 |
 |
 |
 |
Education, Race, and Family: By Karen Lambourne and Maxine Baca Zinn Working Paper No. 16 August 1993
Annotated Bibliography
As we approach the year 2,000, the United States is in the midst of some of the most profound social, economic and demographic transformations in its history. One of these, the changed demographic landscape, is creating a multiracial, multicultural society. The demographic transition of the 1990s is shifting the United States from an Anglo-White society rooted in Western culture, to a world society characterized by three large racial ethnic minorities, each of them growing in size while the White majority declines in population (Riche, 1991:26). The majority of students of the 21st century are going to be of non-European origin and the majority of them will be poor. The new demographic diversity is already visible in the schools. To meet the challenges of a diverse and complex world, we need to reconstruct the ways in which we think, work, and teach. As racial minorities are rapidly becoming a larger share of the U.S. population, global economic competition has intensified. The current information age demands more highly-skilled and sophisticated workers. Jobs of the future will require higher levels of literacy than in the past. As these changes press forward, minority youth are more likely to be at risk for educational failure. Although there is tremendous variation in the educational experiences of racial and ethnic groups, minority children in general are more likely to perform poorly on cognitive measures, to have attendance problems, to present disciplinary problems in school, to have poor health, to have learning disabilities or to be "diagnosed" as learning disabled, to use illegal drugs and alcohol, to become pregnant, and to drop out of school. As a result of these conditions, low levels of educational completion disadvantage large proportions of minority students. In 1989, 78.4 percent of White adults were high school graduates, compared with 76.1 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders, 64.4 percent of Black adults, and 50.9 percent of Hispanic adults (Bureau of the Census, 1991:23). These trends severely diminish the life changes of racial minorities. They impair the chances of African Americans, Latinos, and other racial minorities to enjoy economic security and well-being. They contribute to a system where a disproportionate share of minorities are locked in a permanent underclass--a category of people locked out of the economic mainstream with little hope of making it by legitimate means. The U. S. Department of Labor predicts that 30 percent of the new jobs in the 1990s will require a college degree, compared to about 20 percent at the end of the 1980s (Griffith, Frase, & Ralph, 1989:6). Yet college completion rates for racial minorities lag far behind those of Whites. Today, although more minorities are enrolled in college than ever before, they continue to be underrepresented in higher education. In 1990, racial minority students constituted 17 percent of the total college enrollment (about 1 million students), much below their proportion in the general population. College completion rates differ markedly by race. In 1989, the percentages of individuals 25 and over by race were as follows: Whites 21.8 percent, Blacks 11.8 percent, and Latinos 9.9 percent (Bureau of the Census, 1990:8-9). Students at-risk are found in all population categories, and Latinos are especially disadvantaged in this regard. As the numbers of Hispanic citizens have risen dramatically, they are "bearing an unequal share of the nation's educational deficit. One in every ten Hispanic students drops out of high school each year" (The Condition of Education, 1990: National Center for Education Statistics, cited in Aspira, 1990:7). These conditions threaten the well-being of Hispanics and the quality of the future U.S. labor force. Hispanics will comprise a greater share of the new job seekers. Immigrants and native-born minorities will make up about 40 percent of the entry level workers in the coming decades. The Latino population is growing at five times the rate of the rest of the population. If current trends continue, Latinos will surpass African Americans as the largest racial minority by the year 2020. The young age structure, relatively high birth rates, along with continued immigration are creating considerable momentum for future growth. Because of their younger age structure, Latinos will constitute a greater share of American school children and young job seekers-almost 16 percent by 2000 (Valdivieso & Davis, 1988:1). As their numbers rise rapidly, low levels of educational attainment condemn a growing proportion of Latinos to unequal lives. This is no longer a "minority" issue but one with grave consequences for society at large. Closing the racial educational gap will produce economic growth through greater productivity and lower unemployment rates, reduce needs for public assistance, and lower crime rates. Furthermore, in a pluralistic society, schools should serve to assimilate new immigrants and to instill the cultural and political values that underlie a democratic form of government (Griffith, Frase, & Ralph, 1989). Most agree that improving the plight of racial minorities must begin with the schools. Yet educators and policy makers disagree on the causes of educational inequality. The question of why there are racial differences in educational achievement has been the subject of extensive social science research. Arguments about race and educational achievement fall essentially into two categories: (1) those emphasizing cultural explanations, (2) those tracing the causes to the effects of the schools themselves. Heavily criticized by sociologists, the framework of cultural deprivation blames the family background of minority students for poor achievement (Scarpitti & Andersen, 1992:578). This popular argument, related to that of the culture of poverty and more recently to debates about the underclass (Baca Zinn, 1989; Baca Zinn & Eitzen, 1993), assumes