This paper examines issues in the inclusion of parents and families of children with disabilities in the educational process, including societal changes affecting families, barriers to family involvement, changes in the definition of parent involvement, and principles for involving families. A section on background notes the importance of family…

"Family Involvement Makes a Difference" is a set of research briefs that examines one set of complementary learning linkages: family involvement in the home and school. As the first in the series, this brief focuses on the linkages among the family, early childhood education settings, and schools. Future papers will examine family involvement in…

Noting that families who are involved in their children's education make a difference in their child's performance, this two-page information sheet encourages families to get involved by listing the benefits of family involvement on one side and the ways adult family members can help in the school on the other. As a result of family participation:…

This report discusses the outcomes of a project designed to help young children with special needs and their families prepare for and adjust to new service settings. The Bridging Early Service Transition (BEST) Project has helped administrators, service providers, and families plan and coordinate transitions for young children with disabilities or…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics that concentrates on aspects of education that can best be addressed through contacts with households rather than institutions. The NHES is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the United…

This study examined the use of community resources and supports outside of formal infant/toddler and preschool programs for children with disabilities participating in early intervention programs in nine communities in three states (Colorado, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania). Data on community resource utilization were gathered for 16 months from…

This paper addresses the current status of foster care, how the system got that way, and the characteristics of a reconceptualized foster care system that will be responsive to today's social conditions as an integral part of broad child welfare reform. The paper begins by discussing four factors that have contributed to the dramatic increase in…

This digest describes parent involvement in their children's education from the perspective of migrant parents and educators and offers strategies to enhance the experience of schooling for migrant students and their families. Teachers often perceive parent involvement as preparing children for school, attending school events, and fulfilling…

Beginning in the fall of 1999, all programs of the Child and Youth Services Administration of the District of Columbia Commission on Mental Health Services were ordered to implement a performance improvement plan. This report looks at how successful one clinic was in improving performance in one year. The objectives were to: (1) increase the…

This publication takes the strong position that many problems in education can be solved by promoting strong, diverse, and autonomous families. Based on the premise that the family is the fundamental unit of society, the document seeks to empower parents and return public schooling to its original purpose of providing community assistance for…

This book presents the findings of 12 years of research. The data gathered and analyzed from almost 700 samples of children's' graphics show how powerful patterns of cognition (schema) in the early years of development gradually evolves into recognizable forms of writing and mathematics. The goal was to chart the progress of children's thinking…

This annotated bibliography identifies approximately 70 research studies concerned with the role of parent/family involvement in student success that were published during the last decade. Studies are grouped into three related areas: studies that evaluate the effectiveness of school-based programs and interventions intended to promote…

This book explores the dilemma of the increasing obsession with work and the resulting imbalances between career and family life. Through theoretical frameworks and case examples it discusses the negative consequences of the societal phenomena of over-work and over-dedication to careers, which have been misdiagnosed or ignored by mental health…

One of a series of 10 English/Pacific language audiocassettes, this bilingual (English/Hawaiian) audio guide explores the benefits of reading aloud to children. Family members will learn how they can positively impact their children's success in school by reading aloud to them at home. A model session using a local story demonstrates read-aloud…

One of a series of 10 English/Pacific language audiocassettes, this bilingual (English/Samoan) audio guide explores the benefits of reading aloud to children. Family members will learn how they can positively impact their children's success in school by reading aloud to them at home. A model session using a local story demonstrates read-aloud…