Three families living in an urban area in the Midwest with elementary-age children diagnosed with disabilities were interviewed about their family involvement in special education programming and intervention. The study explored how three mothers used social networks to advocate and care for their child's special education programming. Using…

Students in a pre-service teacher education course, an overview of special education, were required to interview a parent of a special needs child, as well as a special education teacher as a course assignment. Because most educators have little or no training in family involvement and pre-service teacher training in this area is at best limited,…

Many classroom teachers across the United States feel unprepared to work with students and families who speak limited or no English. Knowing that schools are accountable for the achievement results of these students, teachers increasingly seek help. This article describes a professional development project designed to introduce K-12 teachers to…

The Government is urging teachers to engage more closely with families and is promoting the concept of the "extended" school. This article reports on the literacy strand of the Home School Knowledge Exchange (HSKE) project, directed by Professor Martin Hughes at the University of Bristol. A selection of literacy activities developed…

This article features the Project of Excellence, a program that was designed to engage families in an interactive community-based school literacy program. The authors discuss how they created the Project of Excellence. Although the goal of the Project was to improve the reading skills of young children, the focus of the Project was directed toward…

Culture differences within parent communities provide challenges for schools trying to develop a successful parental involvement policy. In this study, we explore schools' practices and policies with respect to parental involvement. This study was carried out at four elementary schools in the Netherlands. Interviews were conducted with the…

Three early transitions are significant for young children with disabilities and their families: (1) into Early Intervention, (2) between that program and preschool services, and (3) from Early Childhood Special Education into kindergarten special education. Each of these transitions is significant for families in terms of obtaining appropriate…

A number of unique challenges face the spouse of a forensic educator, including the possibility of becoming a forensic widow/widower. The job of a forensics coach is all-encompassing and requires endless hours of dedication, drive, and driving. Trying to keep up on all of the required duties is very time consuming and leaves little time for…

Support of aging parents is usually credited to daughters. To investigate the nature of support provided by sons and daughters to married or widowed mothers, married and widowed mothers from the 1977 Social Security Administration's Midwestern Retirement Community Study listed important people and details of the support (emotional, social, and…

This report is one of a series of publications initiated and sponsored by the Chicago Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens (MOSC). It assesses the status and needs of elderly homeowners, blacks, persons of Polish origin, persons living in the community of Rogers Park, persons in residential hotels and public housing elderly. (Author)

This brochure presents ideas for creating a special place for a family's reading materials--a"family library"--and for helping children build their own personal collections. The brochure offers a sampling of activities that will help families display and keep track of a growing collection of newspapers, magazines, and books. The brochure…

This booklet identifies four critical areas for alcohol and drug abuse prevention strategies: communities, parents and families, schools, and the workplace. Under each area, specific ideas for action and pertinent resource materials are described. The community strategies described include youth organizations, policies and laws, counseling, the…

Research on family interaction has characterized family style on centripetal and centrifugal dimensions, representing opposing natures with their own continua. Centripetal forces produce binding, or a prolonged process of separation of parent and child; centrifugal forces preciptate expelling, or hastened separation and premature autonomy. To…

The final report describes goals and activities of the Family Resource Center, an educational and therapeutic program using a family treatment approach to child abuse. Among family treatment programs considered are intake, behavior management counseling, recreational therapy, supportive services, and diagnostic remedial and behavior management…

A 5-year project which focuses upon the processes necessary for initiation and implementation of a cross-cultural nursery school is at its midpoint in operation, with project nurseries having been established and presently operating in the San Francisco area. The family dwellings from which children are drawn consist of approximately equally…