Most parents of gifted children are aware of the benefit of having books and other hands-on learning materials available to their children. However, there is more involved in creating a thoughtful and intellectual learning environment at home than just books and science kits. The way a group communicates, what it communicates, and what it values are all components of a culture of thinking. In "The Thinking Classroom: Learning and Teaching in a Culture of Thinking," Tishman, Perkins,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Parent School Relationship, Parent Participation, Creative...
Looking for relevant material for the Adolescent Psychology course she teaches, the author's attention was drawn to a book by Thomas Cottle, "Mind Fields: Adolescent Consciousness in a Culture of Distraction" (2001). Robert Frost's quotation, "Grant me intention, purpose, and design--That's near enough for me to the Divine," in the frontispiece seemed so relevant to the topic she intended to develop in this article, and is stated with so much elegance, that she could not...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Gifted, Child Psychology, Academic Discourse, Attention, Child Development,...
Harriet Bishop (HB) Elementary School opened in 1996 with an articulated educational model developed collaboratively by the teachers, parents, and the administration. The model includes a mission, set of beliefs, and rationale for the instructional design. While nearly every school district or school has a formal mission, the statements articulated for HB are taken seriously. To support the mission, the students learn through an integrated curriculum using strategies such as differentiated...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Integrated Curriculum, Instructional Design, Academically Gifted, Student Interests,...
Dr. Robinson's proposed action plan will serve the needs of highly achieving gifted students. However, defining giftedness as high academic performance based on traditional assessment procedures could reverse the field's fledgling success in supporting culturally diverse gifted children and youth. Changing the focus of equity in gifted education to economic representation will not decrease educators' responsibility to understand the learning needs of racially, culturally, and linguistically...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Academically Gifted, Equal Education, Access to Education, Student...
Korean children's school experiences as new immigrants to the United States are often emotionally turbulent because of environmental and psychological stresses that result when moving from one culture to another. With some basic knowledge and some suggested approaches, teachers can assist these children, whose numbers are increasing, to have a successful educational experience. This article presents 14 specific suggestions that teachers can use to help newly immigrated Korean children have a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Attitudes, Parent Teacher Conferences, Home Visits, Korean Americans,...
The achievement gap, traditionally measured by test scores, also can be documented by dropout behavior. Examining dropout behavior among Black, White, and Hispanic students, with a particular focus on gaps within groups and not just between Whites and minorities, shows a clearer picture of the achievement gap. The results of our study show multiple achievement gaps both between and within groups, ultimately concluding that within-group gaps were often more significant than gaps between groups....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Dropout Rate, Dropout Prevention, Low Achievement, Parent Participation, Academic...
The increasing use of school advisory councils for budgetary decision making is an obvious trend in new patterns of school governance. As decision makers, council members are lobbied by groups and individuals desiring funding for their particular interests. Problems that need attention are judiciously considered as competing interests vie for limited resources. A challenge then for the councils is to make spending choices that are most likely to improve learning outcomes for all students....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Interests, Governance, Accountability, Organizational Development, Advisory...
There can be a natural conflict between home schoolers and the school district's attempt to restrict their freedom. Home schooling is an age-old educational method that was primarily utilized by parents seeking to teach their own children at home in order to restore traditional values and bring what they perceived to be an order to the family. Presently, a few parents for reasons unique to themselves are now requesting home schooling for other than religious instruction. This type of parental...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Home Schooling, Educational Methods, Parent Attitudes, Compliance (Legal), Court...
This research, using questionnaire and interview data, examined practices and challenges of educators in areas of southern Ontario in fostering immigrant parents' support for their children's literacy. Results showed that teachers learn about the language and culture of their students, modify homework assigned to their ESL students, and encourage parents to read to their children in their mother tongue. Teachers need to increase their awareness of parents' perceptions of authority and the role...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Foreign Countries, Immigrants,...
