This book is built around a single concept--structural lag (the tendency of social structures and norms to lag behind people's rapidly changing lives). Each of the 12 chapters explores implications of that concept in a different domain, and all reflect the authors' shared conviction of its importance, both for social theory and for practical…

The number of school age children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has increased over the past decade to 10-20% of the elementary school population and is expected to continue to grow. The need to understand these children and effectively teach them is obvious. This paper examines the research literature to determine the best and most current…

The Family Independence Project (FIP) Interim Review Project in Washington was mounted in order to give preliminary information on the progress of the FIP program compared to Assistance for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) site activity, for management planning, and to document short-term outcomes and trends for policy considerations. A…

Providing a much needed window into children's home lives and learnings, uncovering multiple literacies that need to be valued in their own right, this book shows how familial influences on children lead them to develop particular strengths and describes the features of home learning that teachers should understand and consider. The book tells the…

This synthesis of professional literature concerning community, parent, and school interaction suggests activities for teachers and schools to promote parent involvement. Decades of research have shown that parental involvement significantly contributes to a student's learning regardless of grade level, or of parents' economic status or education…

Technology education as a key learning area can be viewed as the designing, making, and appraising of systems, materials, and information. This study examined young Australian children's technological experiences prior to beginning school in order to build on their learning base in curriculum planning. The purposes of the research were to: (1)…

Parents can do a great deal to support a child's learning in any subject area, especially mathematics. This paper reviews literature discussing what teachers and school administrators can do to establish parent-teacher partnerships to enhance children's learning of mathematics. Discussion includes a developmental process, intentional planning,…

This monograph on quality in early childhood programs contains two parts: an exploratory essay on the subject and an annotated bibliography selected from a search of the ERIC data base from 1985 through April 1993. The essay examines five perspectives on assessing the quality of early childhood programs. A top-down perspective on quality…

This publication describes the issues pertinent to year-round education (YRE). YRE addresses two key problems: (1) making efficient use of current school facilities; and (2) maximizing student learning outcomes. The various forms for implementing YRE at the local level--pilot schools, schools-within-a-school, plan-within-a-plan, and paired and…

A discussion of school partnerships with linguistic minority communities (1) contextualizes and defines such partnerships, (2) notes the typical obstacles that prevent educators and communities from developing partnerships successfully, (3) highlights promising evolving practices associated with effective partnerships, (4) recommends future…

Drawing on research that supports the importance of parental involvement for children's school success, a study evaluated a model parent development center in a school setting. The mission of the three-year study was to create a parent education initiative to support parents in their parenting role. This paper begins with an introduction to the…

This document is designed to help out-of-school programs examine their role in providing homework assistance to the students in their care. It explores the renewed emphasis on homework, describes research findings on the purposes and effects of homework, and presents the position of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST). A list of…

The study compared 55 families with 2 moderatly to severely handicapped children, with 55 families with a single handicapped child. Comparisons were made for family characteristics and relative effectiveness of two intrventions (increased service intensity and parent involvement). Families with two handicapped children had significantly lower…

The Schools Reaching Out (SRO) project attempts to demonstrate that urban public schools can fundamentally change their relationship with low-income parents and their communities, and in so doing, improve students' academic and social success. The project was designed to interweave research and practice in two laboratory schools in Boston…

This document is the second in a 5-year series of reports presented to the Prichard Committee, which monitors the progress of school reform in Kentucky. Three sections examine different aspects of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)--primary school programs, school-based decision making (SBDM), and family-resource and youth-services centers.…