that parents are not interested in their children's education--a fact contradicted by much research. Such conclusions lead to a second category of explanations: that differences in racial achievements are the result of the processes of education itself. Unequal resources in the schools, different teacher expectations, and tracking systems advantageous to those already benefiting from the educational system, all contribute to the unequal education of some group over others. There is ample evidence to support these claims (Scarpitti & Andersen, 1992:6). Several new studies have begun approaching the matter of educational inequalities in ways that examine the interlocking conditions of schools and families. This growing body of literature focuses on how the opportunity structures of race and class connect families and schools. While the impact of family background on educational performance remains important, this approach revises "family background" by moving the analysis beyond simplistic cultural explanations. In the past, family background was often viewed as culture learned in the home: that is, the cultural values, attitudes, and lifestyles passed on from generation to generation that shape children's school behavior. Today, "family background" no longer refers to the cultural values of poor minority students. Instead, students' family lives are more frequently examined in relation to social structural conditions, especially the networks of social relations that develop between families and schools. A large body of research documents that the academic success of most students is intrinsically interwoven with family background. Few would deny the importance of the home. However, the new sociologies of education ask, "What accounts for the race and class variation in parental and family involvement? How do opportunity structures give rise to unequal connections between families and schools, and how are different categories of students affected?" The changing racial landscape, together with widespread family instability throughout society, causes educators to feel stymied by a lack of knowledge about the students' home environments. Rising divorce rates, more single-parent families, growing unemployment, and other social family trends have profound affects on students as they move back and forth between home and school settings. Many parents have the time, resources, and skills to act as partners with the schools in building their children's competence, while others do not. The differences in parental involvement have less to do with home values, and more do with class and race disparities of income, power and privilege. Many families simply cannot offer the support that is essential for positive educational experiences. For large segments of minority populations, schools and families remain separate worlds. Better understanding of the inter-institutional linkage is vital, especially for students from different class and racial ethnic backgrounds. What policies, programs, and practices work? How can they be more widely implemented? For Latinos and other minorities, answering these questions may well offer an important pathway for bridging the educational gap that has long denied them their rightful place in society. This bibliography focuses on the inter-institutional linkage that shapes the education experiences of racial ethnic students in the United States. Though we are especially concerned with presenting the citations on Latinos as the highest at-risk population, the bibliography nevertheless contains material on how varied race and class connections between families and schools produce different educational experiences, and unequal outcomes for minorities. The bibliography is organized into five subject headings.
References Aspira (1990). Latinos and the dropout crisis. New York: The Aspira Association. Baca Zinn, M. (1989). Family, race, and poverty in the eighties. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 14(4), 856-874. Baca Zinn, M., & Eitzen, D. S. (1993). Diversity in families (3rd. ed.). New York: Harper Collins. The condition of education, 1990. (1990, June). National Center for Education Statistics. Griffith, J. E., Frase, M. J., & Ralph, J. H. (1989). American education: The challenge of change. Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau. Riche, M. F. (1991). We're all minorities now. American Demographics, 13(10), 26-31. Scarpitti, F. R., & Andersen, M. L. (1992). Social problems. New York: Harper Collins. U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1991). Statistical abstracts of the United States: 1991. (111th ed.). Washington, D.C. Valdivieso, R., & Davis, C. (1988). U. S. Hispanics: Challenging issues for the 1990's. Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau. Annotated Bibliography General Work on Racial Inequality in Higher Education The ASPIRA Association, Inc. (1990). Latinos and the dropout crisis: The community solution. Washington, DC: The ASPIRA Association. The ASPIRA Association is a not-for-profit association which operates at national and local levels. In this booklet, the authors argue that education is the key to breaking the poverty cycle. The primary goal of ASPIRA is to keep children in school. ASPIRA believes that to keep children in school it is necessary to motivate them, to activate the community to support the children, and to provide role models and opportunities. Children's Defense Fund. (1991). The state of America's children. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. This report tells of the state of children in America today. It includes information regarding the trends in child poverty and its underlying causes. Additionally, this booklet contains a discussion of what constitutes a "good education." The report's several recommendations include eliminating tracking systems in schools and equalizing access to a quality education. Children's Defense Fund. (1990). The adolescent and young adult fact book. