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Examines comparative patterns of educational and racial assortative mating or homogany among married and cohabiting couples, and evaluates whether women and men trade in socioeconomic status and racial caste prestige. Lists several findings, including married/cohabiting couples are highly homogenous with respect to race and education. Suggests research can no longer ignore the different mate selection processes of cohabiting couples. (Author/JDM)

Black underrepresentation in college enrollment and degree attainment can be seen as symptomatic of broad societal structures that have perpetuated inequality of socioeconomic and educational opportunity. This study examines a low-income black neighborhood to discover the extent to which blacks think of themselves as members of a subordinate caste and the effect of these feelings on their living and academic strategies. Among theories attempting to explain black underrepresentation in higher education, those centering on black culture, slavery and post-slavery experiences, and black family structure are reviewed and rejected. More appropriate is John Ogbu's caste system theory which holds that, being relegated to menial jobs and denied assimilation in American society, blacks have developed a folk theory and subsequent strategies for "getting ahead," which do not encourage perseverance in schooling. Residents of the Franklin Square neighborhood of Baltimore (Maryland) were studied to determine the applicability of Ogbu's theory. The study indicates that Franklin Square residents adopt alternative strategies for "making it" over traditional ones, and that an oppositional relationship to mainstream career paths and daily living patterns is strongly evidenced. In addition, clientship relationships reflect resident attitudes toward the system. Both coping and expressive responses of the Franklin Square community strongly confirm the minority caste thesis and underscore the limited value of traditional educational paths within this framework. The report includes four tables and a list of 95 references. (AF)

A pilot study examined whether there is a "caste system" within the forensics community; what graduate students, faculty coaches, and tournament administrators can do to foster a sense of community and break down the caste system; and the role that formal and informal mentoring can play in this process. A survey was completed by 17 graduate students. Results indicated that a caste system does indeed exist in the coaching community. Findings suggest that students revealed several factors they believe to designate rank among coaches. These factors are team success, personal experience, friendliness, networking, and ethics. Students' suggestions for coaches included increasing social behavior, including graduate students in administrative activities and decisions, and promoting district relationships. Mentoring can include not only a close dyadic relationship between an older teacher and a younger student, but also peer mentoring. (Contains 11 references and a table consisting of the survey instrument and data.) (CR)

States that honest discussions about affirmative action will be impossible as long as those who challenge campus orthodoxy are vilified and silenced. Offers that a commitment to diversity will include respect for ideological diversity and a realization that some critics of affirmative action may properly focus attention on class and caste biases in U.S. higher education. (Author/MKA)

Assessed the social support networks and needs satisfaction of 300 secondary school students of low- and high-caste families in Orissa, India. Found that while children from advantaged sociocultural environments have healthier and more enriching family climates than children from disadvantaged sociocultural environments, the latter group had a higher rate of need satisfaction. (MDM)

Using ethnographic and statistical data, this paper presents a descriptive profile of scheduled caste and tribe women's status in Indian society. Findings indicate that relative to men, women in these groups have far more limited access to both educational and employment resources. (Contains 73 references.) (MDH)

Analyzing the interaction between factors that are stable and factors that initiate change re: promotion of social mobility or crystalization of existing social stratification, this paper presents a case study of Mahi, a rural village in Gujarat, India. Utilizing data derived from two field studies (1961-1962 and March 1967-June 1967), the stable factors are analyzed in terms of the regional ethnolinguistic setting, the sub-regional ecology, and the caste composition of community settlements; the variables which initiate change are analyzed in terms of governmental measures, voluntary association enterprise, and government aided voluntary assistance. Mahi's socioeconomic characteristics are presented in narrative and tabular form and include: caste distribution of adult and student population and occupations; landed and landless households of agriculturalist and non-agriculturalist castes; and land distribution by size of holding and by class category. The political scene in Mahi, before and after introduction of the three tier rural local self-government known as Panchayati Raj (1963), is analyzed in terms of caste and class influence upon the three Mahi cooperatives and the seats filled in the seven Panchayats. In general, this paper indicates that India's established social stratification system has been altered somewhat by governmental policy but that poverty is manifest across all caste lines. (JC)

Provisional conclusions concerning the interpenetration of social and physical aspects of rural planning research, conducted by the School of Planning (Ahmedabad, India) are considered in this report. Three principal elements whose implementation and maintenance determine physical development are identified: (1) improvements in infrastructure; (2) effective resource utilization; and (3) alternative employments for land, labor, and capital. The outstanding conclusion from the village studies and documentations is described as a general lack of effective organization for the implementation and maintenance of the elements, which the traditional patronage system of administration no longer provides. Coordination of local development efforts of marketing cooperatives, national political and social welfare organizations, and collective land ownership societies are suggested as functional alternatives to the ineffective traditional system, with education in administration being a necessary prerequisite for successfully implementing land redistribution. Case material on the partly-tribal Panchmahals District of northeastern Gujarat, including discussions of land holdings, caste and crop production, indebtedness, and agriculture and government development activities are included for the sake of illustration. (JD)

In many countries today it has become increasingly common for educational planners, administrators, and practitioners to more carefully attend to the needs of ethnic, class, caste, and other minority groups for increased access to and participation in schools. Schools are thought to be important institutions in this regard as they are perceived by subordinate groups as vehicles of social mobility. This paper presents a framework for analyzing school policies as they relate to societal integration in multiethnic societies. The framework points to two cultural and structural tendencies common to the integration process: homogenizing or centripetal and differentiating or centrifugal tendencies. These are apparent in the following examples of school policies: the control of educational decisions; access to schooling; how the early and later schooling experiences are articulated; the curricula; the selection and training of teachers; and the choice of language for instruction in the schools. This paper places the school policies, group tendencies, and societal integration mechanisms into a particular socio-cultural context by discussing four types of intergroup relations based on cultural and structural criteria. Using examples from various countries, based on these four types of intergroup relations, it is shown that overall societal tendencies are reflected in each nation's educational policies toward subordinate groups. (Author/RLV)

