Government policy in England has for many years encouraged parental involvement in their children's education. In response, most primary schools have developed a range of strategies designed to assist parents in supporting their children's learning at home, particularly in learning to read. However, it is a common assumption that parents from some…

Spurred by preservice teachers' perceptions that diversity issues such as poverty would not affect their teaching, professors in 1 southeastern U.S. elementary teacher-preparation program took action, which resulted in this examination of the culture of poverty and the identification of strategies to best serve children living in poverty. The…

Teachers know that when families are involved meaningfully in schools, students perform better in academic, behavioral, and emotional domains. This article describes a project designed to enhance the quality of children's literacy interactions with family members and simultaneously increase family involvement at school. The level of participation…

Student-directed IEPs are quickly gaining momentum in schools across the country--the proven benefits include higher academic achievement, enhanced student motivation, and increased communication and self-advocacy skills for students with disabilities. Now for the first time, there's a book that gives elementary and high school educators in-depth…

Three families living in an urban area in the Midwest with elementary-age children diagnosed with disabilities were interviewed about their family involvement in special education programming and intervention. The study explored how three mothers used social networks to advocate and care for their child's special education programming. Using…

Researchers and policy makers have questioned the efficacy of family-involvement interventions. They believe that more studies are needed to compare outcomes of students whose families received a partnership intervention with those who did not. The author used data from the state of Ohio to compare student attendance in elementary schools that…

Situating parental involvement in education within a sociohistorical context, this case study of a Nicaraguan immigrant household in California contrasts the perspectives of two sisters-in-law who shared a home and whose daughters attended the same urban elementary school. Although the two women were involved in their daughters' schooling in…

An increase in the Mexican American population within the predominantly African American community and school was the basis of this qualitative study. The purpose of the study was to introduce African American second grade students to authentic Mexican and Mexican American children's literature. Interactive read-alouds of nonfiction and realistic…

This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement for elementary school children--that is, the studies that link family involvement in elementary schools to children's academic achievement and social development. It synthesizes the outcome-based empirical research published between 1999 and 2006 that were cataloged…

As elementary teachers who teach in a variety of settings--in rural, inner city, and medium-sized town schools, these authors were concerned that their young students were coming into their classes without a real respect and tolerance for cultural differences. They believed that lessons could be taught in the primary grades that would instruct…

The purpose of the study was to examine if there was a relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and parental/community involvement in elementary schools, and if there is a significantly significant difference between low SES schools and high SES schools with regard to parental/community involvement. Socio-economic status was measured by…

This paper discusses research, (its process and results), on an inner city school. It highlights the methods of data collection used in the research and discusses the findings. Methods of data collection include observation, interview and documentary information. Results indicate that the school in question is making modest strides, in terms of…

This review examines empirically based studies of school-based mental health interventions. The review identified 64 out of more than 2,000 articles published between 1990 and 2006 that met methodologically rigorous criteria for inclusion. Of these 64 articles, only 24 examined both mental health "and" educational outcomes. The majority of…

Preservice teachers from a Hispanic-serving university and Latino families reflected on their interactions during an after-school children's tutoring program conducted at an elementary school. This paper focuses on issues that both preservice teachers and families found important to communication and relationship building. These issues were…

It is estimated that 3.2% of Cuba's population of 11.4 million persons has a severe disability of some kind. Recent economic difficulties have, it may be assumed, had a negative impact on health service provision--which is free to all--and thus, on population health outcomes and nutritional levels. There is a traditional culture of family care for…