The field of early childhood education has undergone several changes over the years. Current issues concerning assessment-intervention programs for kindergarten and first grade children are examined. The future state of the field and how it will impact the role of the school psychologist are discussed. (Author)

Argues that it is just as important for parents to do math with their children as it is to read to them. Discusses ways parents can recognize the potential for teaching mathematics to their children during some everyday situations. (WRM)

Unproductive, toxic schools have fragmented staffs, eroding goals, and negative, hopeless atmospheres. Schools with strong, positive cultures feature service-oriented staffs, a collegial ambience, celebratory rituals, supportive social networks, and humor. In crafting school culture, school leaders (principals, teachers, and parents) act as…

Describes how Rosemary Wells's new books about "Edward Unready" explain children and readiness; explores the problems with her message, and suggests new endings that are more supportive of all children. Asserts that variability in development should not be mistaken for deficit, and recommends changing the focus from judging children to…

A New Zealand program was designed to reduce burn and scald hazards in the home. Seven groups of parents and caregivers of preschool children participated. Three months after the program, selected participants had sustained 68% of the positive practice changes they had made. Evaluation also noted barriers to participant change and strengths and…

Comments on the findings of study of maternal input into children's category knowledge in this monograph. Discusses such aspects of maternal input as the child's role in guiding the parent's language, conceptual development, ways of imparting information about category types, parental speech patterns and how they help children learn optimally, and…

Studied mothers' behavior toward their infants with disorganized (type D) attachment strategies. Found that mothers whose infants are classified disorganized exhibit an elevated level of atypical maternal behaviors in the Strange Situation test. Mothers of type D Forced Insecure infants showed more negative-intrusive behaviors and role confusion…

Identifies the parenting practices that mediate relations between persistent, recent, and transitional poverty and the externalizing and internalizing behaviors of children four to five years old. Results reveal that lower-quality physical environment, maternal emotional unresponsiveness, and fewer stimulating experiences contribute significantly…

This study sought to clarify parents' role in the initiation of alcohol use of young adolescents. Findings indicated that parent norms were directly related to adolescents' alcohol-related cognition, and thereby had a significant indirect relationship with teenagers' alcohol use. No significant differences were found between intervention and…

Examined cultural differences in amount and type of maternal scaffolding of children's learning and effects on children's performance at goal-oriented and free play. Participants were Iranian immigrant and Anglo-American mothers and preschoolers. Found that culture related to mothers' choice of scaffolding strategies, and that maternal sensitivity…

Presents a general discussion of the conceptual and operational limitations found within the existing efforts to assess constructs central to the study of parents. The discussion is followed by a review and critique of measures designed to assess concepts central to research on parents. Includes recommendations to improve the quality of measures.…

Teachers can encourage parental involvement and appreciation of studying Spanish through simple homework assignments. This article discusses how students and parents work together to discover the impact of the Spanish-speaking world on their surroundings. (Author)

Reports on a study of parent-teacher interaction, in which discussions and conferences between parents and teacher centered around literacy artifacts that children produced in school and at home. Suggests that the creation of home portfolios may provide a starting point for teachers and parents to discuss children's developing literacy. (TB)

Presents a controversy over the preparatory schooling of two-year-old children. The article argues that small children who attended "maternal schools" at age two years had achievements superior to those of children starting school at three years. (CK)

This study investigated parental socialization of adolescent political reasoning from a Vygotskian cognitive socialization perspective. Discussions between mothers and their adolescent sons or daughters were examined using a transactive dialogue system and were related to the adolescent's age and gender and to family parenting style. As predicted,…