The nature of the relationships among contemporary family variables and school achievement is examined in this collection of articles. Divided into two parts, the collection examines related processes and issues. In the first part, the chapters and authors are: (1) "The Family-School Relationships Model" (Bruce A. Ryan and Gerald R. Adams); (2) "Inquiring Into Children's Social Worlds: A Choice of Lenses" (Ellen S. Amatea and Peter A. D. Sherrard); (3) "Parent-Child Interactions and School Achievement" (Diane Scott-Jones); (4) "National Patterns of School and Family Connections in the Middle Grades" (Joyce L. Epstein and Seyong Lee); and (5) "The Impact of Family Environment on Educational Attainment: Do Families Make a Difference?" (Jay D. Teachman, Randal D. Day, and Karent Price Carver). In the second half of the book, the chapters and authors are: (6) "High Achievement, Underachievement, and Learning Disabilities: A Family Systems Model" (Robert-Jay Green); (7) "Children's School Performance: The Roles of Interparental Conflict and Divorce" (Rex Forehand, Lisa Armistead, and Karla Klein); (8) "Truancy, Family Processes, and Interventions" (Jane Corville-Smith); (9) "The Family Resource Center: A Community-Based System of Family Support Services (Robert W. Plant and Patricia A. King); and (10) "Intergenerational Influences on Child Outcomes: Implications for Prevention and Intervention" (Annette U. Rickel and Evvie Becker-Lausen). Contains over 350 references. (AA)