Discusses research on the impact of home environment on children's school achievement. Explores positive models of home environments, parent attitudes, parents as teachers, home learning activities/materials, and school preparation. Concludes that though risk factors exist in certain families, parents can nurture high-performing children if…

This study explored the influence of personal history on preservice teachers' construction of the ideal language teacher. Written biographies and metaphors and personal construct interviews with Chinese, Tamil, and Malay preservice language teachers indicated that they entered teacher education with unique, well-developed constructs of the ideal…

Discusses a survey designed to ascertain parent and student attitudes regarding second-language learning in high school and to determine the popularity of Indonesian, if offered. Findings reveal that Japanese is the preferred language, parental attitude is important, cultural background greatly influences language preference and students…

Argues that statewide performance based assessments are a waste of time and money and can discourage students. After describing problems with performance based assessment in several states, the paper suggests that it is more important to restore students' respect for and interest in education by offering challenging curricula rather than dull…

Examines the modes of accommodation to America of working- and middle-class mothers of Cuban heritage living in Miami, Florida, in terms of language proficiencies. Findings indicate that working-class mothers encourage their children to learn English in order to succeed, a subtractive form of bilingualism, whereas middle-class mothers encourage…

Examines the phenomenon of language obsolescence by focusing on Breton- and non-Breton-speakers in France. Investigates linguistic preference, intergenerational transmission and attitudes towards language planning in an attempt to determine the extent to which the speakers themselves are catalysts in the process of language death. (27 references)…

Describes a model for exploring the multidimensional relationship between staff development and improvements in student learning. The model is based on the premise that the quality of staff development is influenced by many factors, including content characteristics, process variables, and context characteristics. (SM)

Six essays submitted to Harvard University (Massachusetts) by applicants for the class of 2000 are presented. Topics include a refugee's experiences, a football player's passion for musical theater, the death of a sister, a mother's influence, living in China, and a renaissance-English poetic lament about being a dog. (MSE)

This study used a national sample of Mexican Americans to develop structural equation models of the effects of 4 eighth- grade latent variables on educational expectations 6 years later. Findings indicated that parents' influences had a strong positive effect on educational expectations at late adolescence. Parents' influence dominated effects of…

Gender differences were examined in 182 freshman college students who had completed a packet of questionnaires and inventories to address the impact of separation from parents and to test relevance of self-in-relation theory. Differences indicated that women reported establishing more of all kinds of support. Other results are reported. (JBJ)

Reports on a study of 36 mothers and children to determine the role played by preschool children's intellectual and behavioral characteristics on their parents' expectations for school performance. Finds that children whose parents had lower expectations came from lower social classes and tended to be boys. (CFR)

Explores the context of family beliefs and child-rearing practices with regard to how African American families, in a sample from a family-center project, prepare their children for success in school. Extended family and community supports, racial socialization, and family support are discussed. (SLD)

A study of 547 science and mathematics majors graduated from a leading women's college found that cohort, major, number of undergraduate science courses, parental encouragement, and career advice from faculty were key factors associated with persistence in science and mathematics after college. (Author/MSE)

This study of 20 mothers and their fluent children (ages 3-5) found no significant differences between the effects of instructions to slow maternal speech rate and instructions to slow and simplify maternal speech. Children's speech rate and language complexity did not parallel maternal adjustments, which is problematic for parental involvement in…

Reports on a study of reading and writing skills of 110 French and German first-grade students. Finds that the best way to help children to learn to read is to encourage them to read material for content rather than by using training exercises external to reading. (CFR)