Suggests that there is a pressing need to find ways of developing more services which aim to strengthen and complement families. To do this effectively, these services must be developed according to the families' needs and values. (MP)

This paper addresses five issues in consideration of family contributions to teachers' work and students' success. The five issues include change, partnerships, students' learning, value systems, and international networking. A review of studies and programs illustrates implications for policy and practice for teachers' professional development.…

Studied the interactions, goals, and purposes of four mothers as they shared two narrative and two expository texts with their preschoolers. Results suggest that there is no one path to becoming literate, nor one single "correct" model of development. Literacy learning is an activity that involves the collaboration of parents and…

Examined the reasons parents read to their children using interviews from 25 Brisbane parents. Reasons given for reading aloud to their children were categorized under the following five main headings: pleasure for the child, functionality, good start at school, closeness, and quiet time. Concludes with a discussion of the practical implications…

Explores the proposition that young children need to discover and actively participate in adults' theories of childhood. Reveals ways in which children collaborate in and sometimes contest the need to display precompetent identities, and briefly discusses the consequences, for enculturation in general and for schoolwork in particular, of failing…