There is broad conceptual consensus that the effectiveness and efficiency of early childhood intervention (ECI) for vulnerable children is correlated with the active involvement and full participation of parents. This requires a general understanding of each family's needs and desires and specific strategies for determining what each family needs…

This qualitative study used focus groups to identify the knowledge about the "Arts du Cirque" Program implemented in a primary school and to explore perceptions of its impacts. Data are based on the discourse of school staff members, parents and other members of the community of an elementary school. The impacts on students are…

The effect of a combined teacher-parent behavior management program on inappropriate behaviors in the school and in the homes of five preschool handicapped children is evaluated. The teacher/trainer collaborated with the parents to select a target behavior (finger chewing, cup throwing, screaming, spitting, hand licking) for each child. Training…

The interrelationships between child and family outcomes can best be understood within an ecological perspective of psychological, social, and economic factors. Based on work with a group of early education and intervention projects with a two-generation focus, this paper proposes a conceptual framework for defining and assessing the impact of…

Parental involvement in schooling has been shown to bolster student performance. However, eliciting parents' participation in their children's schooling has proven to be an elusive task, particularly among parents from lower socio-economic and ethnic minority backgrounds. To encourage parent involvement in the school setting, an intervention that…

Findings of a study that evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of 10 state-authorized parent education and involvement pilot programs in Texas are presented in this paper. Data were derived from demographic report forms, 369 parent opinion surveys, student opinion surveys, 105 teacher opinion surveys, cost surveys, and final evaluation…

This paper reports characteristics of mothers in a special needs preschool program and describes features of the program. Children in the program range in mental test performance from untestable to superior and in severity of problem from mild to severe. The program provides informal assessment and parent staff discussions along with opportunities…

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on the parent-school partnership, especially in early childhood settings, but the effects on parents are less clear than the beneficial outcomes for children. This study considers two prominent conceptions of the influence processes in family-school partnerships in Israel: an educational…

A study was conducted to implement and evaluate the Transparent School Model for improving parent involvement in nine Indiana schools. The Model uses computer-based voice messaging to exchange information between teachers and parents. Teachers record a brief message for parents that describes what was taught, special learning events, homework…

The Rotorua Energy Charitable Trust with support from the Ministry of Education funded a home and school literacy project in nine Rotorua primary schools. The project funded each school to train a home-school liaison worker (either a school staff member or a community person) to assist schools in developing a working partnership with the students'…

This paper presents data on the Parent Education model of Project Follow Through as one example of the impact of Follow Through on education in the home and school. It is reported that data from ten communities in nine different states indicate a consistent impact in two areas: (1) the home-school partnership and parental teaching behaviors, and…

This article identifies and describes 10 program characteristics considered to be essential for an effective early childhood program. These characteristics include: (1) target specification; (2) procedures for addressing assessed and experientially perceived needs of children and other target groups; (3) realistic goals with measurable outcome…

This project was designed to solicit parental perceptions of Caroline Street Elementary School (Saratoga Springs, New York) in terms of Effective Schools, a method of assessing school improvement. Families (n=334) were asked to provide their perceptions regarding correlational characteristics identified as vital to successful school programs:…

The Accelerated Schools program is a popular school restructuring model that targets at-risk students. To serve at-risk students better under the Accelerated Schools program, schools must establish a governance program in which cadres of school practitioners and community members become involved in the decision making. Decisions of these cadres…

This paper reviews the literature on parental involvement and covers four basic activity areas intended to foster parent participation in the schools: (1) volunteerism; (2) parent school communication; (3) parent education or training; and (4) policy-making. The authors summarize and analyze the objectives and methodologies of the research in each…