This study investigated relationships between willingness to teach and selected variables including personal, familial, school, and social factors among teachers of the mentally retarded in Taiwan. Participants included 527 elementary and junior high school teachers of the mentally retarded. Personal factors statistically correlated with teaching…

The U.S. Department of Education is supporting a 3-year program involving Virginia Tech's computer department and a rural public elementary school. The project seeks to determine whether immersive access to networked computing by students and their families has measurable effects on long-term student achievement. A fifth-grade classroom was…

The presence of HIV-positive children in preschool and day care programs is becoming more widespread as medical research discovers new drugs to combat the disease. This paper examines one child's experience in his first 3 years of school in the Bronx, New York. The paper begins with a description of how teachers are becoming more aware of children…

This study focused on the topic of home visits from the teacher's perspective. A survey was distributed among 40 teachers who were randomly selected from New York City schools. These teachers were from Head Start, day care settings, and public and private schools. The survey focused on whether teachers find home visits to be an effective tool in…

This research report evaluates a 2-year effort to achieve home-school partnerships and success for all children at two urban schools: P.S. 111 in New York City and the Ellis School in Boston. As conceptualized by the Institute for Responsive Education staff, the process of achieving success for all children required the transformation of school…

This monograph is the result of an ethnographic study, conducted between 1981 and 1982, to explore the social conditions under which migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families lived and their children were socialized. The study was conducted in a large agricultural county in New Jersey. At the time of the study, the county had slightly…

A recent survey of nearly 10,000 elementary and middle-school principals confirmed that home activities can have a dramatic impact on how well children do in school. This booklet describes ways for parents to apply the survey findings in the home. The booklet offers tips for supporting children's learning and development and for undertaking family…

This paper examined each of the eight major recommendations of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development's 1989 report entitled "Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century." That report called for the transformation of early adolescent education by: (1) creating a community for learning in the schools through…

This book is designed to provide a broad range of information on family structure and function in an increasingly multicultural society, family system characteristics and the implications for intervention, communication development in the family context, the nature and delivery of family centered-services, specific requirements of Public Law…

Schools in San Antonio, Texas, need to make changes to make life work better for San Antonio's students, to improve their learning, and to help them become happier and more productive students. Schools must take children where they are and work with their circumstances. San Antonio is failing to provide students with the learning and development…

This newsletter issue focuses on the issues surrounding and benefits of childcare that actively involves the family. Articles include: (1) "The Working Parents' Dilemma"; (2) "The Consortium of Family Organizations"; (3) "Children's Services: Directions for the Future"; (4) "Implementing Strategic Policies for…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined African-American parents' beliefs about their relationships with their children's schools. Telephone interviews were conducted with 147 parents of African-American children residing within the boundaries of a unified school district in a resort community in southern California. The study sought…

The role of the school in the prevention of and intervention in child sexual abuse is examined in this digest. Information is provided on factors that affect recognition and reporting by school personnel; potential indicators of child sexual abuse, both behavioral and physical; issues related to allegations involving school employees; the…

A teacher action research study, undertaken as part of the larger Schools Reaching Out (SRO) project, sponsored by the Institute for Responsive Education, is described in this report. The project is based on the concept of the urban school, family, and community partnership as a means to improve all children's academic achievement and social…

This book focuses on the use of common, everyday materials, some of which can be obtained easily for use in hands-on-science activities. Major emphasis is placed on starter activities designed to prompt children to ask "why" or "what would happen if" type questions about science events. This guide aims to meet the need for actively involving…