During the 1990s, there was heightened awareness among early childhood researchers of the need to examine efforts to provide programs and services responsive to the needs and preferences of families of young children from diverse cultural and linguistic groups. This Digest presents strategies supported by the research literature to enhance…

This study examined the nature of and types of school involvement of parents of children with disabilities from rural school districts in Virginia. Parents (N=52) of elementary and middle school children from three different rural school districts completed a questionnaire containing a Likert type scale and open-ended questions. The data were…

Although most nineteenth-century American parents relied staunchly on common sense in raising their children, by the 1920s numerous parent education programs had been established to urge a scientific approach to child rearing. Today, American parents are besieged with medical and psychological advice about bringing up "normal" children.…

Viewing adolescence as a "dynamic social construction," this volume explores the state of adolescence in the context of rapid social change. The articles in the volume reveal a recurrent theme: no matter how adolescence is defined, the establishment of identity and the search for autonomy remain central developmental tasks of the…

This study examined immigrant parents' role in their young children's language learning and development in linguistically different contexts. At home, participating children lived with parents who spoke little or no English and various other languages. At school, children were taught mostly by English speaking teachers, with occasional teacher…

This study evaluated an hypothesized model of biopsychosocial factors that mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and substance abuse. A questionnaire packet consisting of self-report measures was administered to 160 drug dependent participants with and without co-occurring psychological disorders in residential, partial, and outpatient…

The Project on State-Level Child Outcomes, a federal project designed to improve the measurement of child outcomes in state welfare evaluations and in other state data systems. This document provides measures for the common core of constructs that state representatives developed at the second national-level meeting of the Project's planning phase.…

This telephone survey examined the early childhood education (ECE) experiences, home experiences, and home resources of near-5-year-olds in New Zealand, as identified by their parents. Participating were 767 New Zealand families in Wellington and Porirua, a sample selected to be comparable to those selected in other longitudinal studies. The main…

Noting that parent involvement in their children's education is a crucial contributor to children's achievement, this study investigated the relations among family factors, parental involvement in children's learning activities within and outside of Head Start, and children's outcomes related to literacy, numeracy, social skills, and behavior…

The potential benefits of father participation in their children's reading and writing activities include improved literacy skills, increased bonding, and heightened self-esteem of both fathers and children. This paper identifies a training model for working with fathers--Project DADS. Using this model, early childhood professionals can foster…

Two studies investigated 10th-grade students' health attitudes and practices related to cardiovascular risk. A survey determined students' perceptions of their families' health practices and needs and students' confidence in their ability to modify parents' behavior. The Heart Health Test Telecast (April 1980) was used to stimulate parent-child…

The communication between three mothers and their preschool children with language impairments was examined in a three-year qualitative study. The mothers had developed a communication system within the family that consisted of idiosyncratic signs and signals that conveyed intentional messages. The mothers found it difficult to change these…

Hypothesizes regarding factors that enhance prosociality in children, implying that the quality of childrearing and early companionship have profound impact on toddlers' social behavior. Discusses observation space versus companion space, prosocial behavior across cultures, when toddlers abuse, and the implications of a circular reenactment of…

Reports a survey that documented the health and safety behaviors of parents of children in Head Start programs. Nearly all parents reported using car seats, teaching handwashing and pedestrian safety, and locking away medicine and alcohol. Sixty percent reported storing guns and bullets safely, possessing working fire extinguishers, and having…

Examines the perceptions of European teenagers living in Europe regarding that continent. The study focuses on their declared knowledge sources, attitudes towards a European identity and second language learning and future aspirations. The article discusses the role of schools, the media, and the home environment in shaping the perceptions of…