Service learning is often used in teacher education as a way to challenge social bias and provide teacher candidates with skills needed to work in partnership with diverse families. Although some literature suggests that service learning could reinforce cultural bias, there is little documentation. In a study of 21 early childhood teacher…

The relationship of participation in school, community, and church activities to the academic achievement (i.e., end-of-year school grades) of African American youth in rural low-income communities was examined. Participants included 280 students (177 girls and 103 boys) in the 7th and 8th grades of two public middle schools. Participation in…

We describe a study of programs to deepen families' scientific inquiry practices in a science museum setting. The programs incorporated research-based learning principles from formal and informal educational environments. In a randomized experimental design, two versions of the programs, called "inquiry games," were compared to two control…

Using data from the National Early Head Start (EHS) Research and Evaluation Project (N = 1851), the current study examined relations among cumulative family and social risk, assessed during infancy and the preschool years, and children's prekindergarten achievement, self-regulatory skills, and problematic social behavior, testing if these…

Over the past decade, there has been an increased need for the development and use of psychometrically acceptable measures to assess the behavioral and emotional strengths of young children served in statewide preschool and Head Start programs. One measure developed to address this need is the Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a lifelong condition that significantly affects the individual's learning, development, behavior, family, and quality of life. Diagnosing children with this condition and providing effective supports is challenging for professionals because little intervention research has been performed with the…

The "International Society for the Social Studies (ISSS) Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. The following papers are included in the 2015 proceedings: (1) Local History and Local Culture at the Core of Elementary Social Studies Curriculum (C.…

In February of 2007, 30 youth aged 13-18 assembled at the Jacksonville Children's Commission (JCC) to research and discuss issues in their communities and worldwide children's rights. With facilitation, the youth established key issues that they wanted to address with the adults in their lives, with more effective communication with parents and…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have received considerable attention in recent years due to the significant increase of students with ASD in schools. Education is currently the most effective form of treatment for children with ASD; communication intervention and family involvement are key components. Today little research exists to inform…

The purpose of this study was to determine roles and responsibilities of female presidents of higher educational institutions, how they celebrate their professional and personal accomplishments, and their post-presidency aspirations. Females in their first presidency positions in either a private or public four-year institution were interviewed…

The topic of conjugal quality provides an empirical illustration of the relevance of the configurational perspective on families. On the basis of a longitudinal sample of 1,534 couples living in Switzerland drawn from the study "Social Stratification, Cohesion and Conflict in Contemporary Families," we show that various types of…

First-generation college students face a number of barriers to academic success and completion of their degrees. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1989) ecological theory as a framework, qualitative research was used to examine the experiences of 10 first-generation Appalachian Kentucky university students (mean age = 21 years) and factors they attributed…

This study examined whether depressed adolescent outpatients with deliberate self-harm behaviour (DSH) differed from non-suicidal depressed adolescent outpatients in depressive and anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, perceived social support and number of negative life-events. Depressed adolescent outpatients (n = 155) aged 13-19 years were interviewed…

This report summarizes data on English language learners' academic achievement, English language acquisition, and other school data from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009 school years.

This article describes a broader, bolder approach to education reform aimed at addressing the social and economic disadvantages that hinder student achievement. Central principles of this approach to reform include the provision of supports such as early childhood and preschool programs, after-school and summer enrichment programs, parent…