This report analyzes discrimination experienced by overseas Indians in the United States, concentrating on those Indians who are listed in biographical dictionaries. Discrimination is reported to exist especially in administrative positions. Despite this, it is concluded that most Indians in the United States, perhaps because of their awareness of the role of caste in India, reject the idea of a protected class status for their group in this country. (WP)

Unofficial estimates suggest that there are a quarter million people of East Indian origin in the United States. This paper focuses on the attitudes of these overseas Indians toward public policy priorities in India. A sample of 1129 people of East Indian origin listed in an ethnic biographical dictionary were mailed a 96-item comprehensive questionnaire. A total of 213 usable questionnaires indicating high, medium, and low priority for specific areas were returned. Tentative conclusions reported include: (1) most overseas Indians do not accord high priority to policy areas relating to freedom of the press and human rights--population control, food production, energy resources, and poverty eradication are of greater concern; (2) the controversial nuclear energy development policy of the Indian government has a very low priority; (3) partisan support among the overseas Indians seems to be associated with their attitudes toward policy priorities in certain areas, but caste origin is clearly a significant correlate. (Author/RLV)

This survey of overseas Indians in the United States concentrates on the "affluent ethnics" within this group. These individuals are described as generally engaged in professional vocations, living in middle-class neighborhoods, and caught in the dilemma between ethnicity and affluence. Many respondents report having experienced employment discrimination; such discrimination is generally correlated with educational background. Despite the persistence of this discrimination, only a minority of those surveyed support a protected class status for overseas Indians. It is also reported that overseas Indians retain a lively interest in Indian affairs, with particular concern for issues such as population control and the eradication of poverty. Included are tables, bibliographic references, and appendices. (WP)

In order to indicate potential income-generating programs for women, 67 women in the river region and selected sites in the Assaba and the Guidimakha were interviewed in 1980 to illuminate effects of the 1970s-80s drought and male migration on Mauritanian women. Hypotheses were based on the drought causing unprecedented disruption to Mauritanian society, women (through male migration) either being abandoned or de-facto heads of households, and the desire of Mauritanian women (whose problems could be presented under one common rubric) for income-generating activities. The focus on income generation and current measures of women's status met obstacles in cultural definitions of work, wealth, and other economic indices. Ultimately the fundamental unit of analysis chosen was the household production unit (galle) and camp. Neither drought nor migration is new to Mauritanian society, and each production system has adapted, after its own fashion, to migration. While cultural and social customs inhibit Mauritanian women from advancing rapidly as income producers, a new household division of labor is forming, although women's control over the products of their labor is evolving more slowly. Findings are region-specific and should not be generalized to the whole population; interviews reported at the end of the document went through two stages of translation and should not always be accepted literally. (BRR)

This paper considers Indian affirmative action policies that provide reservations (quotas) in favor of two disadvantaged groups, the scheduled castes and the scheduled tribes. First, definitions and background are presented. The scheduled castes ("untouchables") are said to suffer from social segregation, and the scheduled tribes from geographic isolation. Constitutional provisions and legislative reservations, intended to uplift these populations and guarantee their representation in government, are discussed. Problems of group membership are then addressed. These problems, it is noted, are complicated by religious teachings and inter-group marriage, and are most conspicuous when individuals apply for civil service positions. The conceptual basis of reservations ("social justice") and their qualitative and quantitative aspects are detailed. The remainder of the paper focuses on jobs and positions, land ownership, and education of scheduled castes and tribes. Much progress is said to have been made, but new social tensions have arisen since the implementation of affirmation action programs. These problems, it is asserted, will not be resolved until the ethnic criterion for affirmative action is replaced by a criterion based on lack of privilege. (KH)

The cross-cultural validity of many models of personality development has been challenged because of their emphasis on Western ideals of individuation, setting goals for oneself, and aggressively pursuing those goals. The model of Hindu society presented in this paper is different. Case studies of two individuals who sought psychological help are used to illustrate the relationship of the individual in Hindu society to the corporate system that determines his goals and shares his destiny. It uses the concept of the individual as operating not alone, but within a social field. This does not mean a total submergence of the person's individuality; rather, it means that obligations to the family and caste come before individual desires and that harmony in relationships must be maintained. When dissonance occurs, restorative measures are available in this system. However, individuals do not always find them personally available or know how to use them even when they are available. In the two cases discussed, these conditions were not met and the individuals used maladaptive strategies instead. (IS)

The values, beliefs, and attitudes of black students in an intermediate school were studied. The cultural factors investigated included the following: (1) academic performance; (2) educational and occupational aspirations voiced by the students and their parents; (3) student behavior displayed in and out of school; (4) educational strategies devised by the students and their parents; and (5) expectations of student academic performance held by teachers and counselors. The findings indicate the presence of a modified caste system that prevents the majority of black students from crossing cultural boundaries and achieving academic success. Although the students generally voiced high educational and occupational aspirations, many aspired to careers in sport and entertainment that they were unlikely to achieve. Many who had lofty occupational goals failed to translate their expectations into appropriate school behavior. Some parents were unable to translate their high expectations into meaningful support. Interactions between students, teachers, and parents were marred by mistrust. Some students crossed the cultural barriers and performed well. Others took an oppositional stance, but most remained passive with regard to academic engagement. (VM)