Reports that, among 689 first graders, the presence of father or other adult in the household had a beneficial effect on grades, particularly for reading, and this effect was greater and more consistent for Blacks than for Whites. Suggests that parental expectations mediate this effect. Contains 49 references. (SV)

Provides a detailed, month-by-month account of a child's accelerated development from birth to age three. The parents and nannies followed a combined socially interactive and cognitively oriented language enrichment program that was developed to have significant, long-term effects on verbal, social, and cognitive competencies from infancy through…

An analysis of the thematic patterns of young children's writing supports the idea that each child is in the process of constructing personal meaning through writing. The possible influences on these patterns, such as literature, feelings, teachers, art, music, family, television, and peers, as well as examples of first graders' writings, are…

Examined drug use, involvement in problem behavior, and family and peer predictors of these behaviors among Indian and white adolescents in a Canadian urban community. Found the groups had a similar rate for alcohol use; however, Indian adolescents showed higher rates and more frequent use of cigarettes, marijuana, solvents, and greater…

Genetics, family dysfunction, separation/loss, learning disabilities, and lack of social support in school place adolescents at risk for depression. The article shares evidence that documents a link between structured cooperative learning and the resulting stronger social support relationships that evolve as peers help support, respect, and trust…

Reports an exploratory investigation which examined how advice and support from teacher training tutors and school teacher mentors influenced elementary student teachers' classroom practice. Mentors significantly influenced the content of curriculum students taught. Tutors were more influential on deciding how to teach. Friends and relatives were…

This review examines research that has investigated the complexities of the associations among families, schools, and children's school outcomes. General categories of studies are (1) social-arithmetic environmental research; (2) family and school structural characteristics; (3) the environmental press of families and schools; and (4)…

Summarizes four projects that attempt to use cultural resources for instruction, each in a unique way. Suggests that these projects serve as catalysts to challenge the status quo by creating conditions and activities for novel uses of literacy. Highlights the important mediating functions of literacy, especially in two languages, in helping…

This case study of families of normal private preparatory school students and families of substance abusing/mood disordered students examines the relationship between substance abuse and mood disorders and the following factors: parental marital discord, degree of family satisfaction, and family problem-solving styles. Results showed that all…

Developmental changes and individual differences in children's conceptions of transgression were studied in 46 children from preschool through 1st grade. Differences in response to moral transgressions in kindergarten were related to mothers' control management and to siblings' friendly behavior in the preschool period, early understanding of…

Tested the relative influence of relationship variables in the family of origin and sexual abuse characteristics in predicting the long-term adjustment of child sexual abuse survivors. Subjects (n=103) completed self-report measures. Persons with histories of sexual abuse reported greater parental conflict than did their nonabused counterparts.…

Content analysis of dropout literature, 1984-88, identified school, peer, home/family, and intrapersonal variables related to dropping out, which were used in questionnaire development. The 269 out of 475 randomly selected American Council on Rural Special Education members indicated 11 dropout causes that should be national priorities for…

Reviews theories about heavy alcohol and drug use among American Indians. Presents path models linking drug use of Indian and non-Indian adolescents to socialization characteristics: family strength and attitudes, religious identification, school adjustment, and peer drug associations (the most important factor). Lists risk factors for Indian…

Intelligence quotient (IQ) test performance is reported for 93 families restudied 10 years after the Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study in 1975. Results for 426 subjects support the original finding: being reared in the IQ test culture and prevailing school culture benefits all children's IQ scores and academic achievement. (SLD)

Comments on Scarborough and Dobrich review in this issue (PS522390), which found that parents' shared book reading with preschoolers accounts for only 8% of the variance on literacy outcome measures. Addresses the following three points: (1) the merits of further attention to shared book reading; (2) improvements in methodology; and (3) the…