To investigate issues in transition to kindergarten for children with special needs, we explored several sources of information (peer-reviewed literature, government websites, parent surveys, and interviews with professionals). We found that administrative issues like lack of integration and the evaluation of services available to children and families, and parent support issues like promoting advocacy were recurring themes in all sources. Although some barriers are very clear, more systematic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Disabilities, Kindergarten, Special Needs Students, Student Adjustment, School...
Schools often consider themselves experts in a child's education. While school personnel are trained to work with children and families and certainly have much experience in the matter, the perspective and values of low-income parents are not always understood nor incorporated into the school culture. Since parent involvement has been shown to positively affect academic outcomes, it becomes important to understand the potential contributions that low-income parents can make to their children's...
Topics: ERIC Archive, School Culture, Income, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, School...
Since its founding in 1941 until the 1980s, "Pinecrest" School was dominated by children from "Baywoods," an economically privileged and largely Jewish neighbourhood. In the late 1980s, the population of the school changed to include children of immigrants in an adjacent neighbourhood, "Kerrydale." Seeking to protect their children's cultural capital and class advantages, the Baywoods parents' response involved the construction of fundamental difference and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Jews, Academic Achievement, Cultural Pluralism, Immigrants, Multicultural Education,...
Second language learners continue to languish in California public schools in spite of six years of promises following passage of the controversial ballot initiative "English for the Children" (Proposition 227) to fix the education of English Language Learners (ELLs) through English-only instruction. In addition, with the development of new standards for teacher preparation programs following Senate Bill 2042, it is likely that the curriculum and instructional practices for heritage...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Second Language Learning, Cooperative Learning, Educational Change, Peer Teaching,...
Historically, preservice teacher education programs have not adequately prepared teachers in parent involvement or family-centered practices. Because teachers do not routinely encourage family involvement, and parents do not always participate when they are encouraged to do so, the importance of preservice training to involve family members in children's education is paramount. Recognizing this gap in training and the concern that most beginning teachers do not naturally have the skills to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Preservice Teachers, Teacher Education Programs, Parent...
Parent participation has been one of the key principles of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) since it was first authorized in 1975 as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) and has continued through the most recent reauthorization in 2004. Parents of children with disabilities have decision making roles about their children's education mandated by law in part based upon historical lack of involvement in such decisions provided by school...
Topics: ERIC Archive, School Restructuring, Parent Participation, Developmental Delays, Related Services...
With American children on course to grow into the most obese generation of adults in history, Sonia Caprio argues that it is critical to develop more effective strategies for preventing childhood obesity and treating serious obesity-related health complications. She notes that although pediatricians are concerned about the obesity problem, most are ineffective in addressing it. Treatment should begin, Caprio explains, with a thorough medical exam, an assessment of nutrition and physical...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Medical Education, Graduate Medical Education, Obesity, Intervention, Physical...
As researchers continue to analyze the role of parenting both in the development of childhood overweight and in obesity prevention, studies of child nutrition and growth are detailing the ways in which parents affect their children's development of food- and activity-related behaviors. Ana Lindsay, Katarina Sussner, Juhee Kim, and Steven Gortmaker argue that interventions aimed at preventing childhood overweight and obesity should involve parents as important forces for change in their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Role, Parent Influence, Prevention, Obesity, Child Health, Child Development,...
Contemporary American culture has taken on protecting children from the consequences of their own actions so much that parents are raising children for whom being responsible for one's own actions and one's own work is anathema to "good parenting." Unlike the culture of the past, many parents spend hours on end with their children under the guise of "helping them" with their homework. Many parents complain about the time spent doing homework with their children, and the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Homework, Federal Legislation, Academic Persistence, Academic Achievement, Student...
How can physical educators make connections to the larger community? This article discusses how physical educators can better inform community physical-activity leaders and coaches about appropriate instructional practices and how they can inform students about activities available in the community. It also offers suggestions for how to invite the community into the school and promote the use of school facilities for community activities for the benefit of all involved.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Facilities, Physical Education Teachers, Teaching Methods, School...
