills; and promote cultural renewal based on reconstructionist principles.The major concern of this paper is to analyse the teacher education curriculum in Nigeria vis-à-vis the concrete existential realities in which teachers of these disadvantaged groups teach. It critically examines the extent to which the curriculum prepares teachers for the world of minority children, particularly the realities of the schools and the cultural contexts within which teaching takes place. To what extent has the teacher education curriculum adequately prepared teachers for the realities and challenges of teaching disadvantaged children? What do the teachers themselves think of the training they have received? How have their experiences as teachers of disadvantaged groups influenced their sense of marginalisation, professionalism and sense of worth? These questions are posed using quantitative and qualitative strategies so as to determine the level of congruence or incongruence between the existential realities of teachers’ work and the teacher education curriculum. Finally the paper highlights the suggestions made by the teachers sampled for this study about how to reform the teacher education curriculum in order most effectively to address the peculiarities and challenges of the cultural and educational contexts in which they work.     

Self-esteem: A cross-cultural comparison of British-Chinese,White British and Hong Kong Chinese children

Total raw self-esteem scores of 1303 children, including Chinese children in Britain and Hong Kong and White British, were assessed by using the Self-esteem Inventory developed by Coopersmith (1967). Across all samples, the results show little differences between children of different ages, whereas statistically significant differences occur in the independent variables of ethnic groups, gender and educational aspiration. Despite the social disadvantages that the UK Chinese may face, they have significantly higher self-esteem than their Hong Kong Chinese counterparts, but have little differences from their White peers. This indicates that they are likely to have positive feelings and academic confidence in being themselves and as part of the host society. In contrast, Hong Kong children tend to have low levels of self-esteem, which may be caused by the more self-effacing and modest values in Chinese culture, a traditional authoritarian style of education or highly competitive pressures created by schools, families and society.     

Latin American immigrant women and intergenerational sex education

People of Latin American descent make up the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the USA. Rates of pregnancy, childbirth, and sexually transmitted infections among people of Latin American descent are higher than among other ethnic groups. This paper builds on research that suggests that among families of Latin American descent, mothers have a particularly strong influence on the sexual attitudes and behaviours of their children, yet that parents of Latin American descent communicate less with their children about sex than parents of other ethnic groups. It examines the messages about sex women received as children in their countries of origin, and how these messages and their views of the USA influence the sexual education women provide for their children. On the basis of data from focus groups, we suggest that, in spite of the persistence of sexual silence, some women's self-reflective analyses of their own sexual education as well as their views of the USA as a sexually more open society contribute to their views of silence as dangerous and trigger more open communication with sons and daughters. Mothers hope to break the cycle of unwanted pregnancy by speaking with daughters about the consequences of menstruation and with sons about contraception.     

Evaluations of child transgressions, disciplinary choices, and expected child compliance in a no-cry and a crying infant condition in physically abusive and comparison mothers

OBJECTIVE: Several components of a social information processing model of child physical abuse were tested. Abusive and comparison mothers' evaluations of children's transgressions, choices of disciplinary techniques, expectations for children's compliance following discipline, and appraisals of the appropriateness of disciplinary choice were examined in a no-cry and a crying-infant condition. METHOD: Thirty physically abusive and 30 matched comparison mothers were individually matched on ethnic background, age, education, marital status, number of children, and cognitive ability. Mothers were asked to respond to questions related to vignettes describing children engaging in moral, conventional, and personal transgressions. RESULTS: As predicted, abusive, relative to comparison, mothers evaluated conventional and personal, but not moral, transgressions as more wrong, used more power assertion (physical and verbal force), expected less compliance from their own children, and appraised their own disciplinary responses as less appropriate. In contrast to expectations, there were no group by cry condition interaction effects on any of the study measures. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide additional support for the view that abusive, relative to comparison, mothers are different in their evaluations and expectations of their own children's behaviors and that they more frequently select aversive disciplinary techniques. However, given the lack of an expected differential impact of a stressful condition on the cognitions and disciplinary choices in abusive mothers, additional research is needed.