The resources available to parents and the actions parents can take to further their children's education is reviewed through a collection of essays that focus on the social and economic resources of the family and by looking into the home, community, and school to see how families are involved in educational activities. The importance of parent involvement in learning that is not formally tied to the school is stressed. Information for the studies came from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, a national random sample of 26,000 eighth graders and their parents, teachers, and school administrators. The following chapters are included: (1) "Parents, Their Children, and Schools: An Introduction" (Barbara Schneider); (2) "Parent Involvement in the Home, School, and Community" (Chandra Muller and David Kerbow); (3) "Family Structure Effects on Student Outcomes" (Seh-Ahn Lee); (4) "Parent Involvement and Academic Achievement: An Analysis of Family Resources Available to the Child" (Chandra Muller); (5) "Parental Intervention in the School: The Context of Minority Involvement" (David Kerbow and Annette Bernhardt); and (6) "Parent Choice and Inequality" (James S. Coleman, Kathryn S. Schiller, and Barbara Schneider). (Contains 47 tables, 21 figures, and 65 references.) (SLD)