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…

Even though enrollment in elementary schools and national literacy rates have increased greatly in India since its independence in 1949, the number of dropouts and illiterate individuals will also continue to increase unless the needs of the socially disadvantaged are identified and met. The majority of the dropouts and the illiterates belong to…

Personal narratives of 20 middle-class Japanese preschoolers, half of them 4 years old and half 5 years old, and their mothers were analyzed using stanza analysis and high point analysis. The patterning in stanzas yielded the following: (1) with regard to the proportion of three-verse stanzas, there were no differences between the groups of…

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)

Summarizes a study examining the dynamics of a set of (British) education markets over a 39-month period. Secondary schools in three adjacent local education authorities served as laboratories for researching choice and competition. The market's disciplinary effects are clear. The education market reinforces opportunity advantages of middle-class…

Using the Paternal Involvement in Childcare Index, examined father involvement in caregiving and the socialization of preschool-age children in 40 Thai and 24 American families. American fathers were more likely than Thai fathers to be involved in child care and the socialization of their children. (MDM)

Considers discussion-based parents' forums at two British secondary schools. Each school has attracted an elite group of white, middle-class professional women with limited decision-making power that remains unconnected to the wider parent body. It is difficult for controversial parental issues to be heard. (Contains 39 references.) (MLH)

Explores the social class/parental agency relationship by analyzing findings of a qualitative research project exploring parental voice in British secondary schools. A typology of parental interventions illustrates differentials in parents' access to and deployment of social, cultural, and material resources. Occupational pathways and spatial…

Investigates vocabulary acquisition in the context of joint picture-book reading in mother-infant dyads. Infants aged 17 to 22 months and their mothers, 20 middle-class and 20 lower-class dyads, were observed. In both groups interaction foucused on the eliciting or the provision of information. Results indicate several social class differences in…

Improvements in transfer and retention of skills learned in parent education programs were hypothesized to occur if the learning process provided for the "discovery of personal meaning". Data from 28 parents revealed that parents in the personal meaning approach demonstrated more effective learning and retention. Few changes in attitude…

Ten normal white babies of middle class parents from the United States and 11 from Holland were observed for one 3-hour period every 2 weeks for the first 3 months of life. The observation form called for an observation about every 5 minutes, about 36 observations per visit. Although all the data on the American babies have not been completely…

This study investigated the function of cooperation between parents and teachers, the needs of teachers and parents regarding cooperation, and the quality and form of cooperation that is most satisfactory to parents and teachers. Discussions generated by the investigation indicated that parents entertained widely differing opinions about school…