Argues that much of the recent scholarship on school choice, marketization, and diversity has ignored issues of gender. Provides an overview of several recent studies examining gender issues and parents' perspectives on school choice. Maintains that gender is a significant, if often, contradictory factor in these decisions. (MJP)

Most effective schools share a number of key characteristics, including clear-cut goals and objectives, adequate funding and financial management, quality academic programs, valid assessment programs, parent and family involvement, teacher and staff development, high expectations for students, community involvement, comprehensive support services,…

Estimates the effects of various parent and child characteristics on the choice of care arrangement of the parent, taking into account the potential endogeneity of some of the child characteristics. Three equations are estimated: care choice, child location, and child work. Results suggest a hierarchy of family decision making; child locations…

An attachment theory framework is applied toward understanding the emergence of depressive symptomatology and lower perceived competence in maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Confirmed hypotheses that maltreated children with nonoptimal patterns of relatedness show elevated depressive symptomatology and lower competence, whereas nonmaltreated…

Discusses preschoolers' interest in and wonder about sexual anatomical differences, and adults' responses to their questions. Presents Freudian stages of psychosexual development, the relationship between sexual identity and gender role, children's preference for single-sex play groups, sex stereotyped toy preferences, and the role of television…

People's lack of connectedness and increasing alienation, dubbed the "epidemic of insecurity," have unhealthy impacts on society, and create some special problems for males. Cites research findings that closeness and pleasure, especially during child-rearing, promote nonharmful behaviors, and discusses parental, educational, and institutional…

This study examined contributions of demographic, individual-level, and contextual factors on changes in perceived quality of general and closest same-sex friendships among 114 Asian American, Black, and Latino adolescents from low-income families. Findings suggested a compensatory model of relationships and drew attention to the importance of…

A survey of 1,433 high school seniors in northern California examined adolescent educational and career aspirations. Increasing numbers of students planned to seek education or training beyond high school. Latinos had lower aspirations than other ethnic groups. School counseling services were not used much or considered helpful. Parents were the…

A case study of Davis Bilingual Magnet School in Tucson (Arizona) observed and interviewed teachers, parents, students, and community members. The school's success results from strong community support and an educational environment that privileges Spanish. Although Davis students do well on standardized tests, the school's greatest pride comes…

A study examined effects of high-school-level economic literacy on intention to attend college and found that students' perception of the helpfulness of economics in thinking about further education positively affect college attendance intentions. Other factors include ethnic background, academic ability, high school performance, parents'…

While school choice offers inner-city parents a means of educating their children well, it represents further deterioration of society's commitment to educating all students. This paper describes: the push for private school choice; parent choice in context (historical context and failures of desegregation); and segregationist strategies and…

Investigated associations among involvement in political violence, family relations, and adolescent social and psychological functioning in Palestinian families in Israel. Found that childhood "Intifada" experience predicted increased antisocial behavior for adolescent males and females and depression for females 1 to 2 years after the…

Discusses pre-linguistic and linguistic stages of language acquisition that are part of a continuum of receptivity and communication every child experiences in the first 3 years of life. Suggests parents assist language development by being sympathetic to each developmental turning point, providing the right emotional climate for expression, and…

A family literacy program for Salvadoran refugees and other Latinos in Arlington (Virginia) is analyzed from a sociocultural perspective as exemplifying an educational project designed and implemented by grassroots organizations in an increasingly diverse, multicultural/multilingual community. The program addresses the educational needs of poor…

This study examined how various components of school engagement contribute to the academic performance of African American adolescents. The sample consisted of 499 African American adolescents in Grades 9 to 11. We investigated how adolescents' gender, grade, cognitive functioning, and parental education affect their school engagement and whether…