Patterns of speech from lower socioeconomic status mothers to their infants were analyzed to determine correlations with infant risk of mental retardation. Measures of maternal language included sentence form, amount of speech, and syntactic complexity. The proportion of imperatives was positively correlated with risk status and negatively…

Regression analysis indicates that approximately two-thirds of the variance in boys' vocational aspirations and half the variance in girls' vocational aspirations are accounted for by a model that uses as predictors social class, mental ability, home environment, teacher and parent expectation, and peer aspirations. (Author/IRT)

Presents an interview with Doc Severinsen in which the musician discusses his early introduction to music, the influence of several teachers, and his career in music. Severinsen also discusses the benefits of music education and its future. (MJP)

Examines the family background and late childhood factors that influence the educational attainment of young Latino men. Findings from 419 Latino adolescents include the observation that family background and resources, namely father's income and education, number of siblings, educational resources in the home, and national origin, have a strong…

This longitudinal study examined the relation between the instability of maternal intimate relationships and school behavior of economically disadvantaged third-graders. After ecological correlates were controlled, chronic relationship instability was found to predict externalizing behavior for boys and girls and internalizing behavior for girls,…

Analyses of national longitudinal surveys of students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades indicate that general and specific measures of social capital (attending Catholic school, family structure, parent-child and parent-school interactions) are related to likelihood of dropping out, and that social capital interacts with parents' financial and human…

Describes the ensuing conflict when the book "Daddy's Roommate" was included as part of the preschool anti-bias curriculum. Discusses parent boycott, letters to parents, board discussions, and formation of a committee to propose solutions. Describes the voting plan based on position statements on both sides of the issue and how creating…

Three case studies in southern California explore the effects of parental involvement on a child's reading achievement through the parent's influence over reading group placement. Two Hispanic first-graders improved substantially when their parents took actions explicitly related to reading group placement; a third remained in a low reading group.…

Encourages teachers to share appropriate information about books and reading with parents in order to influence storybook reading in their students' homes. (MG)

Three dimensions of parent style--autonomy support, involvement, and provision of structure--were studied using 64 mothers and 50 fathers of children in grades 3 through 6. Focus was on defining parental influences on children's school-related adjustment and performance. The three aspects of home environment were differentially associated with…

Maps various parental behaviors and activities that influence the career development of adolescents. Findings indicate significant sex differences that favor sons. (FMW)

Describes parent-child activities during storybook reading, suggesting that interactive reading (constructing meaning) is more developmentally enriching than attending to story. Found that Curacaoan mothers were more concerned with child's understanding of story than with constructing meaning. Argues that parents should be trained in dialog that…

Examines educational attainment and percentage of holders of matriculation certificates among foreign-born and Israeli-born adult children of Iraqi and Romanian immigrants who arrived in Israel 1948-51. Discusses patterns of educational attainment in terms of ethnic group differences in socioeconomic resources, within-group social stratification,…

Examined whether children of alcoholic mothers were more psychologically damaged than children of nonalcoholic mothers. The subject families' potential for creating a good upbringing environment and subjects' childhoods were studied. Found that children of alcoholic mothers develop social maladjustment problems and addictions, and have a high rate…

Examined the extent to which maternal linguistic input enabled children to use syntactic bootstrapping. Studied uses of 25 common verbs in speech of 57 mothers to their 1-year olds and 2-year olds. Found that verbs can be used to create informative syntactic frames, syntactic frames can cue appropriate verb class, and multiple syntactic framing…