Argues for a cautious approach to transplanting theory from one culture to another, particularly considering the case for applying Friedrich Froebel's child-centered theory to early childhood education in Pacific Rim cultures. Uses a historical approach to distinguish three distinct versions of the theory, the Christian, the Progressive, and the…

Effects of massage on preschoolers' cognitive performance were assessed. Preschoolers were given Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised subtests before and after receiving 15-minute massage or spending 15 minutes reading stories with the experimenter. Children's performance on Block Design improved following massage, and…

Analyzed relationships between the quality of parental attachment and preschool children's behavioral characteristics, including social skills, productivity, behavior problems, neurosis, anxiety and self-evaluation. Found a positive relationship between parental attachment and the child's adaptation, but failed to confirm the hypothesis regarding…

Examined relationships between adjustment and academic achievement and effects of sociocultural background on parental expectations for primary school students in Italy. Found a significant relationship between adjustment and achievement. Parents were more willing than teachers to excuse poor adjustment or behavior in a high-achieving child.…

Discusses factors in developing a school-based alcohol and drug prevention program. Considers issues in collecting reliable data on drug use levels in a school district, getting support for the program, choosing a good program model, selecting and training staff, getting referrals from adults for children who need help, and measuring program…

Discusses the particular consequences of high-risk behavior for adolescent women, including unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, school dropout and poverty, developmental disabilities, and poor school performance. Considers the role of male partners in teenage women's high risk behavior. Describes prevention efforts such as…

Notes that research has demonstrated the importance of parent-child interactions in developing literacy. Claims that parent literacy programs are effective in the children's literacy development. Proposes that research on the value of extensive interventions can suggest ways to improve parents' interactions with their children during the literacy…

Attempted to bridge home and school literacy contexts by involving families in literacy activities with their children to enhance children's achievement and interest in reading and writing. Activities included literacy centers in classrooms, teacher modeled literature activities, and writing and reading appreciation periods (WRAP). Results…

Argues that it has not been fashionable to value literacy stories from parents as a source of knowledge for interpreting the home literacy environment. Compares teacher descriptions of several at-risk children to their parents' literacy stories. Concludes that understanding multiple home literacy environments can help teachers think critically…

Documented interactions between parents and children as they read storybooks together. Participants were twelve 4-year-olds and their mothers. Results showed diverse storybook interactions within a static sample, discouraging the practice of generalizing findings about storybook reading to dissimilar populations. (MOK)

Provides overview of major initiatives in family literacy and argues for fundamental change in the way schools relate to parents and the community. Suggests that schools and communities need to develop more effective partnerships so that parents and teachers can develop a sense of shared understanding. Concludes that such initiatives will lead to…

Claims that for home and school to cooperate on behalf of students, they must share a similar vision. Presents the concept of "critical literacy" to provide this vision. Recommends establishment of standards that clarify literacy outcomes, creation of a developmental perspective for monitoring students' progress, implementation of outreach…

Defines early literacy in terms of literate language, a register of language typified by verbally explicated meaning and talk about talk. Explores various social arrangements which support children's use of literate language. Examines the roles of diverse and close social contacts, and the ways in which individual differences mediate these…

The Early Childhood Project is a longitudinal investigation of contexts in which children from different sociocultural groups learn to read. Data collected from 41 families showed some consistency between parental beliefs on fostering reading development (entertainment versus skills perspective) and nature of experiences made available to…

Describes intervention approach designed to enhance intersubjectivity between adolescent mothers and children. Proposes that model based on the theory of guided participation enhances mothers' sensitivity to children's learning processes. Based on observation during implementation of the model, claims that engaging parents and children in mutual…