For a large portion of the children of the United States, vocational education must mean education in agriculture and the art of life on the farm. In recognition of this fact, agriculture is now taught in some way and to some extent in hundreds of public high schools and in the lower schools of many of the States. Possibly the greatest difficulty…

Data gathered from a national sample of 17-year-old high school students were used to correlate social studies achievement and attitude scores with various constructs previously determined to affect learning. Several significant correlations were found, both positively and negatively affecting learning outcomes. (CJ)

Examined feelings of 132 late adolescents entering college toward their mothers, fathers, and closest siblings. Findings from questionnaires included that emotional support of mothers and siblings is more important to women, that discussion of feelings and activities with these family members occurs more often with women, and that men feel more…

Evaluated over 6 years a comprehensive treatment program for abusive families in Spain. Findings were similar to those obtained for similar programs in the United States and other developed countries. Lowest success rates were found for neglectful and abusive-neglectful families. Dropout and nondropout families differed in presence of alcohol…

Examined relations among maternal depressive symptoms, family discord, and adolescent psychological adjustment. Found that maternal depressive symptoms were related to subsequent adolescent depressive symptoms, conduct problems, and academic difficulties for girls but not boys. Girls' greater vulnerability to family discord accounted for the…

Studied influence of maternal versus paternal support for pregnant and parenting African American adolescents who reported supportive or problematic interactions, or both, with their parents. Found more support from mothers despite equal relationship problem levels with both parents; support of both parents was associated with lower depression…

Examines the "Handbook of Research on Social Studies Teaching and Learning's" section on context effect. Reviews influences that shape social studies, including research, student groups, family environment, mass media (especially television), testing, curriculum mandates, and local-to-national community pressures. (CH)

Considers Australian and overseas research that highlights the extent of child-on-child violence and the effect of peer group victimization on both the perpetrator and victim. Examines how such personalized aggression is reflected in the child's psychological well-being and peer relations. Also considers the nature of school intervention programs…

Used observations and home visits to examine sex differences in language ability of 54 disadvantaged children at risk for poor language outcomes. Found that language difficulties increased over time, boys were at a constant disadvantage to girls in language development, and sex difference in language ability appeared even when families had similar…

Describes an undergraduate course dealing with intrafamily abuse across the life span. Discusses the course format, including class discussions, lectures, assigned readings, and a student research project. Reports that student evaluations indicated that the course meets its goals effectively. (CFR)

Investigated how family processes influence high school student dropout behavior. Used a sample of 114 dropouts from 1 California high school, 48 of whom were matched to similarly profiled continuing students. Identified factors that explain students' dropout decisions: permissive parenting, negative parental reactions to grades, excessive…

Analysis of data on 2,000 children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth suggests that maternal intelligence is a significant predictor of scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. The HOME Inventory short forms used in the study are appended. (LB)

Teacher education programs must help teachers handle children from diverse family backgrounds. Knowledge of family structures, acceptance of changes, and techniques for improving communication with parents should be included in preservice and inservice teacher education. Children's literature provides one way for teacher educators to increase…

Academic achievement was negatively correlated with television viewing. This correlation was independent of the child's verbal ability. Partial correlations showed maternal ratings of stress related to life events and father's marital satisfaction were associated with television viewing. (Author/BB)

Identifies four components of family capital that are important for the educational attainment of children: human capital, financial capital, social capital, and cultural capital. The relative importance of each component is illustrated by a case study of socialist Czechoslovakia where social capital was operationalized by membership in the…