Parent involvement has been shown to be one of the keys to student educational success, their ability to perform at a high level and persevere. The latest government statistics reveal that 53 million Hispanics now reside in the United States and 75 % of this population speaks Spanish at home [Cooper, M. (2014). "Hispanics in America and in…

This article documents the experiences of two American professors who have taught in China and describes the similarities and differences between their students at home and abroad. Brian Coppola, who taught organic chemistry at Peking University (PKU), observes how the strengths in science preparation that Chinese students achieve in their…

This article reports key findings from a project that focused on the academic literacy development of children who are born and/or begin their formal schooling in Canada but are raised in homes where the societally dominant language is not the primary idiom. Analyses involved characterizing students' home ecological environments; assessing the…

This "Handbook" offers a broad definition of family and community engagement, seen through the lens of scholars and practitioners with a wide-ranging set of perspectives on why and how families, communities, and schools collaborate with one another. Taken together, the chapters in this "Handbook" sketch out the components of a…

Comparison of 272 U.S. and 219 Korean seventh graders showed that those who had homework preferences often were not able to do their homework the preferred way. Students in the two countries had substantially different homework preferences and styles, many reflecting different cultural behavior norms. (SK)

Cultural differences in the amount of time spent on homework and in beliefs and attitudes about homework were investigated through interviews with elementary school students, their mothers, and their teachers in China, Japan, and the United States. (PCB)

This article discusses student pressure as a subject of debate. The latest debate about schoolwork is being fueled by three recent books: "The Homework Myth" by Alfie Kohn, "The Case Against Homework" by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish, and "The Overachievers", by Alexandra Robbins, which depicts overextended high…

A study tested the generally accepted theory that low income children fail to achieve adequate levels of literacy because there is a vast discontinuity between home and school in the functions of literacy, language, and the nature of typical teaching/learning experiences. Thirty-two elementary school children were studied. Parents and teachers of…

A study was conducted to provide a profile of variables related to the status of students at risk of failure in public high schools in the American-affiliated Pacific region. This report, which is supplemented by four political entity-level studies published separately, gives an overview of the entire study. Throughout the four entities (American…

As part of a larger study examining students' attitudes toward schoolwork, this study examined the relationship between Caucasian- and Chinese-American children's attitudes toward schoolwork and their gender, socioeconomic status, age, school achievement, and school attainment value (the importance they placed on doing well in school). The study…

The degree of parental awareness of their children's homework style and homework behavior and its effects on academic and homework achievement and homework attitude were investigated in 329 Chinese fifth graders (172 boys and 157 girls) and 244 seventh graders (130 boys and 114 girls) and their parents in Hong Kong. Parental awareness of their…

Family interaction and home socialization concerning education issues were described for six Mexican-American families in California with six children in grade two. The strengths of the families have important relevance for education, regardless of the different ways the parents exercised their roles, particularly with regard to homework. (SLD)

A discussion of why Asian students rank high on international assessment tests in science and mathematics reveals that Asian schools stress rote memorization and test taking to the extent that children don't have the opportunity to be children. The U.S. educational system's encouragement of critical thinking and nonacademic activities contributes…

Because rural Alaska educators were skeptical of the applicability to their teaching situations of various educational research results, researchers randomly surveyed rural Alaskan teachers to provide background information for the Rural Effective Schools Project and for educators who want to help rural schools increase their effectiveness. Three…