This paper summarizes and critiques the empirical research of the 1970s and 1980s on identification processes and descriptions of mathematically gifted students, both precocious students who score well on tests and overlooked students with unique ways of doing mathematics. The paper describes students' family backgrounds, behaviors, cognitive…

"Convergent validity" of preliminary Spanish version of Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory was studied. CAP uses ecological-systemic model of child maltreatment to evaluate individual, family, and social factors facilitating physical child abuse. Depression and marital adjustment were measured in three groups of mothers. Results found…

Discussion of social cognitive theory and the role of television focuses on a study that investigated the influences of ethnic group membership and family communication environment variables on adolescents' knowledge, efficacy, and values related to politics. Highlights include the nature of family influences via the media and effects of media…

Examines the contrasting interpretations of reading brought by young children of Bangladeshi origin and their teachers into school. The author questions the universal relevance of western school-oriented models on how reading is learned. Reading programs that are culturally responsive to the varied communities they serve must be designed. (49…

Family variables derived from the Family Environment Scale are examined using data from 174 college women at a Pacific Northwest university and 2 universities in Houston (Texas) with varying degrees of bulimia. Subjects' self-reports indicate family dysfunctions, but the study illustrates the complexity of the family's role in bulimia. (SLD)

This study of 18 highly creative/productive secondary school students reveals subjects' insights into ways they obtained ideas for their projects, how interest in their investigations was sustained, and what they learned from projects. Data from school documents, students, and parents are examined in terms of demographics, family background,…

Studied the relationship of family background and child care quality to preschoolers' cognitive, language, and social development. Concluded that family background variables were significant predictors of children's cognitive and language development, and that child care quality variables significantly predicted social adjustment and were a…

Assessed substance use and levels of perceived family cohesion and adaptability of high school freshmen (N=1,082). Found adolescents who perceived families as extreme on cohesion and adaptability were more prone than adolescents from balanced and midrange families to use substances. Found adolescents from extreme families especially vulnerable…

This paper explores the relationship of personal and family factors to three types of achievement in a sample of 172 African-American and 105 Euro-American women. Results are presented based on questionnaires that assessed gender role attitudes, daydream achievement (Ach), daydream affiliation (Aff), n Ach and n Aff, and demographic profiles. (GLR)

Extensive interviews with 30 working and nonworking mothers (Chicanas and Mexican immigrants) found that immigrants had a broader conceptualization of motherhood that encompassed employment outside the home, whereas Chicanas were more likely to seek an idealized middle-class "stay at home" motherhood and thus experienced more ambivalence…

Discussion of attitudes toward traditional male and female roles and technology focuses on a study of Hong Kong secondary school students that used a Pupils' Attitudes toward Technology (PATT) instrument to investigate perceptions of the difficulty of technology, technology in the curriculum, pursuing technology careers, parents' careers, home…

Every state has accepted Goals 2000 money in some form. This paper discusses what comes along with it, noting that the Goals 2000 Parents as Teachers program sounds wonderful, but many aspects have little to do with teaching and instead invade family privacy to classify students as at-risk (and thus allow the school district to receive more…

Summarizes research findings that challenge long-standing theories of infant cognition and motor development and proposes alternative theoretical models to describe skill acquisition during the first several years of life. Findings are discussed with respect to research in the area of infant speech physiology and production. (Author/CR)

Recounts a teacher's experiences staying with the same group of children for more than one year (looping) as they progress through kindergarten and first grade. Discusses advantages of more stability and less trauma for the child, and more instructional time and less stress for the teacher. Addresses possible disadvantages of children having…

Relates how children in Japan become members of Japanese society by learning the cultural and social norms from family, school, community, and the nation itself. Suggests four teaching activities that will help U.S. students understand Japanese culture and reflect upon their own lives and responsibilities. (CMK)