Parents of 111 students in 4 Scottish special schools generally perceived themselves to be involved in their children's "recording" (information gathering and decision making) procedures, but mothers' perceptions were more positive than fathers'. Interviews with 14 school and agency professionals indicate professionals' support for…

Describes New York City initiatives for parent participation in education, including the Parent Involvement Program (PIP), the Parent Orientation Program (POP), and the Parent Leadership Assistance Network (PLAN). These programs incorporate commitment to the family, broadened definitions of parent involvement, varied involvement strategies, and…

Examines the size of a school by focusing on the differences in the curriculum. Parent involvement, faculty interaction, and educational innovation are the variables that should determine the size of the school. (BJV)

A sixth grade class is divided into two groups on the basis of eye color. On succeeding days, brown-eyed and blue-eyed students are treated either preferentially or with prejudice. The experimental lesson is repeated in a parent student workshop, where students lead the discussion of discrimination and bias. (AF)

Discusses the growth in four interrelated groups that bear on the school's relationship to the community: elderly citizens, school-age children, nontraditional families, and the underclass of impoverished children. Suggests that schools target business, the elderly, and parents as publics that will offer future support. (MS)

Claims that children's peer relations are significant in their social, cognitive, and moral development, and are correlated to later problems in social adjustment. Includes a brief historical perspective on the subject, and explores direct and indirect influences. Claims that peer relations develop within ecological frameworks, and identifies the…

Describes the author's year as a volunteer in the writing workshop in her son's first-grade classroom. Discusses her experiences and reflects on the growth she saw in children as readers and writers. (SR)

Examined the relationship between parental involvement in their children's schooling and children's motivation and academic achievement. Subjects were of 300 11- to 14-year-olds. Data from parent, student, and teacher evaluations suggest that parental involvement manifests itself in many ways. Children who are confident in school may actually push…

Noting that the transition from preschool to kindergarten presents many challenges to children, families, and teachers, presents a preschool-to-kindergarten planning transition model. The goal of the model is to provide a strategy that assists children, teachers, and families to establish and implement a collaborative transition process. Five…

The experience of the school-choice program in Alum Rock (California) illustrates how a determined effort to reach all parents and provide them with information about choices and programs can have a reasonable degree of success. Parental information is essential in avoiding inequities of opportunity. (SLD)

Used 4 waves of data on 347 seventh graders and their parents to examine relation of parental involvement and hostility to academic performance. Parental behavior affected later academic performance, when controlling for earlier performance. Setting and positively reinforcing appropriate behavioral standards increased academic performance, whereas…

Profiles the development and operation of a parent center in a Boston (Massachusetts) elementary school, the Paul A. Dever School. The school, with a high percentage of minority and low-income students, finds the parent center an important step in moving toward its goals of success for each child. (SLD)

Analysis of an instrument for assessing workers' beliefs about parents of children receiving mental health-related services identified five factors: parent blame, giving information, parent validation, use of psychotropic medications, and parent instruction. Differences in beliefs were revealed among workers who endorsed psychodynamic, family…

Presents guidelines and ideas for school-home learning activities that can be used by teachers and administrators who work with at-risk children and their families to build partnerships between the home and school. Recommends that teachers and administrators listen to families, develop home-learning activities, share activities with families, and…

Discusses the role that schools, communities, and parents can play in transmitting American Indian culture and language to Indian children, focusing on the experiences of the Hualapai Indians and Peach Springs School District in Arizona. (three references) (MDM)