Four policy papers delineate a progressive family policy for the 1990s that makes the family central among social issues and children central in families. An extensive introduction delineates the split between leaders' and ordinary citizens' views on the family and provides a summary of the papers. The first paper offers an economic review of the…

Among those who share the responsibility for developing the reading habit in children are the child's family, schools, libraries, publishers, booksellers, and the mass media. There are many ways to read, just as there are many kinds of reading materials, including poetry and narrative stories. Some children read only to follow the plot, others add…

This report details the theoretical framework, methodology, and findings of research into the impact of Parent Advisory Councils (PACs) on the management and administration of Title I programs at the local level. The eight school districts studied were selected because they varied in their orientations toward PAC involvement in Title I, and in…

The myth of Asians as "the model minority" may hide the instructional needs of Asians and mislead policymakers. There is growing concern that Asians' low verbal scores are masked by their higher than average math scores and high school grade point averages. Principals and key staff at 12 (out of 20) schools identified as having…

Puerto Rican children are vulnerable to abuse because environmental and intrafamilial stresses are coupled with the stresses associated with migration from Puerto Rico to the United States. The percentage of abused Puerto Rican children is likely to be higher than in other Hispanic or non-Hispanic populations. This document reviews the following…

A study of some features of the language usage of nonnative English speakers focused on global communicative competence and the use of text-building devices. Subjects were the primary-school-age children of eight native Italian-, Greek-, and Macedonian-speaking migrant parents and a matched set of native-English-speaking classmates. The language…

Recognizing the importance of parental involvement in a child's learning to read, this resource guide is designed to aid teachers in working with parents to achieve optimal learning experiences for children. The first chapter shows how responsibilities can be shared between home and school in the areas of physical and mental health, use of the…

A study was conducted to compare the language of preschool children from low-income homes to that of their parents, as affected by the adult participation in training sessions planned to encourage language development. The study was conducted in three preschools in the Detriot metropolitan area. A total of 96 children from ages 2 1/2 to 5…

As trained counselors, career educators, and career education guidance and counseling programs have become increasingly available, there has been a tendency for the church to lose the perspective of its role in preparing people, particularly the young, for purposeful and satisfying lives. A church-based career development program would provide…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 22 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) the relationship of reading achievement to self-concept in third and fourth grade gifted students; (2) perceived teacher effort and student achievement in…

This study reports similarities and differences in perceptions of adolescent students toward selected conditions that characterize the curriculum of sampled alternative schools. Data were collected from students who were disconnected from alternative school environments and from students who were involved and productive in these settings. The…

This document presents data on the relative influence of (1) maternal education, (2) race (or ethnicity) and (3) poverty on elementary students' academic achievement. Study results indicate that maternal education has the greatest effect on achievement. The data base is reported as representative of all U.S. children enrolled in public schools,…

The PTA continues to be engaged in projects and programs which relate to parents' and children's perception and understanding of the world of work, education, and career development. Current activities include a project focusing on television's effects on children and youth, the national PTA's Urban Education project determining issues in public…

The purpose of this book is to provide parents with a variety of ideas for getting young children from infancy until the beginning reading stages involved with literature. An introductory section contains discussions of the literary needs of children and of how children develop a sense of literature, guidelines to use in determining literary…

This paper is an interdisciplinary review of literature related to early childhood education over the past five years. Although some references to infancy and toddlerhood are included, the emphasis is on children's learning and education in the preschool and primary grades (age 3 through age 9-10). Chapter I, The Early Childhood Problem, is an…