As part of a longitudinal study of children's social development, this study explored preschool home environments of elementary school children who were persistently bullied and victimized by their peers. Subjects included approximately 200 children randomly sampled from predominantly lower and middle socioeconomic populations. One-fourth of the…

This pamphlet guides Hispanic parents in helping their children succeed academically, based on findings from a study of 10 high-achieving Puerto Rican high school students. The students described specific family factors which supported and nurtured their academic achievement. Guidelines for parents are extracted from these factors and include: (1)…

A study investigated language choice within families in a small (population 1,100) Inuit community in rural northern Quebec province (Canada). Since the settlement's formation 40 years ago, the population has become increasingly interethnic, with people speaking a mixture of Inuktitut, English, and French. Subjects were 23 couples with children…

No one denies that students have many more distractions today than in days gone by. The need for family involvement in a child's reading progress joins a surge in American society for parents to take more responsibility for their children's character and in the condition of their communities. Some hints for parents in establishing family literacy…

This paper reports on an in-depth ethnographic study of one Latina attending a predominantly White university. The study focuses on her experiences during the process of earning a graduate degree, the importance of family and cultural influences, and the differences between the path taken by Chicanas/Latinas in higher education and that of…

Representing part of the first phase of a 5-year ethnographic research project, this report investigates the ways in which Puerto Rican families influence their children's school achievement. The report examines the history of Puerto Rico and the migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Puerto Rican community organizations, both local and…

As many as 40 percent of America's school-aged children are at-risk of failure within the current educational system. Many factors outside of school, such as poverty and debilitating parent and family influences, contribute to student failure. Within the school, the most effective factor of intervention for at-risk students is the individual…

This paper examines school, family, and community factors related to the academic success of economically disadvantaged Appalachian students. In two middle schools in Appalachian Kentucky and Tennessee, 245 students who received free or reduced-price school lunches completed the Rural School Success Inventory (RSSI) and a writing sample about…

A study was conducted to determine the relationship of work orientation, as measured by a 45-statement instrument, to family background and socioeconomic condition, work history of the student, and participation in school-supervised work experience. The study used data collected as part of a longitudinal study of 1,063 high school students in 1989…

A longitudinal study called The Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development examined the relationships between the kinds of talk that children experience at home and school at ages 3 and 4 and measures of literate abilities at age 5. Subjects, 87 children in 2 cohorts of 42 and 45 children from low-income families living in the Boston,…

Leaving school early has a dramatic impact on Hispanic girls, because Latinas face greater barriers than males when seeking high-wage jobs and opportunities in postsecondary education. This Digest examines how gender roles, families, schools, and friends influence Latinas in their education and career decisions, and outlines practical dropout…

Intended for use in training staff concerned with building bridges between the family learning environment and Head Start, this guide broadens the idea of "parents as teachers" beyond the instructional role parents play, by looking at the entire family learning environment. Following an introductory section, the guide presents four…

This study examined first- to second-semester persistence of first-time, full-time college freshmen at a public four-year institution, focusing on Tinto's (1993) concept of separation. Data were collected from 689 first-time, full-time freshmen using the Cooperative Institutional Research Program 1995 Student Information Form, and from 411…

This study examined the impacts of student gender, academic achievement (cumulative grade point average), familial influence, and academic aptitude/characteristics on intentional persistence at Grambling State University (Louisiana). The sample consisted of 219 students (188 developmental and 31 nondevelopmental) who had persisted beyond the…

This report uses newly developed techniques of statistical analysis to assess the separate and joint influences of home, school, and neighborhood in Lothian (Scotland, United Kingdom) and to show that deprivation in each of these areas depresses young people's educational attainment. The results reported here come from the first phase of a…