This study examined the associations between parenting styles, teacher interactional styles, and children's reading and spelling skills. The sample consisted of 864 Finnish-speaking children and their parents (864 mothers, 864 fathers) and teachers ("N" = 123). Children's risk for reading disabilities and reader status were assessed in…

This study examines how African American children--in grades kindergarten through 2--and their parents selected books within the context of a unique family literacy program entitled, "I Never Knew There Were So Many Books About Us!: Parents and Children Reading African American Children's Literature Together". This study is informed by…

Parenthood is a phenomenon that is not easy to research. This study analyzed the emphases of parenting in the light of three comparison groups. The research was grounded on Bradley's (2007) theory of six fundamental parenting tasks. This was a case study focusing in one second-grade classroom. The teacher, 18 parents, and 19 pupils were recruited…

Even with increased risks, many children demonstrate resiliency and avoid being labeled for special education; however, research on risk and resilience has been problematic because of inadequate statistical models, limitations of available data, and the exclusion of key protective factors. This study used a national sample to examine the influence…

Interpersonal touch has been little studied empirically as an indicator of parent- and peer-child intimacy. Undergraduate students (n = 390) were studied using a questionnaire survey regarding the frequencies of interpersonal touch by father, mother, same-sex peers, and opposite-sex peers during preschool ages, grades 1-3, grades 4-6, and grades…

This study examined social problems at school and relationships with peers, siblings, mothers, and fathers among children with ADHD only (n = 41), ODD only (n = 14), ADHD + ODD (n = 47), and normal controls (n = 204) from a school-based sample of 2,463 first to ninth graders in Taiwan. ADHD and ODD symptoms were determined by teacher and mother…

This longitudinal study examined processes that mediate the association between maternal depressive symptoms and peer social preference during the early school years. Three hundred and fifty six kindergarten children (182 boys) and their mothers participated in the study. During kindergarten, mothers reported their level of depressive…

Reading success has been linked to high school completion, future job success, and future generations of children who can read. Unfortunately, children who are unable to read on grade level by the end of first grade are at a great disadvantage and unlikely to catch up later. Without the ability to read and comprehend text, all aspects of schooling…

Teacher, peer, and student reports of the quality of the teacher-student relationship were obtained for an ethnically diverse and academically at-risk sample of 706 second- and third-grade students. Cluster analysis identified four types of relationships based on the consistency of child reports of support and conflict in the relationship with…

Questionnaires were given to students prior to testing for giftedness to assess how the gifted identification process changes attitudes toward gifted programs and parent-child relationships. After those identified as gifted had been participating in a pullout gifted program for one semester, another questionnaire was administered to all original…

The four articles in this issue exemplify several exciting trends in the ongoing effort to understand the nature and sources of children's academic trajectories. Particularly noteworthy is the common thread of searching for key parenting and child mediators of the connection between parental educational accomplishments and child outcomes. In an…

This study investigates the extent to which the quality of the relationships between African American children and their mothers and teachers in kindergarten predict academic and social development during elementary school years using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. The…

Background: The prevalence of overweight children has reached epidemic proportions, and affects Latinos youth more than other subgroups in the United States. Given the prevalence of obesity and its economic consequences, community health initiatives have shifted toward primary prevention at younger ages. Methods: Data representing all levels of…

We use panel data from the kindergarten and 1st grade waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class to investigate whether increases in schooling inputs in the form of smaller classes "crowd out" parental inputs. We estimate child fixed-effect and fixed-effect-instrumental-variable models to identify the causal effects of…

This dissertation study describes and interprets the dialogue between Latino parents and their children during home literature conversations. The participating students were enrolled in my first and second grade classroom in East Los Angeles, California. I was guided by the following research questions in this qualitative teacher research study:…