Considers Virginia Hamilton's "Plain City" and Walter Dean Myers'"Somewhere in the Darkness." Compares the similarities and differences in the authors and the books and considers many aspects of "coming of age." Notes that when the fathers in these stories reappear, the simple fact of their presence is a catalyst for the protagonist's self…

Presents three young adult novels by Brock Cole discussing a phenomenological quest for self-identity that breaks the traditional pattern often found in young adult literature. Discusses the novels "The Goats" (1987), "Celine" (1989), and "The Facts Speak for Themselves" (1997) where adolescents show strength,…

Compares mothers' roles in socializing their children in traditional South Korean families with that of mothers' in modern families. While Confusion influence remains strong, significant changes in South Korean culture often create complex, ambiguous, and emotionally unstable relationships between mothers and their adolescent children. Discusses…

An analysis was carried out on the body of literature exploring African-American mother-son relationship. The analysis suggested that African-American mothers play an important role in the healthy development of manhood and masculinity and challenged notions about considering mothering as a gender or biological assignment rather than as an act…

This article addresses the emerging use of parent mentors--parents who have successfully negotiated the child welfare system and provide support and advocacy to others. The theoretical justification, roles, and expected outcomes and benefits of parent mentors are explored. The organizational factors thought to be required for such programs are…

Matt Ridley, an Oxford-trained zoologist and science writer whose latest book is "Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human" (2003a), wrote such an impressively clear and fascinating piece on "What Makes You Who You Are" that the author decided to use it to introduce the continuing pursuit of "What do I do to best promote…

Research provides evidence that fathers can promote the development of their children's literacy skills, including reading books to them that are appropriate, engaging their children in discussions about books they read, recording in a notebook the books the children have read and encouraging their children to read more books. This review presents…

In this article, the author explores the performances and practices of motherhood and childhood as they materialize in a private elementary school setting in Ottawa, Canada. The author analyses the ways the ideology of intensive mothering and the intensification of children's lives intersect and inform one another in this setting. She argues that…

This article addresses how Christians can read wisely and well as citizens of both God's kingdom and an increasingly secular society. I suggest that focussing on reading as a transaction between reader and text rather than on the morality of texts or the maturity of readers can provide a biblical approach for Christian educators seeking to invest…

This study investigated the socialization of children's emotion regulation in physically maltreating and non-maltreating mother-child dyads (N = 80 dyads). Mother-child dyads participated in the parent-child emotion interaction task (Shipman & Zeman, 1999) in which they talked about emotionally-arousing situations. The PCEIT was coded for maternal…

The B.R.A.D. Birthday Card initiative was started on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU) in April 1999. MSU administrators send the safe-drinking 21st birthday card (B.R.A.D.) and laminated wallet card to students shortly before their 21st birthday. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 21st birthday card, MSU and B.R.A.D.,…

Twelve professional, non-classical musicians were interviewed about the impact of internal and external factors on their development as musicians. The data were qualitatively analyzed, and observations concerning psychological characteristics of developing excellence (PCDEs), social and environmental influences are reported. The insights of the…

Through fieldwork and in-depth interviews examining the careers of adolescent girls in the juvenile justice system, this article reveals some of the interaction processes by which challenges to parental authority may facilitate contact, entry, and movement through the system. Parents or guardians act as informal agents of control until a breakdown…

This study examined independent and interactive relations between the interparental relationship and maternal employment in predicting fathering within low-income, Mexican American two-parent families (N = 115). Interparental conflict was negatively related to quality fathering, and these relations were noted only for single-earner families. The…

Catalyst, a quarterly newsletter from the Institute's Communications Office, contains news, information, and features about the programs and services of the National Institute for Literacy. Contents of this issue include: (1) Shanahan on the National Early Literacy Panel Report: What's in Store; (2) Director's Message; (3) Representative Fattah to…