This guide provides states, local agencies, policy makers, and early childhood service providers with an understanding of the provisions of two laws, the reauthorization of Head Start and the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It presents background information and important issues on early childhood care and…

This issue of the Canadian quarterly "Transition," in French and English language versions, examines issues related to the role of parents in shaping the future of their children. It is suggested that a holistic view of the role of parents should include not only the daily art of parenting as practiced in the homes of individual mothers…

This is a collection of 20 stories that focus specifically on the experience of growing up Chicana/o. A foreword by Rudolfo Anaya provides background on the development of Chicano literature. The stories are presented in four sections that explore the themes of heritage and actual and metaphorical boundaries, the importance of grandparents and…

Early findings are reported from the Michigan State University Vulnerability Study, a study of differences in parents and children of families with an alcoholic father and matched, community control families with a non-alcoholic father. Male preschool children in the alcoholic homes were the target group, because they are 6 to 10 times more at…

This study explored differences between families with children educated at home and those with children in public schools, and examined the educational and socialization values and practices of different subgroups of homeschoolers. Subjects were 70 homeschooling parents and 20 nonhomeschooling parents who completed a questionnaire assessing…

This study examined the underlying common origins of pediatric social illnesses (i.e., child abuse and neglect, failure to thrive, accidents, and poisonings) in children under age 4. Subjects were 560 children admitted to the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston. Children admitted with pediatric social diagnoses were matched on the basis…

Personal decisions and life-styles and how they have social and demographic consequences is the focus of the grades 7-12 population education unit developed for the Baltimore public schools. The unit attempts to have the student see himself as part of his present family unit and as a decision maker who will make choices about his own future…

Central in the development of this book is the issue of stability and instability in the family life of black people. A background section on the social facts of family life, which for the most part includes historical, demographic, and ecological data, is presented. Additional chapters discuss: (1) how marital stability can be used as a social…

This study assessed collateral effects during unstructured dinnertime family interactions of two different paradigms for training parents of 17 children with autism. One taught individual target behaviors serially, and the other taught the pivotal responses (PRT) of motivation and responsivity to multiple cues. Results suggested the PRT…

Examines the extent to which substantial differences in the attitudes of children from the same family are mediated by nonshared environmental processes or by genetic factors. Results suggested that parental and sibling negativity is significantly related to adolescent adjustment through nonshared environmental processes, although genetic factors…

The field of early intervention has recognized a growing need to study contributing factors of family outcomes such as family quality of life (FQOL). This study of 130 fathers and 234 mothers of families in early childhood programs explores the associations between family income and severity of disability, and fathers' and mothers' satisfaction…

This module is part of a training program for foster parents and foster care workers offered at Colorado State University. The module's learning objectives address: (1) the organization of a social services foster care system; (2) the functioning of human systems and the rules governing their operation; and (3) the difficulties complex systems…

This longitudinal, prospective study used case material from 232 families in its analysis of effects of family environments on criminal behavior. Men who had participated in a crime prevention program were studied 40 years after their families had first been visited by counselors. The men's convictions for serious crimes provided a measure of the…

Properties of maintenance and loss of Spanish/English bilingualism were investigated in 308 high school students of Mexican background. Key variables investigated included: (1) actual and self-reported proficiencies in Spanish and English; (2) self-reported language choice behavior in various settings; and (3) language attitude. The biggest…

This survey investigates 6 major questions: (1) do adolescents and their parents perceive youth as overindulged; (2) are parent-child communication channels open; (3) has understanding between parents and their children broken down; (4) do children identify with their parents; (5) has discipline been permissive; and (6) do adolescents reject the…