Reports on a longitudinal study of four toddlers and the relationship of the development of moral awareness to maternal communications. Concludes that a 17-18-month period is a crucial transition period and calls for research into the relationship between emotional development and moral awareness. (CFR)

In production-function studies, inputs (like teacher salaries) trump inputs contributing directly to educational output (like books or instructional materials). Educators prefer inputs that benefit them. Parents have been insufficiently strong on behalf of books. Increasing parent influences over expenditure allocations might increase schools'…

Investigated parenting as a protective process for school success in African-American 6- to 11-year olds from homeless families. Found that close parent/child relationships and high parent involvement in the child's education were associated with academic achievement and positive school behavior. Parent intellectual functioning, educational level,…

Studied influence of close friends, parents, and individual characteristics on adolescent drug use. Found similarity across European-, African-American, and Chinese adolescents in high-sensation-seeking and low-authoritative parenting associated with higher rates of drug use. Close friends had influence on Chinese and European Americans.…

Analyzed individual developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems (DBP) between 3.5 and 6.0 years for children of adolescent mothers. Found that DBP decreased with age. Boys and children of more depressed/anxious mothers exhibited higher levels of DBP. Maternal negative control was associated with level of DBP and change rate, and…

A study of 60 preschool, kindergarten, and first grade teachers found significant relationships among teachers' beliefs about how children learn; their views on the goals of early childhood education; their positions on policies related to school entry, testing, and retention; their satisfaction with current practices, and pressures for change;…

A study of 19 northern Michigan Ojibwa families found that children's academic and social performance in elementary school was positively affected by mother's traditional Ojibwa values, particularly sharing, other-centeredness, harmony with nature, noninterference, and focus on extended family. Father's values did not significantly affect…

Longitudinal study from early through late adolescence investigated gender differences in relation between internalizing symptoms of depression and anxiety reported by adolescents, and emotional distress and marital discord reported by mothers. Found that gender differences emerged in midadolescence, by which time parental disturbances were…

Described results of the alteration of Hyson and Lee's Caregiver's Beliefs about Feelings questionnaire for use with parents in order to assess emotional understanding of children. Found mothers' developmental beliefs scores were positively related to mothers' negative emotional expressiveness, and mothers' emotion language scores were positively…

Investigates roles of parents in transmitting political values and attitudes to their children. Collected data from 275 households (n=275 adults and n=387 children) participating in a 1994 political values and attitudes study. Parents' gender, political activity, socioeconomic status, and family environment have an impact on degree of parent-child…

Identified predictors that discriminated between nontraditional and traditional career aspirations in eighth-grade female students (n=930). Results indicate that educational aspirations, parental expectations, self-reported grade point averages, and science proficiency were the best discriminators between the groups, and that differences across…

Asserts that literacy learning begins in infancy and that no age is too young to be read to. Recommends that parents begin reading to their children early, that they read for short periods, and that they read often. Includes a list of books for newborns and infants. (BGC)

Examined racial socialization processes among 94 African American parents of 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-grade children as they were predicted by children's ethnic identity exploration and unfair treatment, as well as by parents' ethnic identity and discrimination experiences. Findings suggest that parental factors are most central in the racial…

Examined association between infants' emotional reactivity and reliance on mother and cognitive and language development at 2 years. Found that infants with high reactivity and reliance on mother during emotion challenges had higher cognitive and language skills than infants with low reactivity and reliance. Poor developmental outcomes were…

The purpose of the present study is threefold. First, the author aims to determine how middle and high school students would perceive and classify a set of homework purposes drawn from relevant literature by conducting an exploratory factor analysis to ascertain the underlying factor structure of these homework purposes. Second, the author…