Reports data on the extent of abuse and neglect (both physical and emotional) in a population of middle-class families. Argues that child abuse and neglect have been studied almost exclusively in working-class communities, particularly socially marginal families. Found emotional neglect predominated over physical aggression because of middle-class…

A factual account of a 10-minute conversation between a husband and wife about their daughter's application to college depicts marital problems. Closer examination reveals the tensions facing the middle class family and the significance to them of academic competition, higher education, comparative generational success, and social acceptance.…

One of the most affluent segments of the population is also one of the least well prepared to face the reality of college costs. It is not the need analysis system that causes difficulty but a combination of rapidly increasing costs and the changing lifestyle of this group. (MSE)

Reports of parenting styles were assessed in 100 mostly white, middle-class, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders and their parents. Adolescents viewed their parents as more permissive and more authoritarian than parents viewed themselves, whereas parents viewed themselves as more authoritative than did adolescents. Differences were primarily over the…

The basic skills movement is viewed as a reaction, by sections of the middle class, to educational changes of the 1960s and 1970s. Curriculum changes during those years threatened the ability of the educated, white-collar worker to pass cultural advantages on to his or her offspring. (PP)

Examines ways in which current United Kingdom school-choice policies interact with parental pressures on their children to achieve excellence and how these pressures affect the emotional health of their middle- and working-class children as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. Finds serious emotional consequences (exam…

Interviews with low-income parents revealed that they were aware of the class character of local schools and believed that high-income schools were superior. Ninety-four percent favored social class school desegregation, believing that their children would thereby obtain a better education and better preparation for social interaction in adult…

Argues that contrary to present notions, both pre-school and child-care facilities are considered important and beneficial by lower income groups as well as by upper- and middle-income groups and that consequently both forms of service should be supported by the Commonwealth Government in Australia. (SS)

Based on data from questionnaires concerning 600 parents' reasons for enrolling their children in nursery school, it is suggested that lower-class parents consider preschool education to be more important for boys than for girls. (Author/GC)

Rebuts Alfie Kohn's article "Only for My Kid: How Privileged Parents are Undermining School Reform" in the April 1998 "Kappan." Kohn expects the author to pay a fortune for a home in an affluent community so his kids can get violence-prevention training and sing "Kumbaya" in a mainstreamed classroom. Earning the right…

Normal, first-born children of two-parent, self-supporting families (N=60) were divided into three groups at birth: control, mothers receiving a specific language stimulation program, and both parents receiving the program simultaneously. Infants whose parents received simultaneous training exhibited the greatest gain over 4 1/2 months in Bayley…

Examines the provider role among middle-income Black fathers. Respondents are moving toward more developmental patterns of fathering with increases in their ability to provide. The provider role is an interface phenomenon making execution of other familial roles possible. Economic provision is essential to all paternal modalities and styles.…

In a follow-up study of paternal involvement in childrearing, it was found, as hypothesized in terms of role theory, that families in which fathers had been the principal caregiver showed least stability in child care arrangements. Also, sex differences and parental attitudes were indicative of varying amounts of paternal involvement in child…

Data from a 1994 longitudinal survey showed that parents' availability for school participation varied widely, depending on income and vacation benefits. At Princeton University, Alan Kruger and Diane Whitman concluded that smaller classes have greater effects on minority students' progress and college entrance-exam enrollment than on whites. (MLH)

Compared conversations of 101 two-hour meetings of long-term mothers' discussion groups, in informal and formal settings, regarding topics discussed and frequency of nonroutine conversation. Found discussion of parent and child topics decreased throughout the year in both settings, while conversations related to income, family, and self increased.…