ABSTRACT
The intersection of conflicting school and family values can result in students either rejecting schooling, forming a culture of resistance, or alienating themselves from their families and peer groups. Many of the educational problems faced by dominated and immigrant groups are a result of the clash between their cultures and the culture of the public school. The cultural values of public schools were institutionalized during their formation in the early nineteenth century and during their adaptation to modern corporate culture in the early twentieth century. The intersection of this school culture with the cultures of dominated and immigrant groups has resulted in inequality of opportunities and a confusion over the goals of schooling. African American culture contains strong values regarding the importance of education while maintaining a level of distrust of white people and dominant institutions. Inequality was cited by the Ute Indians as one of their basic cultural conflicts with white-controlled schools.
