Investigated how parents did homework with their third graders, noting socioemotional influences that occurred. Data from observations and interviews (including with teachers) indicated that everyday experiences with homework, as mediated by parents, provided opportunities for children to learn to cope with various difficulties and distractions…

Describes a school-based family-literacy program initiated by a first-grade teacher in an inner-city school. Describes how joint parent/child classroom activities and parent/teacher discussion sessions (1) provided opportunities for parents to explore their own and their children's uses of literacy; (2) increased their knowledge of literacy…

Improving student achievement hinges on adopting effective, research-based learning practices and activities. These include parent involvement, graded homework, direct teaching, aligned time on task, tutoring, cooperative learning, mastery learning, and teaching of learning strategies. Three high-achieving schools are profiled. (MLH)

Lists projects that parent volunteers can do in elementary school libraries in the areas of computers, audiovisuals, reading programs, helping students, special-needs students, clerical, arts and crafts, parent representation in various areas, and community projects. (LRW)

Discusses strategies and techniques for communicating physical education and physical activity-related messages to local school boards, noting that without their support, efforts to promote physical education and healthful activity will be difficult. The paper includes three sections: positioning the argument, persevering in the message, and…

Explores the relationship between supportive communication and school outcomes for two groups of lower socioeconomic high school students: those identified as "at-risk" of poor school performance, and those not identified as "at-risk." Finds that parents are major sources of social support for both groups of students; however, at-risk students…

Social capital and generalized trust are declining. Civic "watering-holes" like bowling leagues, fraternal organizations, choral societies, and "do-gooder" groups are drying up. Schools must spur greater parental involvement, make schools smaller, stress community service, teach civics, fund extracurricular activities, and…

Discusses the potential of technology in classrooms, along with the problems that occur with implementing curricular changes throughout an entire school. Addresses considerations such as staff development, parent acceptance and involvement, student vandalism and overall hardware and software security, and the inclusion of technology in…

Describes evaluation results from 12 months of the Western Australia School Health (WASH) Project, a school health-promotion intervention that used community-development strategies to help schools identify and respond to relevant health concerns. Surveys of intervention and comparison schools indicated that schools successfully made organizational…

Studies the association between parenting practices and conduct problem behavior in a sample (N=179) of children and adolescents. Results indicate that parents' involvement in their children's activities is most strongly predictive of conduct problems in the adolescent age group, whereas corporal punishment is most strongly associated with conduct…

Describes Family Builders, a school counseling program initiated by the Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, to help teachers and parents correct undesirable behavior in students. Discusses the program's recognition of parents as children's primary educators in supporting home/school/community partnerships. (VWC)

This article describes recommended practices for the development of family-centered Individualized Family Service Plans and provides a summary of recent research examining their use in Kansas as a component of program review. Suggestions of how speech-language pathologists can apply recommended practices are provided. (Contains references.)…

This article identifies three areas in early childhood special education which need further work: working with families to define social outcomes, expanding our definition of social behaviors and moving toward a framework based on social relationships, and developing interventions that are socially valid, ecologically valid, and sustainable across…

Holistic educational research looks beyond test scores as a measure of student development and considers broader perspectives, such as quality of life and community interactions. Approaches to making research more understandable, accessible, and practical at a grassroots level include qualitative research, informal research, participatory research…

Compared social capital characteristics of successful African American high school students to those of successful white and nonsuccessful African American peers, examining: parent-teen, parent-school, and parent-parent interactions and family norms. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study indicated that despite comparatively more…