Much of the debate surrounding school choice in general and charter schools in particular revolves around the types of students who choose to leave their traditional public schools in favor of enrolling in charter schools and the possible effects of these choices on the schools that they leave behind (Dee & Fu, 2004; Henig, 1994; Schneider,…

This report describes how two school districts in Texas supported the achievement of English language learners (ELLs) beyond classroom instruction, through ancillary education enrichment opportunities with Title III funds. These particular districts were identified as those with some of the most successful ELL programs, as determined by…

Enhancing parents' ability to make informed choices is important to successful transition planning for youth with disabilities. This study used a multiple probe design across content areas replicated across participants to examine the effects of a computer-based instructional program on acquisition of parents' knowledge of the transition planning…

Using a nationally representative sample from two waves of the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), this research examines the aspiration-attainment gap that exists for Black students (N = 823). This gap is a measure of the difference between the educational level students said they aspired to reach reported in 1988 when attending 8th…

Research indicates both parents and peers influence child and adolescent adjustment outcomes. Moreover, friendship quality has been found to buffer the influence of parenting on adolescent adjustment, particularly externalizing symptoms. Little to no research, however, has longitudinally examined whether friendship quality moderates the relation…

From the 1960s, the development of home-school relationships in special schools has become increasingly important, culminating in the current official understanding of parents as partners. This paper traces the development of the relationship, setting out the challenges to partnership development from professional perspectives within education. A…

This study examined the relationship between parental involvement, self-regulated learning (SRL), and reading achievement through analyzing the fifth grade data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). The results identified six dimensions of parental involvement that are likely to foster SRL of fifth…

Positioning theory provides a lens through which to view the narrative accounts of working-class parents as dynamic, intentional acts of positioning intended to gain the recognition of school personnel as full partners in the education of their children. Knowing that school personnel will not treat them with the kind of respect given middle-class…

The concept of funds of knowledge, as applied to an ethnically popular fruit, is the focus of this module. Teachers can use this concept to create contextually meaningful experiments that can contribute to a culturally relevant and more fully developed educational unit focusing on the science of nutrition and reflecting content Standards A and C.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the professionals' perspectives regarding characteristics of effective partnerships with parents. The sample involved 20 professionals representing the backgrounds of occupational therapists/physical therapists/speech-language pathologists, special education teachers, paraprofessionals, and health…

Parental involvement in schools, generally seen to be a good thing, is now closely linked through policy to the educational achievement of their children. In this Victorian case study, teacher and parent responses to policies advocating parental involvement are examined. It explores the intersections of gender and class in the context of changing…

During the past decade, Israeli parents declared their rights to be involved in their children's education. The term used is "parental involvement", but there is no real agreement on the definition of the term. This paper describes the different opinions and approaches of parents, teachers, students, principals and decision makers, as…

The purpose of this study was to assess parents' awareness of the student support team (SST) as a method to increase parents' participation in the process and to impact student achievement. The student support team (SST) develops strategies and interventions to assist students that are experiencing academic or behavioral challenges in the…

Federal law requires schools that have fallen short of state learning standards for three years or more to pay for any low-income student in that school to receive "supplemental educational services," or free academic tutoring! Supplemental educational services (SES) are, simply, free tutoring services that some schools must offer to…

Education is the business of both the schools and the homes. A school's success is more assured with joint efforts of teachers, pupils, parents and the local communities. However, translating home-school partnership into positive impact is dependent on how partnership is conceived since it is this that determines the approaches to and the forms or…