This Spring 2003 issue of the "Learning Point," the North Central Regional Educational Lab's (NCREL) magazine, focuses on the theme "A Call for Evidence Responding to the New Emphasis on Scientifically Based Research." Articles and materials in the issue are: "Wake-Up Call: Facing the Challenge to Use Scientifically Based…

The issue highlights two articles on the topic of legal and educational factors in serving handicapped students. The first, "Governance and Management of Special Education: A Exploratory Analysis of New York City" by N. Bordier, reviews the impact of P.L. 94-142 (the Education for All Handicapped Children Act) on policies and practices…

The parent-teacher conference is a valuable strategy to improve a student's performance. This news brief offers suggestions for developing a "parent friendly" handbook to help parents effectively prepare for teacher-parent conferences. The handbook should include the basic information, a statement that emphasizes the importance of the conference,…

This theme issue on the role of parents in the education of their gifted children contains two feature articles. "'Pushy and Domineering': A Stigma Placed on Parents of Gifted Children," by Lynn C. Cole and Roxana M. DellaVecchia, examines how parents are perceived as "pushy and domineering" when they strongly advocate for appropriate education…

Regardless of the location, the extent of a family's involvement in a child's early childhood program affects how well the child adjusts and how much he or she learns. When families take part in their children's educational programs; children do better in school, and the quality of their education can improve. This 2-page issue of "The Early…

During five meetings conducted in different states by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) to gain insight into the status of 55 parent involvement programs from their organizers and implementors, parental involvement in the secondary education level repeatedly emerged as a shared concern. Following the meetings SEDL…

This concept paper is intended to assist educators to understand why American culture has become so diverse, to review certain guiding principles and related research in effective educational practices for language instruction, and to present a number of instructional implications derived from the research. The recommendations for teachers which…

The "ERIC Review" announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This theme issue is devoted to the topic of "Parent Involvement in Education" and contains three principal articles: "Parents and Schooling in the 1990s," by Erwin Flaxman and Morton Inger; "Parent…

This publication outlines different forms of parent involvement and provides specific examples of innovative practices. The first part summarizes what has already been learned about the difficulties of building parent involvement in schools. Some of the challenges stem from changes in the family structure, lack of family resources, opposition from…

The inservice education learning module described here focuses on developing effective communication between parents and teachers with the intent of imparting knowledge and skills to teachers which help them to involve parents in the education of their children. The kit speaks to the problems of the special needs child but is designed to be useful…

This newsletter offers practical guidelines to parents of children with special needs of ways to get the school year off to a good start. Such children's school-related worries as fears of getting lost or of not making friends are noted. Specific suggestions are offered to help in the areas of school separation, making friends, and school…

This issue addresses the relationship between teachers and parents of handicapped children. It explores how barriers to an effective parent-teacher relationship arise and how best to work toward a better relationship, one in which parents can positively influence the teacher's involvement with them and, in turn, one in which the teacher can…

This article examines a collaborative practice-based research project. It recounts the experiences of a kindergarten teacher as she implemented a program to increase family involvement in education. The text is based on classroom documents, parent meetings, and parent interviews. The setting for the narrative is a Basic School, a type of school…

This issue discusses homework issues related to students with disabilities and how to ensure that students with disabilities benefit from homework. It addresses communication problems teachers face in assigning homework to students with disabilities and recommendations for overcoming these communication barriers. Strategies are provided for…

The school improvement movement during the past decade has, among other things, provided educators with realistic data on how effective schools got that way. One of the most basic findings is that successful schools have five common characteristics: principals who provide strong administrative and instructional leadership; high expectations,…