Are instructional aides colleagues of teachers, bridges to the school community, both, or neither? This study addresses this question by asking instructional aides about their relationships with teachers and parents and about their status in schools, and suggestions are made to create stronger bonds among these partners in education. This paper…

Under current government directives, parents, along with professionals, are ascribed a central role in contributing to the processes associated with meeting their children's special needs. Yet many obstacles continue to hinder the achievement of good working relationships between parents and professionals. For parents located within minority…

In this paper we explore the concept of "funds of knowledge" used by Moll and Greenberg (1990) in the US to recognize and value expertise located within minority ethnic communities and apply it to the out-of-school learning engaged in by two primary school-aged minority ethnic children in the UK. As part of the UK government's policy on…

Estimates suggest that approximately 12% of South Africans are HIV positive. As a result of the rapid increase of infections in the mid-1990s and the concomitant increase in HIV/AIDS-related deaths, it is estimated that 13% of children have lost one or both parents due to AIDS. In this study data were obtained by open-ended written accounts by…

Caribbean immigrant students, who represent one of the largest subgroups in the Black population in the United States, are experiencing negative educational outcomes that are related to poor academic achievement and high dropout rates. These academic problems have been partially connected to the negative experiences Caribbean students and their…

Two case studies of adult GED (General Education Diploma) students and their kindergarten-aged children are presented. The construct of "capital," as described by Pierre Bourdieu (1986), is applied specifically to the children's and adults' reading practices. These case studies are analyzed in terms of various forms of official…

The average public school serving children who are economically disadvantaged cannot afford to provide the above-average education that many of these children need to achieve at the same levels as their more advantaged peers. It becomes necessary for schools to ask, "Who else has the resources to help children succeed?" Because of these…

This study investigated the perceptions of African American adult family members, their children, and teachers regarding how family members viewed their roles in assisting their elementary-aged children to become better readers. The study compared each of the subgroups' perceptions respectively regarding: (a) the child's reading level; (b) family…

This paper examines whether teachers and parents feel they influence school leaders' work in the policy field of community participation in government schools within the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. It reports on the implementation of recent policy initiatives designed to create school/family partnerships. In New South Wales, a move…

A study was conducted of women managers and professionals in Britain who had taken a "career break"--from a few weeks to many years--to have a baby. The study sought to examine the decision to return to work after having a child, and whether the practical management of breaks could be improved; to discover the career patterns of women…

The nine articles in this monograph discuss current issues related to increasing awareness of caring work and cross-cultural communication. The two main themes are: the basis of caring work in the first five articles, and fostering cultural awareness in the last four. "Foundations of Prevocational and Vocational Education in Finland"…

These two 1995 issues of the journal "Offspring," a publication of the Michigan Council of Cooperative Nursery Schools, cover a variety of topics familiar to nursery school and day care providers including the mission of the publication. Articles are short pieces useful to practitioners and are frequently accompanied by classroom activities.…

A study of 310 ninth grade students and their parents in five communities was conducted to look at the relationships between parent-school bonding, student-school bonding, academic achievement, and other variables. Questionnaires were developed for both parents and students asking questions about attachment, commitment, beliefs about school,…

Intended to foster communication among parents, teachers and school administrators, this brochure presents lists of questions parents may ask concerning school programs and policies, particularly at the beginning of the school year. Questions are organized by different levels of schooling from pre-kindergarten to high school. Pre-kindergarten…

Suggesting the need for a balance between literature and intentional skills instruction, this book provides grade 3-6 teachers and administrators with a theoretical base for creating a balanced reading program and gives educators a chance to step into actual classrooms where teachers have successfully implemented effective programs. Each chapter…