Analyzed strategies used by older siblings to teach school-related knowledge and skills to a kindergartner in a Puerto Rican home, comparing these strategies to those used by the child's bilingual kindergarten teacher. Found that siblings taught within a context of learning and togetherness established by the parents and grounded in Latino…

Examined parent-school cooperation initiatives across Canada by interviewing representatives from the provincial Departments of Education and analyzing government documents and literature. Results indicated that there has been considerable policy development and legislation leading to parent advisory committees, but movement related to parenting,…

Compared parents' problems and preschoolers' well-being in families of children living with their mothers or fathers in Denmark. Found close associations between strains on parents and child well-being. Parents who were not appreciated at work or unemployed were more likely to have conflicts with their children. Fathers had better jobs, less…

Investigated interactions between Travellers (historically known as Gypsies or Tinkers) and school policy toward such children in Europe. Reviews the mismatch between Traveller cultures and their schooling experience. Notes that schools ignore and devalue the children's home learning of interdependence and independence and offer only learned…

Notes that working parents of preschoolers find it difficult to schedule time for direct involvement in their child's education or care program without special arrangements with employers, who frequently are unwilling to make arrangements. Presents ways schools or centers can create a community climate in which employers are encouraged and…

Describes a three-way planning and conferencing method involving teacher, student, and parents that incorporates the use of student portfolios. Performance and academic achievement are assessed on the basis of portfolio materials prepared by the student, and continuing objectives and planning evolve from the portfolio process. (ET)

This adaptation of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) booklet "Safeguarding Your Children" discusses cooperative efforts of communities, schools, and homes to protect children from violence. (SM)

The Rainbow Connection Society at a community elementary magnet school in Lynn (Massachusetts) attempts to establish a schoolwide version of the best aspects of U.S. society in a school setting. A "microsociety" theme forms the hub of six educational strands and all facets of school programming. (SLD)

Discusses how meaningful family involvement can enhance the efforts of early childhood teachers. Presents suggestions for creating inviting attitudes and environments. Identifies how schools and families benefit from family involvement. Describes ways to fund and staff family learning centers in schools. Asserts that parent outreach is the key to…

Examines teacher practices and how they contribute to or deter home-school connections for diverse families. Discusses practices that deter connections; exclusionary curriculum; noninclusive participation structures; the deficit view of diverse students; practices that facilitate connections; student knowledge, background, and cultural contexts;…

Students completed surveys, including scale assessing perceptions of home-school dissonance, in fifth grade and again the following year. Contrary to hypothesis, African Americans did not report more dissonance that European Americans. High dissonance students were more angry and self-deprecating, had lower self-esteem, were less hopeful, felt…

Describes a project in the Detroit Public Schools that provided television set-top Internet access devices to Latino families as part of a project to link the school and home in an inquiry-based science curriculum. Discusses early phases of adoption of the Internet and NetTV devices by families. (Author/LRW)

Many recent efforts in the field of community psychology have been dedicated to moving from values to action in incorporating diversity into our work. An essential aspect of this goal is designing research that provides opportunities for underrepresented perspectives to be heard. The voices of refugee women, in particular, are not typically…

As every early childhood teacher knows, providing children with activity and material choices, stimulating multi-sensory activities, and positive support and novel challenges can truly inspire children's love of learning. Now there is the additional support of brain research. Marian Diamonds of the University of California at Berkeley reports that…

Researchers suggest that key to addressing the needs of vulnerable families is to involve parents in their child's academic life. However, this article argues, it is not simply involvement that matters for the improved functioning of these families but the production of the three dimensions of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking)…