The low performance of Chile in the TIMSS 1998/99 international study of mathematics and science achievement was a great disappointment for that country. To investigate the likely causes for low performance in mathematics, this study (1) compared Chile to three countries and one large school system that had similar economic conditions but superior…

This publication presents the following articles: (1) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Develops Student Recruitment and Retention Strategies; (2) Marketer Advises Tech Educators Appeal to Teens' Emotions, Desires to Do Something Important; (3) Digital Bridge Academy Gets At-Risk Students on Paths to Knowledge-Based Careers; (4) Project…

Facing mounting evidence that California has fallen behind on many key indicators of educational performance, policymakers and the public share considerable interest in exploring whether California should expand public funding for preschool education. This expanded funding will be most effective if resources can be directed to their most efficient…

This brief presents the most current data available on the health, education and family well-being of children in California's immigrant families, who represent 51% of the state's total child population. It challenges misinformed and negative stereotypes about children in immigrant families. For example, 85% of children from immigrant families in…

Children benefit academically when parents and educators work together. For this reason, parents' involvement in their children's education is a priority of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." But a strong connection between parents and educators does not come about automatically. Both parties may need to learn new roles and skills…

After dramatic growth between 1970 and 1990, part-time students have formed a large and stable segment of the undergraduate population in U.S. postsecondary institutions (Hussar 2005). In fall 2004, approximately 5.5 million undergraduates were enrolled part time, making up 37 percent of the undergraduate enrollment in all degree-granting…

Research indicates that lower levels of school commitment may be one potential outcome of policy initiatives such as high-stakes testing and exit exams. Such outcomes may lead these policy initiatives to have unintended consequences for students, particularly racial or ethnic minority students. This study examines whether race or ethnicity…

This study examined unique associations of multiple distal context variables (family socioeconomic status [SES], maternal employment, and paternal parenting) and proximal maternal (personality, intelligence, and knowledge; behavior, self-perceptions, and attributions) and child (age, gender, representation, language, and sociability)…

This report examines factors that influenced low-income Mexican-Americans from homes with little formal education to achieve high academic status. Although over one third of students in California's public schools are Hispanic, only a small fraction of these students complete a university education. Fifty Mexican-Americans (30 men and 20 women)…

This study investigated the efficacy of noncognitive variables and academic background as a function of student ethnic group for the prediction of college grade performance and persistence. New freshmen during four consecutive fall semesters were administered the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshmen Survey. The sample included 251…

This case study examines factors that enabled a black female to achieve a significantly higher educational status than her parents. "Susie" was born in 1942 to parents who were poor sharecroppers. Her family included an older sister and three younger siblings. Out of concern for their oldest child who was handicapped, Susie's parents decided that…

Concerned with social settings and correlates of parenting, this volume, the second of four volumes on parenting deals specifically with the biology and the ecology of parenting. The volume consists of 12 chapters as follows: (1) "Hormonal Basis of Parenting in Mammals" (Jay S. Rosenblatt); (2) "Parenting in Primates" (Kim A.…

The Educational Priorities Panel undertook a study to find out how funds are distributed among community school districts in New York (New York) and how resources are distributed to individual schools within the system. District decision making was also studied. In Part I, interviews were conducted in 10 representative school districts to learn…

This conference was designed to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on how parents, teachers, and other concerned individuals can contribute to strengthening the educational support system, and to generate practical information on strategies to improve achievement levels of youth. The first article, titled "Conference Program…

Many have regarded the recent civil disturbances in Los Angeles (California) as a wake-up call, a warning that the deterioration of America's cities, education systems, and public services, and the continuing decline of the underclass may result in a race war that could destroy society. The wake-up call is directed primarily at middle-class black…