Background: Increasing physical activity in youth is a recommended approach to curbing the childhood obesity epidemic. One way to help increase children's daily activity is to promote active transportation to and from school (ATS). Purpose: The purpose of this case study was to explore parental perception of, and participation in, ATS initiatives. Methods: This study is part of a larger project on ATS initiatives conducted by the Physical Activity Policy Research Network. Sixty-nine key...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Benefits, Obesity, School Activities, Health Education, Physical...
Background: There is some debate over the efficacy of alcohol industry parenting manuals. Purpose: This study compares the content and focus of alcohol industry and non-industry "talk to your child about drinking" parenting manuals. Methods: Parenting manuals from Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Company were compared to federal government and private health agency manuals (e.g., the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and a joint project by the Department of Health...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Health Education, Industry, Alcohol Education, Public Health, Child Rearing,...
In this article, we examine the behaviors and contrasting perspectives, attitudes, and expectations of three sets of stakeholders--school personnel and the two communities of parents that represented equal portions of the population at an elementary school that had recently undergone substantial restructuring resulting from a desegregation order. Based on our findings, we contend that disorganization, lack of communication, varying definitions of parent involvement, and unequal power relations...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, School Personnel, Elementary...
Studies suggest that three and four-year old children who are exposed to preschool have a greater chance of academic success throughout their schooling. This article highlights a five-year case study of children of poverty who attended a structured preschool in Salinas, California. The longitudinal study exposed various components of a successful preschool program. The study results indicate that children of poverty who attended preschool out performed in second and third grade a similar...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Preschool Education, Academic Achievement, Grade 3, Young Children, Success,...
Character education in American schools is experiencing a revival. Although the teaching of character waned from the 1960s through the 1980s, the rise in violent crime and a general feeling by the public that American children suffered a crisis in morals led to a resurgence of character education programs across the nation, with most states either mandating or supporting such education. Today, many schools are engaged in formal programs such as "Character Counts!" or the Heartwood...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Community Involvement, Ethics, Values Education, Citizenship Education, Moral Values,...
Family literacy programs reflect a recent trend in educational reform that has proven to be a successful educational model for all members of the family unit. Based on the literature that links family involvement to student achievement, these initiatives focus on empowering parents of school children. These programs have been particularly beneficial for linguistically and culturally diverse families, since they provide opportunities for adult family members to acquire English language/literacy...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Personnel Selection, Family Involvement, Academic Achievement, Educational Change,...
Are instructional aides colleagues of teachers, bridges to the school community, both, or neither? This study addresses this question by asking instructional aides about their relationships with teachers and parents and about their status in schools, and suggestions are made to create stronger bonds among these partners in education. This paper relies on the concept of "teachers' knowledge" (Carter, 1993; Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Doyle, 1990; Shulman, 1987) as a way to study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Epistemology, Educational Media, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Partnerships in...
This article is a case study of a highly effective school leader in an urban city in Connecticut who has created a successful learning community. Through a one-year study, which involved interviews and observations on a regular basis, the author ascertained the leadership practices and patterns of this leader that have led to a successful learning community where teachers, staff, parents, and children are valued and treated with respect, and children are achieving academically. The article...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Change, Urban Education, Case Studies, Parent Participation, Cooperation,...
This paper presents the results of a survey of 127 seniors in a diverse suburban high school to determine the impact of the subjects' perceptions of parent involvement on their levels of achievement as measured by the standardized national ACT test. Independent-samples t tests were then used to assess whether there were any differences in achievement as reported in national test scores among students with a perception of a high level of parent involvement, students with a perception of a low...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Public Schools, Parent Participation, Academic Achievement, Parent School...
This report highlights the evaluation of a parent education program conducted with an urban middle school in Southern California. The program called "PASSport to Success" enables parents to learn study skills and how to better teach their children how to study in school. This evaluative report conducted a pretest and a posttest on student academic performance as well as interviews with parents throughout the eight weeks. The program, administered to low-socioeconomic status parents...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Education, Study Skills, Middle Schools, Pretests Posttests, Academic...
