Interviews with 20 Latina physicians and medical students examined stresses encountered in medical school, on the job, and from family: lack of confidence, sex bias, financial stress, poor educational preparation, ethnic bias, and cultural sex-role expectations. Coping strategies included positive thinking, assertiveness, drawing on social…

Examines the conflict which can arise when differing cultural practices of families and child care facilities clash. Presents a case study that exemplifies the potential conflict. Provides advice for child care practitioners on how to combine two differing perspectives and how to move from arguments and misunderstandings to common concerns. (SD)

Examines the perceptions of parents, educators, and students regarding the educational needs of new English learners, particularly Latinos. Overall, foreign-born students may not know how to relate to American teachers and peers, and educators may not understand students' prior educational experiences and cultural influences. Language is a…

A case study of a nine-year-old boy with visual impairments and mental retardation illustrates the importance of family-school-community partnerships when planning for students with visual impairments. A chart identifies areas for Individualized Education Program team consideration and decision-making to support the child's inclusion in the…

Discusses research on home literacy experiences indicating that family literacy experiences are more embedded in family social events than in reading or writing activities. Notes that parent-child interaction, literacy events outside the family, and family values and attitudes about literacy are mainly responsible for children's later academic…

Describes one school's approach to working with families to increase communication between school and home using available technologies. Discusses note writing versus e-mail; telephone versus speakerphone; traditional versus alternative assessments and parent-teacher conferences; and features of a Web site that allows families to access…

Identifies benefits of family involvement in the early childhood classroom for the child, parents, and teacher. Describes barriers to parent involvement: parent availability, parent and teacher awkwardness, schedule conflicts, and school resistance to full parent inclusion. Provides six principles for involving parents in their children's…

We present the cases of two families from the same middle-class community and conclude that home and school are more connected for some students and families than for others, even in the middle class where seamlessness is assumed. Home and school are more closely aligned for middle-class European-American students who read at home, engage in…

Students learning a new language need a great deal of language support. Those who teach students learning English as their second language know that any language support is crucial for students' language acquisition. Therefore, English Language (EL) students need a variety of language experiences. They need opportunities to hear, write, speak, and…

This study explores how teacher quality matters in improving early childhood performance in US kindergartens. We find that it is what teachers do rather than the credentials they hold that matters. Different from previous research on the effect of teacher quality on student achievement, this paper first rejected the common practice of using…

Longitudinal data from kindergarten to 5th grade on both family involvement in school and children's literacy performance were examined for an ethnically diverse, low-income sample (N = 281). Within families, increased school involvement predicted improved child literacy. In addition, although there was an achievement gap in average literacy…

This paper reviews the school-family partnership in Hong Kong in the past decade. The typology of Epstein's six types of partnership is adopted as the analytical framework. The results show that there has been an increase in shared experience in school education among various stakeholders. Schools have become more convinced that they have a role…

Twenty-six professors at a research intensive university participated in this study of senior women professors' career experiences and reflections. Themes surrounding community and collegiality with respect to disciplinary commitment, salience of gender to discipline, and the role of personal choices are identified and discussed. Resulting…

This study of 26 senior women professors at a large research university suggests that, while their negotiation of professional and personal commitments involved calculated balancing acts and strategies, they primarily described searches for integrity and coherence in life. More effective personal management strategies, modified and more realistic…

The purpose for conducting this study was to explore, with credentialed and qualified women educators, career paths in educational administration. The research was qualitative. Data were collected through focus groups and mailed surveys. Six persons attended two focus groups that lasted approximately 90 minutes each. The interaction of the members…