This study investigated possible differences in family background characteristics of 140 undergraduate students, half of whom were fraternity or sorority members, at a state university in the southeastern United States. Students were asked to complete checklists which asked if they were members of Greek-letter fraternities or sororities. Three…

A study investigated the relationships between parent aspirations for their children and their children's later aspirations and high school completion. Data were obtained from a longitudinal study called "Hyperactivity-Learning Behavior Disorders Project." Subjects were 201 students in grades 1-3 who were later interviewed in junior high school…

This study investigated the differences in disordered eating behaviors and attitudes in Japanese and American college students. The results of a 2X2 Anova revealed a significant nationality difference. American students reported more disordered eating symptoms than Japanese students (p<.01). This may be due to a convergence of biological,…

This report provides the 1994 follow-up evaluation of the Early Childhood Parent/Education Family Literacy Project in South Carolina, first evaluated in 1993. The objective of the evaluation was a comprehensive review and analysis of program components and elements as designed and implemented by 12 pilot projects. Highlights from the 1993…

This paper presents and discusses longitudinal data collected through surveys completed by students (n=1,545) in the 9th and 11th grades to determine what factors influence a student's change in plans for postsecondary education. Twenty-one Indiana high schools were selected to ensure that the sample proportionally represented students from all…

The goals of this practicum were to encourage parents to assess their use of over-the-counter drugs as a behavior model for children and to increase parental knowledge about over-the-counter drugs. Parents attended three "activity lectures," that is, lectures that included group activities and discussion. Before the activity lectures,…

This book presents findings of a study that identified and analyzed 18 recently developed programs or reform efforts in the United States that stress effective parental involvement. Chapter 1 provides a review of education literature and research on parent involvement from 1945 to 1985 and situates newly emerging efforts within the current climate…

Available empirical evidence indicates that the deterioration of stable marriages and families has been a principal generator of moral decline. Children learn moral values mainly within their families, and mainly by relying on their parents as role models. Family conditions for modeling values, together with recent family trends that have impacted…

This study investigated the effect of parent involvement on the academic achievement of middle school students and examined the role of parent and student gender in that relationship. The study also explored the effects of out-of-school activities on eighth-grade students' academic achievement. Data were derived from the National Educational…

The basic socializing and nurturing institution in the United States is the family, which can be considered America's smallest school. This report assembles a variety of measures that are available to indicate what happens outside the school and within the home that is related to educational achievement. Information comes from large-scale surveys…

A longitudinal study examined the contributions of early language ability, home characteristics, and emerging knowledge about literacy to children's later decoding and comprehension ability. The study followed 127 children from the beginning of kindergarten to the end of grade 3 (when 83 were left). Subjects attended schools in a small, rural,…

In 1991 World Book and the National Elementary School Principals conducted a study of over 8,700 elementary school principals concerning attitudes they felt were important about the parental role in education. The current study compares the perceptions of principals with the opinions of parents through a national random telephone survey of 830…

A study was conducted to determine if family configuration was a factor in students' perception of parental behaviors that support schoolwork. A total of 439 public school and 399 parochial school students in grades 6 through 12 were surveyed. Results showed that students from intact, two-parent homes perceived greater parental concern and support…

This practicum was designed to address the need for the intermediate and upper grade level English as a Second Language (ESL) students to become independent learners in the literacy process. The subjects, 13 boys and 3 girls from Pakistan, Philippines, Jordan, Israel, Korea, Turkey, and Thailand were dependent on the teacher when they had…

This paper reports results from two dissertation studies and several pilot and case studies examining the effects of early enrichment on children's language and cognitive development. Early enrichment in these studies included home visits with parents, typically beginning before the child reached 6 months of age, and continuing until the child was…