This qualitative study examines how Hmong parents and professional staff at one elementary school perceive home-school relations and how they construct racial and ethnic identities of Hmong children. The study was conducted at a Midwestern elementary school where the Hmong student population is over 50% and where five Hmong staff members are employed (3 teachers, 2 aide/translators). Findings indicate differing opinions among parents and school staff in the areas of understanding Hmong culture,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Family School Relationship, Hmong People, Asian Americans, Ethnicity, Racial...
This paper examines the results of a methodology used with teachers for an inservice continuing education program aimed at strengthening school-family connections. The question guiding this research was, "Did the adoption of a constructive-collaborative model involving a university-school partnership and based on strengthening school-family relations promote the professional education of teachers, and if so, how?" An investigative and formative model was adopted based on practical...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Continuing Education, Professional Education, Inservice...
Teachers strive to establish partnerships with parents to support student learning. Strong communication is fundamental to this partnership and to building a sense of community between home and school. In these changing times, teachers must continue to develop and expand their skills in order to maximize effective communication with parents. This article presents a range of communication opportunities available to teachers, including the emerging use of technology. Some of these practical...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Teacher Cooperation, Educational Strategies, Parent Participation, Parent...
This article presents initial findings from a study that examined how African American mothers from a low-income neighborhood conceptualized their roles in their children's mathematics learning. Based on interviews and observations focusing on ten mothers' involvement in their children's education, we offer a framework that expands typical characterizations of parent involvement. This framework privileges practices that are both traditionally visible and invisible to the school and highlights...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Schools, Mathematics Education, Mothers, Income, Parent Participation, Parent...
The Parent And School Survey (PASS) is an instrument designed to quickly, easily, and accurately measure parental involvement in their children's education. It is based on Epstein's six-construct framework, with four items devoted to each construct. A test-retest reliability study of the PASS was conducted with 40 subjects to refine the 24 items designed to measure parental involvement. The range and standard deviation of each item were also examined to determine breadth of responses in the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Reliability, School Surveys, Parent School Relationship, Item...
This study describes the design, implementation, and outcomes of a school-based readiness program for prekindergarten children (4-year-olds) and their families. The program was designed on the basis of a collaborative model of university-school partnership, and the program itself featured relationship-building between families and schools. The research examined the implementation of the readiness program across sites and examined potential outcomes by following the children into kindergarten....
Topics: ERIC Archive, School Readiness, Second Languages, Family Characteristics, Preschool Education,...
The idea of learning through projects has a long history in the field of education in general, and in early childhood education in particular. Many educators provide guidelines on how to approach project work with children and assert its benefits in various areas of children's learning and development. Yet few empirical studies investigate what parents think about their children's learning through projects. In this case study, we intend to fill this gap by exploring parents' perspectives of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Low Income, Early Childhood Education, Parent Participation, Children, Parent School...
Asian American parents' involvement practices challenge the traditional definition of parent involvement (participation in school activities). In this paper, I argue that research and practices focusing only on this narrow definition of parent involvement may not be culturally sensitive approaches to supporting the home-school connection. The existing literature addressing Asian American parent involvement suggests that indirect practices at home, such as structuring the child's time, are more...
Topics: ERIC Archive, School Activities, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Context Effect,...
In order to explore parental involvement among low-income families, a case study was conducted at a public elementary school in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, a new school replaced an outdated structure. During the planning stage for the new school, community members and agency professionals, along with educators, developed and implemented programs to both support families and engage them in their children's education. Utilizing qualitative research methods, interviews, observations, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Qualitative Research, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Low Income...
This quasi-experimental study (based on parent self-selection) examines the effects of a parent involvement program on kindergarten children's English language skills. This program was implemented as one component of a Migrant Even Start Family Literacy Program. The study was conducted at a rural Midwestern elementary school with 14 kindergarten children of families participating in the parent involvement training program, and 15 kindergarten children from families not participating. This study...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Control Groups, Parent Participation, Family Involvement, Parent School Relationship,...
