Assessed association between length of maternity leave and quality of mother-infant interaction. Found a direct association between shorter leave and more negative affect and behavior; mothers with more depressive symptoms or who perceived their infant as having a difficult temperament, and with shorter leaves expressed less positive affect,…

Currently, there are over 16 million working mothers in the United States. Nonetheless, few children's books portray working mothers. In the books that do, the child is often anxious and lonely, especially when returning from school to an empty house. If children's literature is to be realistic, it must reflect the prevalence and positive aspects…

Changes in the workplace that would provide flexibility for working parents are slowly developing and receiving government, business, and societal attention. A sidebar, "Mother, Professional, Volunteer: One Woman's Balancing Act," presents an account of how one woman rearranged her professional life to enable her to do full-time…

Describes challenges of school-initiated family involvement, including ambiguous definitions of family involvement and diversity of backgrounds. Provides guiding "themes" for involvement philosophies and interactions. Examines how three types of family professionals can work with schools to strengthen family involvement: teacher training…

Of 1,694 female middle and secondary school agriculture teachers surveyed, 962 responded. Results indicated that women comprise 15% of the agriculture teacher population; a high percentage have fewer than 10 years experience; most have families and work 51.8 hours per week; 81% are very satisfied but 61.7% experienced some gender-related barriers.…

Examines the meaning of power differentials that exist between key interest groups in education, discussing the movement to foster educational collaborations between families, schools, and community institutions, particularly in low income, urban areas. The paper explores how differences such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and culture…

Reviews research on home literacy experiences of nonmainstream families, and challenges traditional views of what constitutes a rich literacy environment. Discusses efforts at home-school collaboration to help children grow in writing ability. (PCB)

Shares the collaboration of the authors in the development of a reading/writing, literature-based curriculum. Uses "Sesame Street" print materials to connect home and school. (MG)

Assesses the Schools Reaching Out programs at two elementary schools in Roxbury (MA) and New York City. Emphasis has been on input goals, not on outcomes, so that little progress in academic achievement has actually been made. Input goals, however, have been met. (DM)

Describes the "writer's brief case," a take-home activity for kindergarten children designed to extend the reading-writing process into the home. (BB)

Presents the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Code of Ethical Conduct and Statement of Commitment for early childhood educators. (BB)

Describes a program in which parents demonstrated a willingness to become involved in the reading activities of their preschool children, following involvement in Share-a-Story sessions. (NH)

Evaluates the effectiveness of a home tutoring reading program for elementary school children which was designed to improve reading skills and academic self-concept. Finds that all subjects demonstrated improvement in reading skills, and reports positive changes in children's self-concept. (RAE)

Presents comprehensive consultation model for promoting family and community involvement in the education process of minority youth, highlighted by cooperative effort between school counselor and school psychologist. Examines three areas of community awareness, family consultation, and paraprofessional development. (NB)

Discusses bilingual students' backgrounds; language use and proficiency at home and school; and students' and parents' reactions to the bilingual program established for the children of Mexican immigrants. (RAE)