In the last 20 years, the incidence of home schooling in the United States has increased dramatically. This review examines the history of home schooling, the demographic characteristics of students schooled at home, and the reasons parents select this type of education. Findings suggest that parents who home school their children tend to have 2…

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) provided workers with the right to take time off from work to care for their families or themselves without fear of losing their jobs. Although this law is relatively straightforward, some employees and employers may be unsure about how it actually works. This guide is designed to answer many…

Increasing parent involvement in the Pacific region requires an understanding of the traditional system of Pacific education. While historically Pacific education involved parents and community members as children's first teachers, the American model of education virtually ignores this tradition. The school assumes the entire responsibility for…

A study examined simultaneously household and elementary classroom life, and collaborated closely with teachers to develop implications for the teaching of literacy. The study consisted of three main, interrelated activities: an ethnographic analysis of the use and transmission of knowledge and skills within and among households (represented by 24…

This practicum report describes the implementation of a pilot program that used packets of learning materials to incorporate individualized instruction into a traditional curriculum in a kindergarten classroom. Objectives of the program were that 80 percent of students would demonstrate improvement in basic readiness skills, and that 90 percent of…

This annotated bibliography describes studies and reports on issues related to family literacy in multiple contexts. With the exception of five entries, it is limited to programs and studies in the United States. Materials include conceptual discussions, bibliographies, and studies that use experimental, ethnographic, and program evaluative…

This paper describes and presents the results of an exploratory study of six Vietnamese American students who attended an English-as-a-Second-Language class during their first year of study at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. The paper addresses the issue of the growing variety of cultures represented in today's college students by examining…

This paper analyzes the concept of parent involvement in the early childhood literature, and discusses the applicability of this information to the day care context. A review of the literature suggests three main goals of parent involvement programs: (1) parent education; (2) the right of parents to influence programs that affect their children;…

Because positive teacher-parent relationships have an effect upon student achievement and upon public opinion of the schools, numerous practical suggestions for improving home-school communication are presented. The following four areas are discussed: (1) educating teachers about their roles as public relations agents; (2) improving home-school…

Employee assistance programs, or EAPs, are an employee benefit designed to help workers meet their work and family needs. However, questions have been raised about the design, utilization, and scale of services that EAPs make possible for low-wage workers. This article explores whether on college campuses an EAP benefit can simultaneously meet the…

Based on two studies, this report describes aspects of kindergarten teachers' contact with parents. The first study, which took place in Auckland (New Zealand) in 1983, looked at the way parents are introduced to kindergarten, particularly through home visiting and group pre-entry sessions. The second study was a national study designed to look at…

The degree to which schools cooperate with parents on the individual child level is investigated in this paper. The first chapter reviews the literature of empirical data and concludes that teachers and parents generally limit cooperation to obligatory rituals. The second chapter examines the extent to which pedagogical reasons enhance cooperation…

A recent study examined the socioeconomic status (SES), parent participation, teacher awareness, and academic achievement of 76 elementary school students. Results were obtained through interpretation of data and review of relevant literature. A strong positive correlation was found between a student's SES and academic achievement in school. Some…

The report describes Volunteers for Families (VFF), a 3-year project to develop a statewide (Vermont) network of trained volunteers to advocate for and to provide and coordinate services to, families of school-age learners (ages 3-21) with severe developmental disabilities. A three-phase process for establishing a VFF program is outlined,…

Representatives from villages, Native organizations, and educational institutions were participants at a conference that explored barriers encountered in the education of Southeastern Alaska Native students, identified problems, discussed solutions, and developed recommendations. The conference was the result of a concern that a major problem in…