This study examined the extent to which teacher ratings of the frequency of parent-teacher contacts and quality of parent-teacher relationships in prekindergarten were associated with teachers' perceptions of the quality of their relationship with children and children's social development. Participants were a diverse sample of 2966 four-year-olds…

Researchers agree that a needs assessment is a critical first step in designing a full-service school, but the large task of orchestrating the necessary community collaboration for such projects has occupied most of the literature to date. This study examines the process of planning and implementing a needs assessment for a rural school serving…

Examines the attitudes toward suicide of trainee teachers from a large metropolitan university. Results indicate that while trainees endorsed the metaphor representing suicide as a cry for help, they also perceived the communicative intent of suicide as being primarily manipulative in nature. Discusses results with reference to training and…

When newly trained special education teachers begin working with infants and young children in early intervention programs, they find themselves also having to work extensively with parents. Teachers may expect all parents to become partners with them in teaching their children, and teachers often become upset or frustrated when parents fail to…

Following mention of the literature and pioneers in the field of at-risk family involvement in education, this document discusses the history of the term "at risk" and its use, identification of children at risk, and the two major risk factors: poverty and minority status. The important connections and assets missing from the at-risk child's world…

This publication discusses issues of parent-teacher partnerships that affect children's development. An introductory chapter suggests that the central figures in fostering the development of a child's potential are the significant adults in the child's world. Chapter 2 considers family relationships as prototypes for later partnerships, and lists…

Educators face no greater challenge than improving the academic odds for economically disadvantaged, minority children, because they are at the greatest risk for failure. A recent study from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill uncovered ways in which, despite good intentions,…

Discusses the special challenges presented to classroom teachers in identifying low income, gifted students and describes an independent field study conducted by a preservice teacher in a school with an at-risk population. Concludes that improved teacher attitudes could be fostered by applying educational theory to classroom practice as a…