Describes student projects and simulations designed to enrich social studies instruction. Students collected primary and secondary sources for a media kit on Russian economic development. Another group constructed a time line for a Canadian historical figure. Includes tips for designing and facilitating successful projects. (MJP)

Evaluating children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to facilitate their transition to school is reviewed. A process-oriented approach to assessing TBI children during rehabilitation is suggested. The major areas of functioning important to school reentry are discussed. The need for families and professionals to communicate about the…

A survey of 397 parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities and 226 early intervention service coordinators (SCs) was conducted to identify necessary factors for successful SC-parent collaboration. Surveys indicated that interpersonal skills were critical for successful collaboration. A microcounseling model involving behavioral consultation…

The Road to Readiness component of the Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning focused on individual, family, and community supports and obstacles to school readiness. Several projects of the initiative are described, focusing on a chart developed to help parents encourage a child's early speech. (SLD)

School leaders are expected to transcend the confines of conventional instruction and implement effective measures to serve the growing population of language-minority students. Understanding students' backgrounds and needs for belonging, health care, and educational success is essential. Strategies for learning, avoiding stereotypes, and…

This article discusses in-service training of Swedish professionals in family-centered intervention for families with children with disabilities. The training, which has been implemented on an interdisciplinary team basis in the context of ordinary habilitation services, is described as one of several options for fostering improvement within an…

Describes two action research ethnographic studies that show different sides of a community-centered model of literacy among young children. One examined the storytelling and story reading practices low-income African American parents used with their young children. The other involved encouraging community participation by having parents share…

A summit in Boise (Idaho) aimed to help 130 youth develop leadership skills and connect to service learning opportunities. Participants identified tolerance and substance abuse as issues of concern and generated action plans for addressing these problems. Profiles several participants and addresses the role of the community in developing healthy…

Describes how two rural Colorado communities, threatened by the loss of their elementary schools, established a charter school based in two existing facilities. Discusses the benefits of local autonomy, the value of networking with other rural charter schools, the role of the community in school innovations, and emphases on staff development and…

Controlling for precollege aptitude and other influences, a study found male intercollegiate football and basketball players tended to have significantly lower levels of second-year writing skills and third-year critical-thinking and reading-comprehension skills than nonathletes and athletes in other sports. There was little evidence of similar,…

Describes using the World Wide Web in a multilingual classroom to address different learning styles and to teach English, social studies, math, science, art, foreign countries, writing, and media literacy. Discusses parent involvement and use of technology in interdisciplinary lessons. Highlights Web sites for national standards, five reasons to…

A high school teacher describes how her classroom methods changed from traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to the active and democratic involvement of students in developing their own learning communities. Sidebars describe class projects: an oral history project that blossomed into a "Forties Festival" with 1940s alumni and the…

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…

This exploratory case study investigates relationships between use of an inquiry-based instructional style and student scores on standardized multiple-choice tests. The study takes the form of a case study of physical science classes taught by one of the authors over a span of four school years. The first 2 years were taught using traditional…

Although facilitating community participation in disadvantaged schools can be difficult, this article argues that, given the structuring of schooling in contemporary western democracies, it is even more difficult than we might imagine. Drawing on Bourdieu, we attempt to elucidate the complex relations between schooling and socio-cultural contexts…