Based on the belief that learning to communicate is critical for success throughout life, this booklet discusses ways parents can work with their children to provide the experiences and encouragement that will develop this important skill. The booklet's four main sections are: (1) Infants; (2) The Preschool Years; (3) The Elementary School Years;…

This generously illustrated booklet offers practical suggestions for helping young children appreciate the importance of acting responsibly in their everyday lives, and provides ideas and activities for parents to help encourage responsible behavior in their children. After defining responsible behavior and suggesting how parents can encourage it,…

This booklet delineates the actions and attitudes of successful teachers who typically produce skilled readers. Presenting a variety of approaches, the booklet emphasizes that needs created by beginning readers' diverse backgrounds can only be met through a curriculum marked by equal diversity. The booklet outlines those identified characteristics…

This book explores the relationship between British parents and education in the context of education reforms and social changes in family life. The general argument is that the debates about British education reforms and corresponding parental roles have taken place without considering the various social changes that have been occurring in family…

From its inception, Head Start's legislative mandate called for "maximum feasible participation" of parents in all programmatic efforts and policy decisions. Nevertheless, there has been little research done on the benefits of Head Start to parents and on the role of parents as mediators of child and family outcomes. The Head Start…

This booklet offers teachers a variety of ideas and resources to strengthen partnerships with parents. Challenges and reasons for involving families are discussed. Several methods of communication are presented such as written, face-to-face, and technological communications; various ways of doing activities and homework with their children are…

This study investigated the relationship between parent involvement in elementary school and student achievement. Subjects were randomly selected students (from second through fifth grade classrooms in a West Virginia elementary school), and their parents. Parents completed the Parent Involvement Check-up scale, and student achievement was…

Issues in the national school choice debate are examined in this paper. Proponents of school choice have included the last two Republican Presidents, the Education Commission of the States, and many state governors and business community leaders. Gallup polls conducted during 1989-91 indicate that school choice (among public schools) is a popular…

This report summarizes findings by the Parental Resources for Involvement in Migrant Education (PRIME) project on the current status of parent involvement in the Migrant Education Program. The literature consistently stresses the importance of parent and family influence on student achievement. Children from low income and minority families have…

A study conducted in two types of laboratory settings and one school setting tested a model of the development of emotional expression. The model included: (1) societal, peer, and family influences; (2) self-factors, such as physiological, affective, motivation, cognitive, and personality variables; and (3) self-mediators, which act as filters…

This study was conducted to examine the relationships between parental styles and the components of self-esteem that correspond to Damon and Hart's conceptualization of the self. Specifically, high levels of both parental control and parent acceptance were hypothesized to be positively related to self-esteem. Undergraduate students (N=225) rated…

The purpose of this digest is to suggest to parents opportunities and experiences in their daily life that can help to illustrate the integration of science and math. It is hoped that parents will share these and other experiences with their children and the results of these experiences with The National Center for Science Teaching and Learning.…

This study investigated the influence of instrumental music instruction on the academic achievement of fifth grade students. The sample consisted of 270 fifth grade students (135 boys and 135 girls) located in a southwestern Kansas school district in a city of approximately 20,000 people. The independent variables considered were: instrumental…

The effect of the presence of a parent on the frequency and complexity of the social behavior of children at two cooperative preschools was studied. It was expected that securely attached children would explore their environment more comprehensively and competently when a parent was present than would insecurely attached children. Parents…

The most common questions asked by the psychologist who is faced for the first time with assessing a visually handicapped child are answered. (Author)