While the literature on parent involvement cites many examples of challenges to parent involvement and suggestions to overcome them, few models of extensive parent involvement in urban, public high schools have been described. The Boston Arts Academy is an example of a school in such a setting. It engages a vast majority of its parents in school-based activities through multiple entry points, a welcoming school environment, and frequent communication among staff and parents. By focusing on...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Parent School Relationship, Educational Environment, Case...
Involving families in their children's education is not only a legal requirement in special education, it also predicts academic achievement, social and emotional development, and a variety of other positive school outcomes for all children. Unfortunately, school-home relationships often have been ignored or underdeveloped. Disconnections between home and school may be especially acute in urban areas where school personnel may not understand the culture of the students and families with whom...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Schools, School Districts, Urban Areas, Conflict Resolution, School Personnel,...
Using data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), this study examines the social disparity of family involvement. A total of 4,405 students from 140 Hong Kong secondary schools participated in the first cycle of PISA study identifying four types of family involvement: cultural communication, social communication, homework supervision, and cultural activity. Multi-level analysis was used to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Disadvantaged, Parent Participation, Family Involvement, Parent School Relationship,...
This article utilizes a social capital perspective to explore the benefits and harmful effects of strong ties between parents and schools in enhancing college access for students. While focusing on social capital in the form of parental participation, the article goes beyond a functionalist approach of the social capital theory as adopted by Coleman, whereby the social networks within parent groups and between parents and teachers are viewed as providing common positive outcomes for everyone in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent School Relationship, Social Networks, Social Capital, Higher Education, Access...
The present exploratory study examined the involvement of 77 Mexican-origin fathers in their school-age (grades 4-6) child's education. Fathers were classified into one of three groups based on their linguistic acculturation status. The three groups were predominantly English-speakers (n = 25), English/Spanish-speakers (n = 27), and predominantly Spanish-speakers (n = 25). Five analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) were conducted using the following father involvement dimensions as outcomes:...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Teacher Cooperation, School Activities, Linguistics, School Involvement,...
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 schools' principals concerning the schools' experiences with the parental involvement of diverse groups of parents. The results of this study indicate that...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Parent Participation, Cultural Differences, Parent School Relationship, Foreign...
At both state and federal levels, partnerships of schools, parents, and communities have become an educational priority. Are teacher education programs adequately preparing preservice teachers for these partnerships? Focus groups of College of Education (COE) faculty from five Illinois Professional Learner's Partnership universities were conducted to answer this question. This study is organized around key themes that emerged from the discussions: importance of including the topic in teacher...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Teaching, Preservice Teachers, Teacher Education Programs, Focus Groups,...
In this article, the author presents findings from a national project coordinated by the University of Queensland. The project was designed to explore the links between home, school, and community that supported children's numeracy development. Two of the aims of this project were to: (a) critically review recent Australian and international research in this area, with a particular emphasis on the extent to which the needs of educationally disadvantaged students are addressed in current...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educationally Disadvantaged, Numeracy, Foreign Countries, Primary Education, Early...
A growing body of research supports the view that parents' attitudes, behaviors, and activities related to children's education influences students' learning and educational success. To date, research studying parental involvement in their children's schooling included elementary through middle school aged populations. There have been a few studies that explored parental involvement of preschoolers. Yet relatively few studies have investigated the African American parents' motivation for...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Strategic Planning, Parent Participation, Motivation, Educational Practices, Program...
In this article, the author discusses the dilemma between retaining and promoting students who are unprepared for the next level, and offers a solution to this dilemma. In a perfect world, every student would be academically prepared for the next grade, and there would be no need to choose between holding students back and passing them on unprepared. Of course, getting every single student caught up is easier said than done. A good start, though, is to provide interventions before a student...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Grade Repetition, Student Promotion, Intervention, Child Psychology, Class Size,...
Many teachers, fueled by their passion, classroom experience, and entrepreneurial verve, decide to start their own schools. With the needs of children driving their every decision, teachers can create successful schools where students thrive. In this article, teachers who established their own schools--from public charters to private enterprises--share a glimpse of their journeys.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Economic Development, Personal Narratives, Teacher Educators, Charter Schools,...