The relationships between aspects of mother-infant interaction and both communication and cognitive skills at 1 year of age were examined in 92 African American dyads, of whom 64 were poor. The overall quality of the home environment and maternal ratings of stimulation and elaborativeness were the most consistent correlates of infant communication…

This study compared the effect of two language sampling elicitation contexts, free play and picture descriptions, on variability in the use of African American English (AAE) with 65 normally developing African American children (ages 4 to 6) from lower socioeconomic status homes. Picture descriptions elicited more AAE usage overall, a larger set…

Examined the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires with 96 low- and middle-income parents on their child from 4 to 30 months. Found that percent agreement between a professionally-administered standardized assessment and questionnaires completed by low and middle-income parents was 80% to 91% and 85% to 93%, respectively. (Author/KB)

Summarizes research on parental influences on risk of adolescents becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy. Findings are most consistent that parent-child closeness, parental supervision/regulation of children's activities, and parents' values against teen intercourse decrease risk. Findings about parent-child sexual communication are…

Standardized test results are skewed by family socioeconomic status. Until top-down, corporate-style testing is eliminated, genuine reforms like cooperative learning and multi-age classrooms will be doomed. Citizens should learn about local tests, talk to neighbors, speak out at school board meetings, write legislators, and challenge proponents to…

Examined differences in divorced (n=1,916) and never-married (n=878) single mothers' decisions to participate in Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Divorced mothers were twice as likely to receive AFDC benefits as never-married mothers. Discusses differences in AFDC decision-making processes and suggests ways to move single mothers…

Multiple measures of social behavior were used to evaluate a systematic replication of a conversational multiple-exemplar, self-instructional training intervention with 4 students (ages 14 to 19) with moderate mental retardation and limited social interaction with peers. The procedure was effective in increasing participants' generalized…

Comparing the responses of 6,849 rural and 13,768 nonrural seniors to the High School and Beyond survey revealed only a small difference in the educational aspirations of rural and nonrural youth, which can be attributed to the lower socioeconomic status of rural families, and rural adolescents' tendency to aspire less often to the highest-level…

Longitudinal data on over 1,300 youths, 1965-73, indicate that their participation in the protests of that era was positively related to college attendance, academic achievement in high school, self-efficacy, parents' income and education, and parents' political participation, and to being male, black, urban, non-Southern, and not a fundamentalist…

Uses ethnographic methods to examine cultural norms regarding inclusion and cooperation at a multiethnic middle school serving predominantly working-class Caucasians and Chicanos. The principal's strong leadership and the cultural congruity of socioeconomic norms help explain the high degree of cooperation and inclusion in the school. (SLD)

Presents an overview of science and technology teacher preparation in Asia that emphasizes the educational reforms taking place as influenced by socioeconomic developments and advances in science and technology. (DDR)

Explored 4- and 5-year-old immigrant and nonimmigrant children's words and silences when they were asked about similarities and differences among 4 ethnic dolls. Found that skin color was salient in children's thought processes about appearance and identity. Recommended that educators listen to children's voices and silences to help children build…

Examined the contribution of biological and environmental variables to 11-year-olds' phonological development. Found that temporal lobe (planar) asymmetry, hand preference, family history of reading disability, and SES explained over half the variance in phonological and verbal performance, demonstrating a linear association between cerebral…

This article presents childhood disability prevalence trends and their interaction with economic status. Estimates derived from National Health Interview Survey data (1983-96) indicate a significant increase in childhood disability rates. Analysis indicates a greater risk in single-parent households and a growing relationship between poverty and…

Analyzes British Labour Party policy on educational selection in secondary schools, drawing on Mills's sociological imagination. Education selection figures prominently in distributional processes that (re)produce social relations within society. Achieving egalitarian ends is difficult while retaining consumerist spheres of influence stratified by…