It is imperative that effective preparation and training strategies for future early childhood personnel, teachers, social workers, and health practitioners be established so that low-income, high-risk, multiproblem families can be adequately served. Effective programs and services for such families are family-centered, neighborhood-based,…

The relevance of major concepts associated with social learning theories for teaching deprived and minority children are reviewed; from these concepts postulates are abstracted which are intended to induce further inquiry and research. The paper describes practical application of social learning theories to education, offering the school a common…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives address: (1) the organization of a social services foster care system; (2) the functioning of human systems and the rules governing their operation; and (3) the difficulties complex systems…

Data from a 20-year longitudinal study of 125 males and 126 females born to Black teenage mothers in a Baltimore hospital between 1966 and 1968 were analyzed to identify early childhood, middle childhood, and early adolescence determinants of functional literacy. All 251 subjects were interviewed in 1987, and 202 of them completed a document…

This publication reports the proceedings of the Fenno-Hungarian Conference on Recent Family Types, which was held in Lahti, Finland, in July, 1989. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the effect of changing social conditions on the family, family types, and home education in Hungary and Finland. A series of papers was presented. Topics…

The increase in one child families in the 1980's is analogous to the one child family rate during the Depression years. Although family size was limited for economic reasons during the Depression, current increases in the number of one child families are attributed to advances in contraceptive technology, increased employment of women, inhibiting…

This document reports the results of a follow-up of a longitudinal, comparative study of Swedish children reared in center and home settings that are especially pertinent to the debate about the long-term effects of care on social development. The study began with a sample of 120 children from 12-18 months of age. Sixty infants were enrolled in…

This longitudinal, prospective study used case material from 232 families in its analysis of effects of family environments on criminal behavior. Men who had participated in a crime prevention program were studied 40 years after their families had first been visited by counselors. The men's convictions for serious crimes provided a measure of the…

Properties of maintenance and loss of Spanish/English bilingualism were investigated in 308 high school students of Mexican background. Key variables investigated included: (1) actual and self-reported proficiencies in Spanish and English; (2) self-reported language choice behavior in various settings; and (3) language attitude. The biggest…

Under the guidance of alert adults, young children can develop new understandings, learn valuable skills, and acquire positive attitudes toward life and learning by taking part in activities in the kitchen. This book provides ideas that parents and parent surrogates can use to provide experiences in the kitchen that will contribute to children's…

Four six-year-olds and their mothers were observed during the summer prior to starting first grade in a study designed to expand knowledge of the nature of verbal interactions during book reading. All of the children had some knowledge of letters and were making satisfactory progress in reading. The seven or eight observation sessions were taped…

Developed to help the home visitor build an effective home-based program for Head Start children and their families, this handbook is intended to serve as a blueprint for parent-focused home visits that assist the child and family to meet their full potential. The first chapter lays a foundation for the program that includes a home-based…

This paper presents the first comparative findings emerging from 20 individual case studies into the adoption, use, and effects of microcomputers in families. The 20 families are first described according to a number of key demographic characteristics--socioeconomic, nationality, parent occupations, number and ages of children, etc. An examination…

Part of a three-volume series, this guide is intended for parents of young children of preschool through kindergarten age. The purpose of the guide is to provide ideas and activities to help in the development of various basic skill areas which will be important for children's later success in school. Discussion focuses on the child's self…

A review of the research on the effects of parental influence and parental involvement on children's reading achievement indicates that when parents take an active and positive part in their child's education the results often turn out well for the student. Parental influence is defined as any opinion, attitude, or action (other than direct…