Early childhood has long been known to be a formative time in a child's development-- a time when the brain produces more than 1 million neural connections every second during the first few years of a child's life. However, there are factors at the individual and community levels that impact the development process. In communities across America,…

A person who is considered deaf-blind is someone who is deaf or hard-of-hearing in combination with a visual impairment or blindness. The range of capabilities and support needs of individuals with deaf-blindness varies substantially from person to person because of differences in the extent of partial vision or hearing, if any, or the presence of…

In order to help school-age English language learners (ELLs) develop the literacy competencies required for success at school, it is important to recognize and draw on the repertoires of literacy practices that students develop outside school. The concept of multiple literacies provides an analytic heuristic with which to consider the range of…

To understand the processes of learning and to make educational decisions for the future, three levels of environmental and historical context need to be considered. The microsystem represents the most immediate environment, the family; the exosystem includes environment experienced directly, the neighborhood; and the macrosystem represents the…

Presents a model for studying and developing school nutrition education programs and better understanding potential influences on children's current nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Focuses on three environments (home and family, school, community) and the change process as influenced by nutrition education programs. (Author/DC)

Offering a fresh perspective on treatment, this book presents an overarching framework and many specific strategies for working with violent youth and their families. The authors shed light on the complex interplay of individual, family, community, and societal forces that lead some adolescents to hurt others or themselves. Effective ways to…

This report describes the Alliance for Achievement project, a guide for constructing a school community that takes into account influences of the home on school performance. The project began in 1989 when 5 Illinois schools developed a plan to focus parental involvement on "the curriculum of the home" and integrate these efforts into a…