Describes the concept of a kid-friendly home environment that attracts and welcomes children into the home. Provides a series of simple steps leading to positive relations with children and their friends to create an "open house," as well as a description of the positive effects such an environment has on children. (SD)

Discusses the role of caring and inquiry processes in parenting and family functioning and how these processes affect the lives of children. Formulates strategies within a caring inquiry approach that early childhood professionals can use to promote parental competence and confidence in using their personal-social inquiry skills. (JPB)

The purpose of this study was to examine positive influences and barriers associated with entering a music teacher education doctoral program. Practicing music educators (N = 63), were asked to rate 48 positive-influence items and 54 barrier items. The highest-ranked positive influence was "Training young teachers to provide worthwhile…

This paper presents a conceptual model including examples of risk and resource factors associated with indices of school-related asthma morbidity (eg, missed sleep, participation in activities, school absences) in a group of urban, school-aged children with asthma from ethnic minority backgrounds. Specifically, the current longitudinal study…

Research studies on the determinants of self-esteem of deaf individuals often yield inconsistent findings. The current study assessed the effects on self-esteem of factors related to deafness, such as the means of communication at home and severity of hearing loss with hearing aid, as well as the coping styles that deaf people adopt to cope with…

The Department of Family Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, developed a Preparing Future Faculty and Family Professionals program to enrich the graduate education and professional development of its doctoral students. This article describes key elements of the program, including informing students about the responsibilities of…

Intrapersonal and familial effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) were investigated by interviewing 10 female partners of male survivors. Consensual qualitative research analysis (C. Hill, B. Thompson, & E. Nutt Williams, 1997) yielded 13 domains describing male partner, female partner, couple, and family functioning. Findings concerning…

A number of institutions have developed policies designed to foster family-friendly work environments, but bias against caregiving may lead gatekeepers to discourage faculty members from using them. The message sent to faculty and prospective faculty by this scenario is that it is too difficult to be a productive academic and an involved, caring…

The conceptualization of individual quality of life is reasonably well established, and now family quality of life and intellectual disability is emerging as an important field of study. This article examines comparative family quality of life in three types of families: those with a child who has Down syndrome, those with a child with autism, and…

This teacher's guide to Home Economics I is designed to provide a basic core of instruction in vocational home economics. It provides teachers with minimum program standards, enables unified program standards, and provides a means of accountability for students and teachers in Oklahoma. The concepts in the guide, organized in eight sections, have…

These 11 modules for incarcerated youth and adults are intended as small group and individualized instructional materials for social education on personal, family, and resource management. Each module has the following components: introduction and instructions; a list of terms; objectives, related activities, and a list of resources needed to…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

This book contains memoirs about growing up as the son of Mexican immigrants in rural California, as well as stories that the author's parents told him about their childhoods and village life in Mexico. In a preface and introductory stories, the immigrant explains how his family culture sustained him during bad experiences in school, and describes…

Driven by a competitive environment with other employers to maintain a quality workforce, businesses are increasingly becoming aware of the necessity to assist employees with programs and services regarding family needs. Unfortunately, most small to medium size companies are either ignorant of the necessity for family friendly services or lack the…

To determine effective strategies for involving Hispanic parents in their children's early childhood programs, educators need to develop a greater understanding of the features of the Hispanic culture that influence parents' childrearing practices and orientation toward formal education. Educators should be aware of Hispanics' diversity in terms…