After controlling for socioeconomic status and ability, social sex roles and processes of identifying with them were compared to gender-related achievements and aspirations of 3,154 Israeli students from two ethnic groups. Findings indicate that as girls mature, their rates of achievement and progress decrease, while those of boys increase. (TJH)

Reviews the research presented in this issue and its implications for classroom practice. The topics include sex-role stereotyping and cultural diversity in award-winning picture books for children; children's storytelling; parent involvement and quality of day care; cultural-familial predictors of children's metacognitive and academic…

An exploratory study examined the origins of children's motivational patterns in the family by observing 10 helpless and 11 mastery-oriented third graders. Findings are consistent with the hypothesis that mothers of mastery children may socialize their children's achievement motivation. (SLD)

Studies the extent to which nine significant persons in the lives of Anglo American and Mexican American academically successful university seniors influence their pursuit of university studies. The differences between the two groups of the nine persons were attributed to the cultural and socioeconomic differences of the two ethnic populations.…

Reports on a study of the relationship between achievement motivation at school and child-rearing practices. Finds that more motivated children live in more rigidly structured families. Suggests more research on the differential influences of social context and gender. (CFR)

Discusses ways to assess patterns of family interactions that influence adolescent career development. Encourages school counselors to investigate the possibility that extremes in family patterns of adaptation, cohesion, and communication may have a significant negative impact on adolescent career development. Timely assessments and interventions…

Examined whether sixth graders' adjustment to the school context (assessed by grades, achievement scores, and disruptive behaviors) was affected by factors from both the family context (as represented by the number of divorce-related parenting transitions and perceptions of current family climate) and the peer context (represented by peer norms…

Discusses reading and writing activities in a foreign language. Implications of emergent literacy research for foreign-language instruction focus on when to initiate these activities, what sorts of literacy materials to use, what kinds of tasks to utilize and how to direct novice foreign-language learners. (46 references) (CK)

Reviews literature on links between parenting and children's cognitive competence, proposing that social and emotional adjustment might play a critical role in mediating the relationship between these variables. Describes a program of research on family functioning, emotional distress, self-restraint, and academic performance. Explores future…

Home interviews with 30 Puerto Rican families in eastern Pennsylvania revealed that parents of higher-achieving children in grades K-2 preferred that their children have a native-language environment at home and in school to a greater extent than did families of lower-achieving children. Contains 48 references. (TD)

Examines public attitudes toward parental discipline practices, incidences of parental practices, the public's support for and involvement in child abuse prevention efforts, and the public's perceptions of causes of child maltreatment. Found that most persons view physical punishment and repeated yelling and swearing at children as harmful.…

Summarizes research-based information on discipline and classroom management in Turkish schools and proposes intervention strategies. In Turkey, child-rearing and teaching practices are mainly authoritarian. More must be done to foster communication and relationship-building among teachers, students, parents, and administrators, since safe schools…

Studied is the validity of a theoretical model of achievement behaviors of 746 eighth grade students. Hypothesized effects of value of mathematics and expectations for success were not apparent. Direct influences on achievement for male were prior achievement and value, but for females, influences of difficulty, male domain stereotyping, and…

For 152 children, intelligence scores were assessed at 4 and 13 years of age, and the number of factors out of 10 social and family risk factors was counted. The presence of multiple risk factors in children's lives explained up to half the variance of children's IQ scores at 4 and 13 years. (MDM)

Presents a quantitative study of the development of a theoretical model of drop-outs from distance education courses. Data collected by the Distance Education Student Progress (DESP) questionnaire from 1,060 students in Hong Kong investigated how students were able to integrate demands of their academic course with those of families, employers,…