This book shows that inequalities in children's cognitive abilities are substantial from the beginning, with disadvantaged children starting kindergarten with significantly lower cognitive skills than their more advantaged counterparts. These same disadvantaged children are then placed in low-resource schools, magnifying the initial inequality.…

Children today come to school with problems that are markedly different from those of only a generation ago. Because school is such a large part of a child's life, the school experience is a highly significant factor in the child's life-stress situation. Unfortunately, many of the current practices in the school, far from helping children to cope,…

Despite a voluminous literature on the determinants of adolescent parenthood, little research exists on school-level influences on nonmarital, school-age motherhood. To address this gap, analyses of data from the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) were conducted to determine individual, family, and school-level predictors of nonmarital…

This paper argues for the need to move beyond the paradigm of parental involvement in reading, which presently informs home/school reading programs for linguistic minority children in the United Kingdom (UK). The first part of the paper examines the literature informing the current model showing the marked absence of studies on the role played by…

This study examines middle school teachers', absentee students', and their parents' perceptions of factors related to excessive school absences; perceptions of the degree to which they think they can contribute a solution to the problem; and expectations regarding one another's responsibility for the problem. Data was obtained from middle school…

American Indians experience many problems related to alcohol misuse. However, there are prevention approaches that work to reduce risk of alcohol misuse among American Indians. With regard to the way prevention workers carry out their work in American Indian communities, programs must emerge from the community, prevention workers must demonstrate…

When the "theory of incompatibilities" was first elaborated more than 30 years ago, it identified five characteristics that schools needed to address to improve migrant education, but it failed to recognize the moral and cognitive strengths elicited in many youth by the harsh migrant experience. The theory posited five interdependent…

This study tracked the careers, over 2 years, of 193 young English people (particularly at-risk groups) after their permanent exclusion from mainstream schools during 9th, 10th, or 11th grade. The study investigated the impact of pre- and post-exclusion processes, provisions, and outcomes on these young people's life-chances and wider indicators…

Based on nearly 500 interviews and qualitative case studies of families in inner-city Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), this book reveals how parents and their teenage children managed different levels of resources and dangers in low-income neighborhoods and how families and communities contributed to the development of the children. The chapters are:…

Results of three national surveys suggest that the prevalence of drinking was lower in nonmetropolitan areas than in metropolitan areas. However, nonmetro and metro areas were similar in the presence of risk for heavy, dependent, and problem drinking. Therefore, they probably share similar risks for health consequences of such levels of…

This book contains statistical data on the gaps related to gender and ethnicity on the entrance and attainment of postsecondary science and engineering education. The report analyzes the gender differentiation and female participation in science and engineering education beginning from early childhood. Self-esteem is one of the focus points of…

Home and family conditions were found to have an effect on verbal interaction patterns between mothers and persons in the home. (Authors)

Factors identified and analyzed included (1) sex of students, (2) time of day when mother was employed, (3) professional or nonprofessional status of mother, and (4) students' attendance records. Results indicated maternal employment does not affect student achievement. (Author/EK)

The author examines the breakdown in family communication, the parent youth ideological gap, and the issues affecting family polarization. He suggests that the generation gap may be an issues gap and briefly explores the possible role of the social worker in dealing with such differences. (Author)

Research supported in part by grant no. MH-12600-01 from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.