Discusses reading and writing activities in a foreign language. Implications of emergent literacy research for foreign-language instruction focus on when to initiate these activities, what sorts of literacy materials to use, what kinds of tasks to utilize and how to direct novice foreign-language learners. (46 references) (CK)

Reviews literature on links between parenting and children's cognitive competence, proposing that social and emotional adjustment might play a critical role in mediating the relationship between these variables. Describes a program of research on family functioning, emotional distress, self-restraint, and academic performance. Explores future…

Home interviews with 30 Puerto Rican families in eastern Pennsylvania revealed that parents of higher-achieving children in grades K-2 preferred that their children have a native-language environment at home and in school to a greater extent than did families of lower-achieving children. Contains 48 references. (TD)

Examines public attitudes toward parental discipline practices, incidences of parental practices, the public's support for and involvement in child abuse prevention efforts, and the public's perceptions of causes of child maltreatment. Found that most persons view physical punishment and repeated yelling and swearing at children as harmful.…

Summarizes research-based information on discipline and classroom management in Turkish schools and proposes intervention strategies. In Turkey, child-rearing and teaching practices are mainly authoritarian. More must be done to foster communication and relationship-building among teachers, students, parents, and administrators, since safe schools…

Studied is the validity of a theoretical model of achievement behaviors of 746 eighth grade students. Hypothesized effects of value of mathematics and expectations for success were not apparent. Direct influences on achievement for male were prior achievement and value, but for females, influences of difficulty, male domain stereotyping, and…

For 152 children, intelligence scores were assessed at 4 and 13 years of age, and the number of factors out of 10 social and family risk factors was counted. The presence of multiple risk factors in children's lives explained up to half the variance of children's IQ scores at 4 and 13 years. (MDM)

Presents a quantitative study of the development of a theoretical model of drop-outs from distance education courses. Data collected by the Distance Education Student Progress (DESP) questionnaire from 1,060 students in Hong Kong investigated how students were able to integrate demands of their academic course with those of families, employers,…

A survey of Hispanic American students leaving college found significant differences between dropouts and those dismissed for academic performance. Familial values and demands and other extra-academic variables exerted considerable pressure on individual students. Institutional assumptions in Hispanic student retention need to be challenged and…

Suggests that public school education in the last 50 years has been altered most dramatically by the interstate highway system and no-fault divorce. Blames the highway system for destroying the sense of community and capacity for delayed gratification and challenge. Argues that no-fault divorce has resulted in loss of family values and…

Addresses the importance of family-school collaboration, with emphasis on the changing nature of families in the United States; the understanding and practice of collaboration wherein all of the parties are equal partners; exemplary family-school collaborative models; and implications for practitioners. (SM)

The article examines the social/emotional development of children of substance abusers and relates it to their behaviors at school, offering an alternative perspective for understanding their school behaviors and for helping them. Several implications for teacher education are included. (SM)

Aspects of a theoretical model of the socialization of ethnic identity were tested for 45 6- to 10-year-old Mexican-American children and their mothers. As predicted, socialization indices functioned as a mediator of the influence of ethnic family background on children's ethnic identity. (SLD)

Investigated the relationships among mathematics achievement, affect, and home background for Hong Kong students (n=1766) in grades 7-13. Achievement was most closely related to academic and nonacademic self-concepts and attitudes toward mathematics, and the latter was most influenced by self- and parental expectations. (LDR)

Social support present in the lives of youths at risk of school failure is explored. Who provides each of eight types of support, and the effects on school performance, are examined. Adults are major sources of social support for these students. Results show that parents and adult caretakes are main sources of social support. Implications for…