Family involvement is an essential factor in U.S. schools, especially in the education of young children. The parents' role is critical in early childhood education, because moving from home to school is a major transition for children and families. Research supports the benefits of family involvement for children's future academic achievement,…

This paper examines the extent of and the mechanisms behind the penalty to motherhood in six European countries. Each country provides different levels of support for maternal employment allowing us to determine institutional effects on labour market outcome. While mothers tend to earn less than non-mothers, the penalty to motherhood is…

The gap in academic achievement between English speakers and English learners continues to concern educators, parents, and legislators. Rising expectations for literacy and the increasing number of students from diverse backgrounds contribute to this achievement gap. In this article, the author discusses a variety of strategies for reaching out to…

In trying to make sense of how to navigate the duality of approaches to how children learn respect toward others--the "takes a village" community-oriented approach (that includes teachers) or the "I know my child best/go it alone" family autonomy approach--teachers need to understand that families are trying to navigate "parenting" their children…

Family life practitioners are increasingly being called upon to help families meet work-life challenges. This article describes the grassroots beginnings, program development, and formative evaluation findings for 1 module of a Cooperative Extension work-life management program. Although the curriculum module is based on theory and research, it…

Increasingly women in nearly all sports are either leaving intercollegiate coaching or never entering in the first place. While most concern over women's sports has focused on the opportunities that federal equity laws have offered to female players--whose numbers have grown steadily--the ranks of female coaches have quietly dwindled. Last year…

Looping--which is sometimes called multiyear teaching or multiyear placement--occurs when a teacher is promoted with her students to the next grade level with the same group of children for two or three years. What results is a continuity of relationship with their teacher that enables children to flourish. In this article, the authors discuss the…

This article investigates how instructors can utilize the integration of early literacy skills and the arts to cultivate the appreciation and celebration of cultures in early childhood classrooms. The theoretical framework is developed through three personal accounts establishing a rationale for the importance of a viable home to school connection…

This system aims to improve the communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity in schools that serve students with disabilities, especially those in urban and/or high-poverty settings. The STAR system outlines five practices that build a more adaptive and inclusive education environment while utilizing modes of communication and…

Emerging literature on school-family-community partnerships suggests positive educational and social outcomes for students (Koonce & Harper, 2005; Mitchell & Bryan, 2007). This article discusses the historical and contemporary factors and barriers that affect African American students and their families as they partner with schools and…

When Congress reformed the welfare system in 1996, major goals of the legislation were to increase employment and income of needy families and to decrease child poverty. Another major goal was to improve child outcomes through increased parental employment and earnings along with other provisions of welfare reform. However, there was also concern…

The issues regarding teacher shortages and retention have been a concern for many years within the special education field. School districts have struggled at not only maintaining quality teachers to fill positions for special education programs, but also to retain these quality teachers in their districts. As an additional challenge, many…

The authors investigated the relatively short-term and longer term effects of grade retention in 1st grade on the growth of mathematics and reading achievement over 4 years. The authors initially identified a large multiethnic sample (n = 784) of children who were below the median in literacy at school entrance. From this sample, the authors…

Theoretical models of the antecedents and outcomes of work-home interference (WHI) suggest that work characteristics (e.g., job stressors, working hours) increase the probability that an individual experiences work-home interference. Since work-home interference is considered as a role stressor, these experiences should be detrimental for…

For the purpose of this research project an outdoor education program was developed for students (aged between 10-14) displaying signs of emotional difficulties in engaging with school and family life. The project investigated the effective use of an Integrated Adventure Based Educational program delivered in a complimentary milieu of classroom,…