A questionnaire was designed to solicit information from foster parents about their need of and desire for training, their suggestions on program content, and their perceptions about personnel for training foster parents. Questionnaire data, results of a pilot workshop, and curriculum demonstration evaluations were used to construct a training…

Focus of this column is on problems gifted children encounter when school is not challenging. The authors respond to parents of gifted second- and tenth-grade students who have behavior problems. (PHR)

Outlines a parent-teaching program whereby the parents provided assistance on an exchange basis instead of working with their own children. (HOD)

Interviews with teachers and parents from an experimental laboratory elementary school with a multiage learning program identified factors for successful parent involvement: comfortable environment, student engagement in learning, teacher comfort with parents' presence, parent involvement as a corequisite for children's attendance, ongoing…

Presents recommendations to increase African American parent involvement as a tactic to improve the school performance of African American children. Discusses the importance of parental involvement and factors contributing to the lack of parent participation. (SLD)

Reviews two current resources stimulated by the 1985 publication, "Becoming a Nation of Readers": (1) "Counterpoint and Beyond: A Response to Becoming a Nation of Readers," (Jane L Davidson, editor); and (2) "Becoming a Nation of Readers: What Parents Can Do," (Marilyn R. Binkley, preparer). (MM)

From 1986 to 1988, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory sought to identify and describe the characteristics of promising parent involvement programs in their five-state region. They found seven essential elements, including written policies, adequate administrative support, training, a partnership approach, two-way communication,…

Supervision is the weak link in safety upgrading programs for playgrounds. A strong educational thrust on safe playing is needed for parents of pre-school children. Adults must understand how children behave at play and what playground equipment means to a child user. (JD0)

Describes an intergenerational studies program that focuses on increasing enrollment in business education courses by college-bound students, noncollege-bound students, and parents while imparting keyboarding, computer, and general business skills. (JOW)

Evaluated level of parent involvement in early childhood special education program. Findings from 181 parents revealed that respondents were satisfied with their involvement and input in their child's educational program. Differences between parents' level of income, education, race, gender, and marital status and their subsequent level of…

Studied abortion rates among teenagers in 1,024 counties in 18 states that report abortion numbers. Results show that counties with high levels of religious membership were more likely to be in a state with a parental involvement law for teenage abortions. Both religious membership level and a parental involvement law were negatively related to…

Reports on the impact of a Family Empowerment Intervention (FEI) on twelve-month recidivism among 303 youths. FEI families received three one-hour, home-based meetings per week. Final analysis indicates that youth who completed the FEI experienced significantly lower rates of new charges and significantly fewer new arrests that youths not…

A survey of 250 parents, 211 children, and 79 school staff in Bristol, England, identified needs for family learning and barriers to parent participation. Resources, funding, communication, awareness, and wide-ranging learning activities were suggested. (SK)

This article describes fifty-five skill-building activities for use in teaching grades Pre-K through 8. Activities are labeled according to basic skill areas, and activities for parents are included as well.

Two studies investigated the effects of parents' control and autonomy support on low- and high-achieving children. In Study 1, mothers' (N1=10) involvement with children (7 to 10 years old) in the context of a challenging task was observed. During this interaction, mothers' control predicted diminished engagement and their autonomy support…