Examined linkages between the family and school social systems as children make the transition to school. Recorded parent-child interactions in a physical play session prior to children's entrance into school. Found that the length of time in physical play was related to social adjustment in school. (MM)

Over half of Canadian Native elementary and secondary students attend public schools. In Ontario, legislative restrictions and the mechanics of the electoral system work against meaningful Native representation on boards of education. Legislative precedents for the provision of group representation for Native peoples are discussed. (Author/SV)

Contends that there has been a movement in Europe away from the concept of didactic or teaching museums to include emotional and intellectual appeals to patrons. Concludes that long-term research is necessary to determine whether people who visit museums as students continue to do so as adults. (CFR)

Questionnaires administered to three groups--one treatment, two comparison--of adolescent females indicated no significant difference in self-concept among the three groups. Significant differences were found in parental attitudes, with the treatment group scoring higher on democratic parenting attitudes than the other two groups. (RJM)

Mothers' ways of structuring conversations about past events are related to children's abilities to structure personal narratives. When mothers provided temporally complex and informationally dense narratives about the past to their 2 1/2-year olds, the children recounted similar accounts a year later. (Author/BB)

Describes the "Unpuffables Program" in which two states tested receptivity to and feasibility of a smoking prevention activity package for fourth through sixth graders and parents. High awareness and participation rates were seen, and "Unpuffables" provided an opportunity to discuss smoking at home, motivating smokers to…

Presents an annotated bibliography of 12 citations of recent reports and conference papers from the ERIC database concerning the many roles parents play in the acquisition and development of language and literacy of their children. (MG)

A study of middle-class mothers who reported teaching their children cognitive and academic, and social and life, skills shows differences in the relative emphasis on each. Results also suggest a need to increase parent education programs on fostering metacognition. (Author/LB)

Studied the transactional relationship between parental support and the development of competence in children. Results indicated a strong effect of parental support on a child's competence in infancy, a gender-differentiated stability of competence from infancy to the end of elementary school, and a relationship between the competence of a child…

Family variables derived from the Family Environment Scale are examined using data from 174 college women at a Pacific Northwest university and 2 universities in Houston (Texas) with varying degrees of bulimia. Subjects' self-reports indicate family dysfunctions, but the study illustrates the complexity of the family's role in bulimia. (SLD)

The effect of perceptions of mothers' and fathers' parenting behavior on gender role development in their college-age daughters is studied for 163 female undergraduates. Perceptions of early parenting behavior have a substantial influence on gender role development. Differences in the relative influences of mothers and fathers are discussed. (SLD)

Reviews research on the effects of television viewing, particularly educational programing, on preschool children. Describes a study conducted in Athens, Greece, of television's impact on language development in kindergarten children; and of the impact of mother's educational level on child's language ability and television-viewing habits. Details…

Analyzed "if" sentences in conversations in the homes and preschools of four-year-old children. Parents and teachers used "if" more often than did children. Children and parents did not differ in the proportion of "ifs" that had the linguistic properties of a conditional premise. (BC)

Suggests ways mothers can strengthen communications with their daughters during puberty to remain a positive influence and describes how to communicate the realities of living and working to reinforce the idea that girls can be anything they want to be. (SM)

Assessed changes in college student behavior regarding alcohol consumption before/after implementation of statewide legislative and campuswide administrative actions to cope with alcohol abuse. Findings showed no major changes in responsible alcohol-related behaviors. Factor analysis of behaviors and consequences, however, led to groupings of…