To encourage widespread parental participation in schools, both lay persons and professional staff should understand the primary assumptions which undergird shared efforts to create a unified, effective system of schooling. Proposed practice for an effective schooling system must be related to: (1) democratic concepts and their presumed strengths…

Discusses the U.S. Department of Education's publication "What Works: Research About Teaching and Learning," focusing on those sections that are most pertinent to the goals and methods of social studies teachers. Reviews and draws implications from its suggestions for improving education at the levels of home, classroom, and school. (AEM)

This biblography presents 187 citations on the topic of homework. Material was located in five general areas: (1) books; (2) viewpoint articles; (3) empirical research; (4) experimental research; and (5) various reviews of homework literature. The range of topics covered in the bibliography include such subjects as parental involvement in…

Survey data from 3,698 teachers in 600 schools in Maryland are used to explore the determinants of teachers' use of parent involvement strategies. Two questions are addressed: (1) How much do elementary school teachers organize their teaching practice to facilitate parent involvement in home learning activities? and (2) Which factors in the…

The "Spanish for Communication" (SFC) materials for foreign language instruction developed by Dr. William Bull are described in this article. Two major components are at the heart of SFC: a teacher's Daily Lesson Plan (DLP) and student programed homework. Now in the fourth year of field testing in the Tacoma (Washington) Public Schools,…