The traditional home-school partnership was a communitywide, adult conspiracy to raise good, responsible children. Because of massive social and economic changes, parents and school personnel no longer necessarily share neighborhoods, economic status, language, culture, or child-rearing viewpoints. A new, mutually respectful, and enjoyable "dance"…

Recognizing that families are a powerful force in preventing or intervening in negative youth behaviors, the Gridely (Arizona) Middle School's substance abuse/intervention team launched a program to promote the positive aspects of family life. Family week activities included a local teen theater presentation featuring vignettes on timely topics,…

Argues that much educational reform misses the mark by focusing on the schools, when substantive changes in the nature of the family are at the heart of education's problems. Advocates a "natural systems" approach to schools incorporating immediate and extended family characteristics. (SR)

Provides examples of practices utilized by school-based family support programs, explaining how family support programs work to ready children for school. Considerations for staffing family support programs are examined, including what type of staff to hire, components of a quality workplace, and types of staff development necessary. (SM)

Describes how children in a second-grade classroom collaborate to write classbooks for every conceivable reason. Notes that these books are a very popular take-home item. (SR)

Describes an approach for use in a school setting in the aftermath of a suicide. Piloted procedures are based on research, informed practice, and the author's consultation experiences with private and public school systems. Discusses setting up a program, notes useful references and provides a "Postvention Procedure Checklist." (EMK)

Expanded school mental-health (ESMH) programs address the limitations of traditional mental-health agencies in meeting childrens' needs by offering a full range of services in school. Family involvement in ESMHs can enhance their effectiveness. This paper describes challenges of involving families, guidelines for determining program goals for…

Six focus groups with 49 rural residents identified concerns about balancing work and family (time, energy, conflicting demands, child care), causes of imbalance, and types of help needed. Results were used to plan programs on time and resource management, meal planning, and relationship skills. (SK)

Describes insights and skills of a Head Start supervisor in rural Appalachia who mentors for a home-based family-education program. Discusses the three roles of mentor: administrator, teacher, and advocate. Suggests that mentors should provide an orientation to teaching and work to build relationships between family educators and families. (LBT)

As companies focus on competition and profit margins, workers are confronted with threats to their identities based on real or anticipated job loss. Article focuses on features of job insecurity that affect these workers, those who remain, and the organizations in which they work. Gives recommendations for assisting job-insecure employees using…

Married veterinarians were surveyed about work satisfaction, work-related stress, marital-family stress, and spousal support for their career. Female veterinarians reported greater effect of martial/family stress on career and less perceived support than did their male counterparts. Areas of greatest work dissatisfaction for both genders were…

The process of reproducing gender through discourses can inhibit role sharing and multiple roles for women. Two discourses influence the psyches of men and women to reproduce ideal types: women and men as equals and men as incompetent caregivers. (SK)

Explores the often difficult but ultimately rewarding experience of being a tenure-seeking film professor at California State University. Describes a brutal workload, balancing the demands of motherhood and career advancement, and making a documentary film about the earthquake that destroyed the campus. (EV)

For 179 workers with family responsibilities, flexibility of work was associated with job satisfaction and family well-being, flexible work schedules were not. Supportive supervision was associated only with increased employee citizenship and did not increase work-family balance of those at risk. Family-friendly culture did not appear to benefit…

Clarifies the relationships between schools and families by contrasting the responses of over 400 teachers to a survey regarding the attitudes towards, involvement in, and perceptions of partnership practices at their schools. Results indicate that while teachers value family involvement, middle and upper grade level teachers used fewer strategies…