This issue of the "Early Childhood Bulletin" features extended excerpts of keynote speeches delivered by two parents of children with disabilities at the Partnerships for Progress meeting held in Washington, DC, in July of 1995. Florence Poyadue and Glenn Gabbard both delivered powerful keynote speeches at the Partnership meeting in 1989…

This study examines how neighborhoods, schools, and families can influence the mathematics achievement of eighth graders, using data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study combined with U.S. Census data. These data allow simultaneous analysis of all aspects of students' lives. Results indicate that there are associations between…

The guide, intended for limited-English-speaking Korean parents in the United States and written entirely in Korean, discusses the nature and incidence of sexual assault and offers suggestions for keeping children safe from it. It includes several stories about attempted abduction and sexual assault of children and adolescents, defines sexual…

A study compared the rates of somatic symptoms associated with anxiety disorder in African Americans, Hispanics residing in Puerto Rico, and European American children. A total of 1,285 children were interviewed, along with their primary caretakers. Headaches were the most frequently endorsed somatic symptom, with half of the total sample…

This review of child poverty in rich countries finds that the proportion of children living in poverty in the developed world has risen in 17 out of the 24 OECD nations for which data are available. No matter which of the commonly-used poverty measures is applied, the situation of children is seen to have deteriorated over the last decade. UNICEF…

Participant observation and intensive interviews of fifty people from a rural midwestern community provided information on the importance of women in women's organizations and in behind-the-scenes arenas of local politics and economics. Bringing women into community studies expands the concept of community into private, familial arenas where…

Indicates that while middle-class preschool children may not have fully developed concepts of linguistic terms used in an instructional setting and may not be able to indicate word-by-word matching of spoken and written words, they do have a functional concept for the purpose of reading and writing. (FL)

To test the hypothesis that adolescent females who are high in ego identity have high interests in religious and political values, the relationship between the ego identity status of 80 senior high school females and their response to a survey of values was examined. Results partially supported the hypothesis. (Author/GDC)

A reply to Plomin's critique and some criticisms of Munsinger's review of adopted child literature are presented. Selective bias in adoptee samples, implicit assumptions in models that lead to heritability estimates, and problems produced by lack of an accepted model of environmental transmission are also discussed. (Author/RD)

Rural children are more economically valuable than urban children to parents and are twice as likely to be economically active, although social, familial, and individual differences (such as age, sex, and education) can significantly influence labor force activity. (SB)

Describes a home-visit assignment used in an early-childhood-education teacher-training class to teach the importance of family and cultural context as an influence on child development. As part of the assignment, student teachers document observations in four domains: family structure and history, language use, household activities, and parental…

In 10 families in which parents spoke Navajo and children did not, factors that inhibited the transmittal of Navajo to children were the use of English at home, shame toward the Navajo language and culture, the perception that a "glass ceiling" hindered the job advancement of Navajo speakers, and influence of the media. Suggests ways to…

A study used interactive focus groups to examine the perspective of 71 secondary students with disabilities about their experiences with career development and employment preparation. Results found school vocational experiences did not play a large role in the students' career aspirations. Family members had significant influence over career…

Argues that a change in approach to families of children with special educational needs, including a radical reappraisal of the structure of their role and the style of delivery of early intervention, is necessary and is fundamental to re-establishing the place of early intervention as a valid and valuable resource to families. (Author)

Using a multiethnic sample (African American, Latino, Asian American), examined the degree to which family attachment is related to psychological well-being at the time of college orientation. Analysis suggested that characteristics of secure attachment are negatively associated with psychological symptoms of distress at the time of college entry.…