Educators have long recognized that parental and community supports are important underpinnings for children's success in school. With respect to the teaching of writing, however, little research has been conducted to provide evidence of effective practices teachers use to involve parents and communities. As part of a national Canadian study of…

Reports results of a study of fourth-grade students in Nigeria. Examines the relationship between parents' willingness and ability to provide financial and psychological support and the academic achievement of Nigerian students. Concludes that parental support influences academic achievement along with other factors such as parental occupation and…

The Avon Grove School District has a middle school orientation program for incoming elementary students and their parents, which consists of several visits and open houses in the Spring and at the beginning of the Fall term. (SJL)

This practicum was designed to increase the involvement of parents in the music education of fourth and fifth grade students. A delivery system was developed to provide parents with activities, resources, and materials relating to the student's music education. Parents received the materials at no cost. The author developed a brochure and monthly…

The construct of parental support has been defined and measured from a variety of perspectives with little consistency across studies. The present study investigates the relationships among parents' self-reports, children's perceptions, and observers' ratings of parental support in order to assess the validity of each perspective. In addition, the…

This study examined whether there is an association between the activities suggested by a federally mandated Title I learning compact and the reading achievement of at-risk fourth grade students. In addition, it investigated the relationship between specific home and school parent involvement activities and student reading scores. Specifically,…

Investigated the influence of parent involvement, parent socioeconomic status, and instructional supplies expenditures on the mathematics achievement of fourth graders in a low-income North Carolina county. Data analysis indicated that instructional supplies expenditures per pupil and parental volunteer hours were not statistically significant in…

Describes the formation and organization of a mathematics club for fourth- and fifth-grade students. Offers 12 hints on running a successful club based on the author's experiences. (MDH)

A home-based reinforcement program was instituted with three underachieving fourth graders who exhibited inappropriate behavior. Each day the children brought home a workbook assignment indicating percentage of correct responses and parents provided reinforcement for correct items and for improvement over time. Effectiveness on completion of daily…

Three components of the Detroit Emergency School Aid Act (ESAA) Basic Projects are evaluated here: (1) Individualization of Instruction: Elementary and Middle School Sub-Component; (2) Total Curriculum Reading Thrust: Elementary and Middle School Sub-Component; and (3) Parent Training: Home Curriculum Specialists and Assistants Sub-Component. All…

A fourth-grade teacher designed and implemented a practicum study for the purpose of increasing parent participation in a culturally diverse, rural, upper elementary school. The central aim was to involve parents in the education of their children. To attain the objective, unique communication strategies were used to meet the needs of the…

A fourth-grade teacher, who was employed to provide a special enrichment program to minority children with above-average academic abilities, designed a practicum to increase parent involvement in her classroom. A parent volunteer questionnaire and an activities survey form were developed to determine the level and nature of parent interest. A…

A 12-week practicum intervention, designed to improve the classroom performance of 17 elementary school students experiencing learning or behavior problems by offering the students nutrition instruction and improving nutritional practices in the students' homes, was implemented and evaluated. Students were requied to agree to: (1) eat a nutritious…

Intended for parents of fourth grade children who are participating in Chapter 1 programs that support basic skills education, the learning activities in this booklet give children practice with reading and writing. Among the language skills covered in the activities are (1) vocabulary (in context, synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homographs,…

Providing a low-key, nonthreatening way for teachers and parents to build partnerships for kids, this book presents short, concrete activities in English and Spanish to foster communication between teachers and parents and between parents and children. While the activities in the book are designed for grade 4, none of the activities have…