This guide for trainers offers a comprehensive child-centered perspective on training field workers in early childhood education. The theme of the role of play in child growth, development, and learning runs throughout the guide while its form, a series of structured exercises to help trainers handle all aspects of the subject, emphasizes the…

A quasi-experimental study explored the ways in which the full-day kindergarten program is beneficial and/or detrimental to students compared to the half-day and/or extended-day program. The sample consisted of six full-day schools matched with half-day schools on geographic location, school size, student norm-referenced data, and socioeconomic…

In the past, students who knew only a little English (called limited English proficient, or LEP), were usually taught only low-level science and mathematics. Now, new science and mathematics teaching methods can help LEP students get a good education in both fields. This guide will help parents know if their children are learning as much as…

This report describes the outcomes of research that investigated school reform, school-linked services, parent involvement, and community school programs in schools in 36 states. Results found that services were often added on to school sites without any intent to integrate them with school reform; teachers were not directly involved in services;…

Early onset of at-risk behaviors has been recognized as an important predictor of severity of negative outcomes during adolescence, but little is known about rural children's involvement in such behaviors and related variables. In two rural Midwest counties with high concentrations of child poverty, a survey of 162 predominantly Caucasian fifth-…

The research project described in this paper represents an effort to consider family literacy as an evolving and problematic issue and to study participants' resistance to or misunderstanding of program goals. The project began as an intervention designed to address the increasing number of low-income children entering school without fundamental…

The Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) are intended to measure use of nonviolent discipline, psychological aggression, and physical assault in parent-child and other family relationships. The latter two scales provide a basis for identifying psychological and physical maltreatment. Two revisions of the CTS became available in 1996. One, the CTS2 is…

The paper addresses California state funding of higher education in the context of an anticipated increase in enrollment in the near future. It traces the policies of funding the system from 1990 to 1995. Simultaneous studies in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and New York provide data for comparative analysis. The paper examines factors influencing…

Caminos Bilingues al Exito (Bilingual Pathways to Success), a comprehensive Title VII Bilingual Education program was established in 1995 to serve the 17 schools of the North Area Management District of the Houston Independent School District (Texas). Through teacher training, staff development, parental involvement, and instructional program…

The goal theory of achievement motivation maintains that the goals stressed by schools influence children's self-efficacy and willingness to try hard. This paper examines the applicability of goal theory to a Navajo school and community and widens the focus to encompass a range of potential culturally relevant goals. Interviews were conducted at…

These three guides provide information on the third module of an early intervention program for at-risk kindergartners who show the early signs of antisocial behavior patterns. The third module of the "First Steps" program is a six-week home intervention component that instructs parents in skills for improving their child's school…

In 1996, the effectiveness of New Jersey's Perkins Act-funded single parent/displaced homemaker and gender equity programs were evaluated through a 20-question equity standards survey. The survey was administered to all clients before each program began and 6 weeks after completion of those portions of the programs pertaining to equity standards.…

In August 1993 the Des Moines (Iowa) community created a new type of neighborhood school by placing an elementary school close to where the parents work, rather than where they live. This school, the Downtown School, serves a diverse community of students, emphasizes parental involvement, and implements current research in education. This report…

Drawing on J. Epstein's theory of overlapping spheres of influence (1991, 1995), this study explores the effects of teacher, family, and church support on the school-related attitudes, behaviors, and academic achievement of African American, urban adolescents. To achieve this objective, 826 students in an urban school district in the southeastern…

A structured social skills program was developed for young African American males (N=33), in grades one and two in an urban setting. The study was designed to employ social skills to improve reading and mathematics skills. The students selected had demonstrated previous social skill deficits as determined by a pre-assessment instrument. These…