A discussion of elder care looks at the extent to which government and employers are addressing the issue, how elder care affects the work performance of and productivity of employed caregivers, and how human resource professionals can respond effectively to the needs of both employee and employer as these needs relate to the issue of elder care.…

Discusses questions raised by Ira Gordon a decade ago concerning parent education and parent involvement in schools. Briefly describes each of the 11 articles in this theme issue on home-school-community educational partnerships. (BC)

This article draws on sociolinguistics and educational anthropology to discuss (1) the concept of communicative competence in general and in the classroom setting in particular; and (2) findings from studies of home-school cultural discontinuities. The ability to empathize and understand is seen to help teachers and clinicians bridge differences…

Responses of university administrative support workers (n=292) showed that job and workplace characteristics are important predictors of class identity for women. Although greater use of video display terminals is linked with working-class identity, workers form a more middle-class identity the longer an office has been automated. (SK)

Elementary teachers from four schools nationwide describe how they partner with parent volunteers to enhance education through special projects, yearly events, and schoolwide programs. The activities address self-esteem, family-centered science, geography, and parent learning. (SM)

Elements of a home-school-community relationship model are goals (academic achievement, institutional legitimacy, support, and effective relations), programs, and processes (communication, involvement, participation, and resolution). The model can be applied to contemporary issues: diversity, varied stakeholders, school-business partnerships,…

Discusses the issue of choice in education in the context of San Francisco's 15 alternative public elementary schools. These schools draw more committed students, parents, and teachers, and they create a sense of community often lacking in the public schools, yet they are less socioeconomically integrated. Calls for more exploration of the…

Calls for authentic family-professional collaboration which will develop new visions for children with special needs and new expectations of schools and agencies. Contends that families want to be supported rather than supplanted by professionals and that, if collaboration is to be more than rhetoric, both parties must recognize their rights and…

Examined relationships between weekly rhythms of work and family stress and parent-adolescent tension. Found that parent-adolescent tension was most likely to occur on Sundays and Mondays, because parental work stress was more frequent at the beginning of the work week and home stress happened most on the weekend. Mothers' work and home stress…

Principals should not presume that all parental involvement is good while ignoring adverse home conditions (such as divorce, abuse and neglect, coercive family interactions, mental-health problems, poverty, and unemployment) that may interfere with quality involvement. School-parent alliances are vital but will grow more complex as society…

Examines how seven European-American teachers implemented a model called the ABC's of Cultural Understanding and Communication (a literacy process to help develop cultural understanding and communication). Describes how teachers and students investigated cultural and ethnic differences through literacy activities that promoted classroom community…

Shares detailed descriptions of how three elementary teachers used students'"funds of knowledge" and "ways of knowing" to change their curriculum to make it more culturally responsive to their students. Focuses on instruction and family visits at the two study sites: one rural, the other urban; one Appalachian, the other…

Examines how parents become involved in state-funded prekindergarten programs for children identified as at risk for later school failure. Participants included 21 teachers at two programs in a midwestern school district. Significant differences exist between home-visitation and family-center models of program delivery in the types of activities…

More and more school districts are hiring family-school coordinators to connect with families through home visits stressing positive discussions. In El Paso, teams of middle-school teachers visit students' homes after school, on weekends, during conference days, and on vacations. Other programs are profiled. (MLH)

Presents a study of parents' involvement with their children that reveals how some black parents, concerned about the legacy of discrimination against blacks in schooling, approach schools critically. Extends the results to a theoretical discussion of interactions of moments of inclusion or exclusion with activation of social and cultural capital.…