Parental Participation in Education

The nationally acclaimed educator who transformed the way children learn to read and write in school shows how to nurture children's imagination at home, from the earliest days of babytalk to the start of school. Drawing upon her influential philosophy of active learning, as well as her personal experience as a parent, Lucy Calkins shows how to stimulate curiosity and spark creative thinking in children.

In Schools with Heart, Dan Brown explores voluntarism by using original data gathered from 185 interviews with public school principals, teachers, & volunteers, many of whom worked in schools known for their volunteer programs. Supplementing these data from other studies, this careful inquiry finds that volunteers offer much to schools. School voluntarism is seen as a special bridge between primordial institutions such as families & modern institutions such as public schools. By using various perspectives & relying primarily on rational choice theory, the author shows that voluntarism in schools offers a vision of how education may be changed. He presents some recommendations for policies that would alter the balance between public & private support for education.

This book addresses the complications and implications of parental involvement as a policy, through an exploratory theoretical approach, including historical and sociological accounts and personal reflection. This approach represents the author's effort to understand the origins, meanings, and effects of parental involvement as a prerequisite of schooling and particularly as a policy 'solution' for low achievement and even inequity in the American educational system. Most of the policy and research discourse on school-family relations exalts the partnership ideal, taking for granted its desirability and viability, the perspective of parents on specific involvement in instruction, and the conditions of diverse families in fulfilling their appointed role in the partnership. De Carvalho takes a distinct stance. She argues that the partnership-parental ideal neglects several major factors: It proclaims parental involvement as a means to enhance (and perhaps equalize) school outcomes, but disregards how family material and cultural conditions, and feelings about schooling, differ according to social class; thus, the partnership-parental involvement ideal is more likely to be a projection of the model of upper-middle class, suburban community schooling than an open invitation for diverse families to recreate schooling. Although it appeals to the image of the traditional community school, the pressure for more family educational accountability really overlooks history as well as present social conditions. Finally, family-school relations are relations of power, but most families are powerless. De Carvalho makes the case that two linked effects of this policy are the gravest: the imposition of a particular parenting style and intrusion into family life, and the escalation of educational inequality. Rethinking Family-School Relations: A Critique of Parental Involvement in Schooling--a carefully researched and persuasively argued work--is essential reading for all school professionals, parents, and individuals concerned with public schooling and educational equality.

This book is a valuable source of information on the long-term effects of early intervention programs on the education of children living in economically disadvantaged areas and in other contexts. Early intervention programs such as Head Start enjoy popular and legislative support, but until now, policymakers and practitioners have lacked hard data on the long-term consequences of such locally and federally mandated efforts.

Success in Early Intervention focuses on the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program in Chicago, the second oldest (after Head Start) federally funded early childhood intervention program. Begun in 1967, the program currently operates out of twenty-four centers, which are located in proximity to the elementary schools they serve. The CPC program's unique features include mandatory parental involvement and a single, sustained educational system that spans preschool through the third grade.

Central to this study is a 1986 cohort of nearly twelve hundred CPC children and a comparison group of low income children whose subsequent activities, challenges, and achievements are followed through the age of fifteen. The lives of these children amply demonstrate the positive long-term educational and social consequences of the CPC program.

This book exposes the degree of rage today's teenagers feel and how our nation's schools are failing them, not just academically, but in just about every way imaginable. Hall and Handley propose practical techniques, procedures, and core values that can make high school a safe learning environment once again. Drawing from their many years of experience administering a high school that provided a safe and fulfilling learning environment, they introduce readers to teaching techniques, administrative policies, and design ideas that encourage students to speak out, express their indomitable idealism, and feel welcome and accepted.

Today, young Black men are more likely to be killed or sent to prison than to graduate from college. Yet, despite all the obstacles, some are achieving at the highest academic and professional levels. Beating the Odds tells their remarkable stories and shows us what African American families have done to raise academically successful sons, sons who are among the top two percent of African American males in terms of SAT scores and grades. The result of extensive and innovative research, Beating the Odds goes beyond mere analysis--and beyond the relentlessly negative media images--to show us precisely how young Black men can succeed despite the roadblocks of racism, the temptations of crime and drugs, and a popular culture that values being "cool" over being educated. By interviewing parents and children from a range of economic and educational backgrounds and from both single and two-parent homes, the authors identify those constants that contribute to academic achievement and offer step-by-step guidance on six essential strategies for effective parenting: child-focused love; strong limit-setting and discipline; continually high expectations; open, consistent, and strong communication; positive racial identity and positive male identity; and full use of community resources. The proof of the effectiveness of such strategies is in the sons themselves, who speak eloquently in these pages about their struggles and successes in both the classroom and the often hostile world that surrounds it. Essential reading for parents, teachers, and school administrators, Beating the Odds offers insight, guidance, and hope for anyone concerned about the plight of young African American men and the society they live in.

This book is written to help parents of special needs children understand and navigate the educational system. The book describes the various ways parents can be involved in planning and delivering a special education program for their child. Communication between school, medical practitioner, and parents is the key ingredient to success in these endeavors. This is the central theme of the book. Topics covered include: proper diagnosis of the disability; confirmation of perceived problems; parental coping strategies; assessment; educational program identification; IEP program planning processes; interfacing with school system organizations; finding support groups and information; and due process.