The study examines ethnically and linguistically diverse parents' learning in an eight-week Math for Parents course on fractions, decimals and percentages. Analysis of classroom observations, interviews, focus groups, written feedback, videotapes, and task-based/clinical interviews provided rich data yielding findings about both parents' affective…

Reports on research into how parents take strategic action on their children's behalf to increase their educational opportunities. Presents two cases that reveal strikingly different responses to school-imposed literacy practices. Examines specific literacy practices that are honored and dishonored in the name of "parental involvement." (NH)

This paper reports on a study that consists of the analysis of the discourse of mother-child dyads (N=32) as they interacted during the performance of three science activities that increased in difficulty. Partial dialogues of three high achieving dyads during the solution of the task are presented and examined for evidence of semiotic uptake. The…

Parents have a vital role to play in their children's literacy education, but too often schools have been the domain of teachers, and have offered opportunities for parental involvement that are little more than token efforts. Parent involvement is important for parents' and their children's learning, and is useful in facilitating changes in…

Using three waves of a cross-sequential, longitudinal study of elementary school students, their families, and their teachers, this study documented patterns of use of parent involvement strategies across grades 1 through 6 using teacher and parent reports. The results indicated that, in general, teachers reported infrequent use of parent…

This study examined parental influence on children's cognitive skills by investigating characteristics of parent-child interaction in two tasks that required strategic activity and within which instruction in metacognition could occur. Subjects were 60 third and fourth grade girls and their mothers, who were divided into 2 experimental groups and…

This study investigated whether Mississippi's Parents as Teachers (PAT) program was advancing parent involvement in children's learning at home and when children entered formal schooling. It focused on whether there were differences in frequency of school participation and in levels of engagement in home learning activities between parents who had…

A set of parent-child math activities designed to help busy, working parents do math with their children as part of everyday situations such as cleaning up and making dinner included basic steps, variations, and information on working with children were developed for families with elementary grades children aged approximately 5 to 11 and…

This paper describes The Talk to a Literacy Learner (TTALL) program, which was designed to introduce parents to a broad range of literacy practices, and to offer parents an effective way to talk with other parents about specific literacy practices that have helped empower their children to cope more effectively with the demands of schooling. The…

Thirty-four boys and 31 girls in grades 2, 4, and 6 were asked about seeking help with mathematics and reading from their parents, teachers, and classmates. Results, discussed in terms of sex and age differences, suggest that low achievers know they need help but hesitate to ask for assistance. (SLD)

This study examines the manner in which primary schools, particularly at the school entry level, negotiate the process of parent-school collaboration in New Zealand. Parents' and professionals' attitudes about what parent roles are appropriate are also studied. The study describes the present range and levels of contact, and the amount of effort…

The effects that peer interactions in an adult mathematics classroom have on the children of women returning to study mathematics were explored in a case study of seven Australian mothers who had school-aged children and who had returned to study mathematics in Australia's technical and further education sector. During the 12-month study, the…