By the middle of the 21 st century, the minority population will have grown from one-third of the U.S. population to more than one half (54%) with more than 60% of the nation’s children expected to be members of minority groups.

There is only one group who can truly be called American “natives;” they are American Indians. All current white Americans are descendants of immigrants who migrated to the U.S. from other countries.

There are 48 million American citizens of Hispanic origin (including the 3.8 million residents of Puerto Rico), nearly half of whom reside in California and Texas. Hispanics are the largest minority population in the U.S. (15%).

Although most of the nation’s immigrants chose to come to the U.S. of their own accord, the vast majority of African Americans were brought to America against their will to perform forced labor or be sold as slaves.

Today, African Americans now enjoy the same legal rights as whites in the U.S. However, it is important to remember that less than 50 years ago African Americans did not have the same human rights as other U.S. citizens.

Asians are America’s second-fastest growing minority group (after Hispanics). The Asian population in the U.S. is projected to increase by 213% between 2000 and 2050, compared to a total population increase of 49% over the same time period.

Although women are not a minority group in terms of their overall population, they have faced significant prejudice and discrimination throughout history.

Women continue to experience inequities with respect to employment compensation. Women with graduate degrees earn only slightly more than men with high school diplomas; $41,995 for women vs. $40,822 for men (Rose & Hartmann, 2004).

Nearly 600,000 same-sex couples reside in the U.S. It is estimated that there are 6 – 9 million children in America who live in a household where there are two gay or lesbian parents (Stein, Perrin, Potter, 2004).

According to the U.S. Census, the wealthiest 20% of Americans control approximately 50% of the total American income; and the poorest 20% controls 4% of the nation’s income.

Although there is more racial and ethnic diversity among college students today than at any other time in the history of the U.S, the college enrollment rates for minority groups are still consistently lower than those of majority students.

In the U.S., approximately 90% of Americans report having a religious preference (Gallup, 2004). While all of the world religions are represented in the U.S., most Americans report they are Christians or Jews (Luhman, 2007).

There are several generations currently living and working side by side in the U.S.: – Traditional – Baby Boomer – Generation X – Generation Y (Millennial)

Born during the years Influenced by the Great Depression, World War I and II

Born during the years Influenced by the Vietnam War, Watergate, and the human rights movement

Born during the years Influenced by Sesame Street, MTV, AIDS, and soaring divorce rates

Born during the years Influenced by 9/11, Columbine, and the collapse of Enron

Personal Interests Personal Values Self-Concept – Self-Esteem – Self-Efficacy Aptitudes or Talents Learning Styles – How we receive, perceive, and process information Personality Traits

Based on studies of gifted and talented individuals, experts in different lines of work, and a variety of other sources, Howard Gardner (1983, 1993) has identified multiple types of human intelligence.

Learning styles refers to differences in learning preferences: – Auditory – Visual – Kinesthetic

One of the most well known categories of personality types was created by psychologist, John Holland (1985). He identified the following six types as being most relevant to an individual’s career choice:

Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventional