Explored images that young children construct of literacy in their lives, both inside and outside of school. Analysis of the drawings of 48 children in grades 1-3 revealed a shift in the children's images of themselves in relation to literacy with each grade level. The influence of home and family on literacy behaviors was also noted. (Author/TJQ)

Variations in amounts of nonparental care across infancy, preschool, early elementary school, and early adolescence were examined. Correlations among overall amounts of care provided little evidence of cross-time continuity; grade 1 self-care and grade 6 unsupervised peer contact incrementally predicted grade 6 problems; and most predictive…

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the practice validity of a new ecological assessment instrument for third through fifth graders in terms of whether it provided school staff with new knowledge about students. Method: Preassessment knowledge of school staff was compared to data obtained from 21 children and their parents…

This paper reports on part of a larger research study on the reasons for the shortage of minority students entering colleges of education and the teaching profession. Interviews were conducted with 140 teachers of color in three urban school districts: Cincinnati (Ohio), Seattle (Washington), and Long Beach (California). The focus of this part of…

An ethnographic study examined the role of language, discrimination, and aspirations in the school success of Latino students in a small rural town. The town, located about 1,000 miles from Mexico and about 200 miles from any sizeable Latino community, contains about 200 Latinos. Almost all are Mexicans or Mexican Americans and have come to work…

This study (reported in separate English and Spanish versions) used a qualitative approach to identify the supportive parental behaviors of academically successful children from low income families in Even Start programs, from the parents', teachers', and children's perspectives. The sample contained 12 low income parents who had one or more…

This technical assistance paper provides preschool planners and staff with information on developmental characteristics of preschool children relevant to planning and providing a quality preschool program. Following a case scenario underscoring the need for understanding child development, a theoretical framework concerning child development is…

The project described here evaluated the extent to which the Alexandria (Virginia) Head Start program addresses the needs of preschool English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and provided teachers with training to enhance their students' language development. While over 40 percent of the children spoke a language other than English as their first…

Readings on language and literacy within their social context include: "The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages" (Bronislaw Malinowski); "Toward Ethnographies of Communication" (Dell Hymes); "Language as Social Semiotic" (M. A. K. Halliday); "Language and Ideology" (V. N. Volosinov); "Family…

This study looked at the overall situation of the immigrant population, and young immigrants in particular, and analyzed such problem areas as the transition from school to working life and the inadequacies of initial training with relation to the situation in the United Kingdom. The study identified the following problem areas: (1) problems…

In 1990, a study was conducted to validate factors which relate to the persistence or retention of students enrolled in two-year college occupational programs, with a particular focus on minority students. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 731 students and 55 faculty members at 5 colleges in New York. In addition to the survey,…

A study was conducted to determine the contacts between agricultural extension and family farmers in Israel. Structured interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 171 smallholder farmers. Advisers of the official Extension Service and the publications of this service and farmers' monthlies were considered to have contributed to…

The study investigates the relationship of small district teacher aspirations, career patterns, residential preferences, biographic characteristics, motivations, and perceptions of organizational and community factors to teacher turnover intentions in selected small districts in New Mexico in the spring 1983. The population studied included 262…

An analysis of the performance of minority students in Arizona (Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian) is presented as one working paper in the final report by the Arizona Board of Regents' Task Force on Excellence, Efficiency and Competitiveness. Data are included for the White majority for comparison purposes. School districts are grouped…

A study examined whether reading aloud to kindergarten children on a regular basis would have an effect on their attention span. Subjects, 28 kindergarten students from a New Jersey school, were pretested and then assigned either to an experimental group or to a control group (14 in each group). The experimental sample received the treatment of…