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. This book provides a wealth of information about the current status of adolescents. Of special interest is the section on education, which proposes that the education is the key to national prosperity and adult opportunity. Included are numerous tables comparing the current status of Latino, Black, and White adolescents. Duany, L., & Pittman, K. (1990). Latino youths at a crossroads. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. This booklet discusses the need to improve the economic position of Latinos and asserts that economic security depends on adequate education and mastering the knowledge and the skills to compete. The factors which seem to influence Latino achievement are likely to be family poverty, low educational attainment of parents, or segregation in low quality schools. A lower educational level is linked to higher unemployment. The authors make several recommendations for reducing early dropping out by Latino students. One of these is that more opportunities must be created for parents to volunteer in the schools and share their expertise. Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. Kozol visited some of the poorest urban school districts in the United States ranging from East St. Louis, Illinois, to San Antonio, Texas. The author was struck by the amount of racial segregation and the inequalities he found in the various school districts. Of these inequalities the most stunning are records of allocations from the state legislature. For instance, in one state the allocation to the poorest districts is only $.90 per student compared to $14.00 per pupil in the richest district. Perhaps the most savage inequality noted by Kozol is that in San Antonio. There after 23 years of law suits and revisions in the state formula for the distribution of resources, the poorest districts spend $2,000 per-pupil compared to the $19,000 spent in the richest districts. Additionally, poor Hispanic students still attend separate but unequal schools. Orfield, G., Monfort, F., & Aaron, M. (1989). Status of school desegregation 1968-1986. Segregation, integration, and public policy: National, state, and metropolitan trends in public schools. Chicago: National School Boards Association. This report focuses on the continued difficulty of integrating students in the largest U.S. Cities. The authors found little evidence of reductions of any size or long-lasting nature for Black or Hispanic segregation. The authors noted that Hispanics continue to experience a long-term trend of rapidly increasing segregation from Whites. They are, in fact, more isolated from Whites in public schools in all parts of the country than a generation ago. This isolation is increasing most rapidly in the Midwest and West. In general, trends in Hispanic segregation between 1968 and 1986 tend to be consistently negative. No initiatives have been strong enough to overcome these negative trends. The authors recommend that research on effective school desegregation techniques be undertaken with special attention given to issues effecting Hispanic segregation. Valverde, S. A. (1987). A comparative study of Hispanic high school dropouts and graduates: Why do some leave school early and some finish? Education and Urban Society, 19, 320-329. The purpose of this study was to compare different high school dropout rates among various groups of Hispanic students. The study was conducted through a structured interview and field notes taken after the completion of the interview. The results demonstrated that the students were similar on measures such as family educational level or academic capabilities. The author concluded that peer groups and grades were the variables which distinguished the graduates from the non-graduates. Additionally, the graduates in this study were afforded an academic support system of friends who were able to help the students complete their high school education.
Cultural Approaches and Their Critiques Calabrese, R. L. (1988). The structure of schooling and minority dropout rates. The Clearing House, 61, 325-329. This article explores why the student and not the school is usually blamed for dropping out. The student is blamed on a personal, cultural, and environmental basis. The author states that this approach actually permits racial bias to be part of the interpretation of data. Calabrese also states that the structure of the school allows conditions that increase minority students' sense of powerlessness and alienation. To date, reform programs have addressed the dropout problem in ways that actually reinforce the structural factors that created the problem in the first place. Calabrese suggests three structural reforms to implement for successfully addressing the minority dropout problem. He states that such programs must be society driven and they require the assertive support of minority parents. Clark, R. (1983). Family life and school achievement: Why poor black children succeed or fail. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This well-known study of the interface of family and school among poor urban Blacks covers the internal processes that make some families better educational environments than others. Clark also refutes explanations that are built on cultural or class deficiency. He was able to reveal how certain processes constitute the hidden curriculum of the home. He notes that interaction styles, communication patterns, and other qualities are more important than the composition of the family, income, or the formal education level of the parents. He states that the educational competence and support of a family can be enhanced through direct intervention. Lareau, A. (1987). Social class differences in family-school relationships: The Importance of cultural capital. Sociology of Education, 60, 73-85. This article summarizes a qualitative study of family-school relationships. The author reviews three research perspectives: the culture-of-poverty thesis, the freezing-out-of-school of working-class parents, and the cultural capital thesis. She argues that class-related cultural factors mold parents' compliance with teachers' requests for parental involvement in schooling. She gathered her data as a participant-observer and through in-depth interviews with parents, teachers, and principals. She conducted her research in two communities, one white working-class and the other professional middle-class. Lareau found that parental involvement was interpreted as a reflection of the value parents placed on their children's educational success. This does not take into account the varying resources available to the parents to respond to a request for parental involvement. She suggests that future research should consider as problematic standards for parental involvement established by the schools and should consider the role of class in meeting these standards. McDermott, R. P. (1987). The explanation of minority school failure, again." Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 18, 361-364. McDermott states that traditional questions about why minorities are not successful in school focus on what is "wrong" with the minorities. He proposes instead that it would be better to ask how school failure is replicated and why minority groups are made so visible in that replication. Another question raised by the author is why so much effort has been applied to developing a mechanism to identify failures when that energy could be used to organize more learning. McDermott suggests that to do ethnography inside one's own culture is difficult because as soon as one begins to analyze one's own culture, it seems to disappear. He suggests that we must in fact work against our culture so we are able to study it. Ogbu, J. U. (1987). Variability in minority school performance: A Problem in search of an explanation." Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 18, 312-334. The author discusses from a historical perspective two stages of educational anthropological research. The first tried to refute the notion of cultural deprivation, and the second stage is identified as cultural/language differences. Ogbu notes that the problem with many studies is that they focus on minority groups who do poorly in school and do not consider those who do well. He concluded that not all minority groups do poorly and some actually do quite well even without sharing the language and cultural backgrounds of the dominant group. He notes there are also societal and school forces which contribute to the problem. He proposes that cultural deprivation or differences are not the real issue and proposes three real issues. In general, he concludes that those minorities who have not voluntarily emigrated to the United States tend to have higher rates of school failure than those who came because they believed they could have a better life in the United States. Peshkin, A. (1991). The play of ethnicity in school and in community. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. This very timely book has much to interest social scientists. The author discusses the role of ethnicity in the daily life in "Riverview" and in its one high school. Peshkin considers Mexicans, Blacks, Filipinos, and Sicilians. He appears to be concerned that the high school's success is social rather than academic in nature. While the book provides interesting discussion, it has one serious flaw. That is, it does not clarify the difference between social structure and culture. He fails to note that culture is not responsible for the social and economic hardships experienced by the residents of "Riverview." Even though this book does contain some problems in analysis, it presents an important topic which needs further inquiry. Trueba, H. T. (1988). Culturally based explanations of minority students' academic achievement. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 19, 270-287. The author proposes that constructing successful learning environments which would guarantee academic achievement for all immigrant, refugee, and other minority children must include five practical and theoretical approaches. Ethnographers who have applied these approaches have turned failure into success. Specifically, Trueba states that effective learning occurs when the role of culture is acknowledged and utilized during the learning process. Therefore, the author proposes that systems of assistance be developed to provide academic success for all children.
Structural Approaches and Social Connections Arias, M. B. (1986, November). The context of education for Hispanic students: An overview. American Journal of Education. pp. 26-57. Arias presents a summary of current information available on the educational status of precollegiate Hispanic students. She utilizes current U. S. Census Bureau demographic data to develop an understanding of the heterogeneity of the Hispanic population of the United States. She notes that 90% of the Hispanic population resides in 15 states. Additionally, she states that the Hispanic population in the United States is growing rapidly. Arias also notes that Hispanic family income lags behind that of non-Hispanics. Hispanics are underrepresented in college-oriented school programs. Although school enrollment is expected to increase, many observers anticipate that Hispanic students will still fare worse than non-Hispanics on educational attainment. Arias concludes that previous reform efforts have not addressed the separate and unequal context offered to Hispanic students by American schools. She notes that structural reform is essential, and programs must address the school-based variables which lead to the "educational problems" experienced by Hispanic students. Fine, M. (1991). Framing dropouts: Notes on the politics of an urban high school. Albany: State University of New York Press. Fine conducted ethnographic research at a comprehensive high school in the South Bronx of New York City. The school was selected because the population, 3200 students, consisted mostly of low-income and working class African Americans and Latinos. The researcher conducted the study as an attempt to understand why there is such a high rate of dropouts. Fine states that the purpose of the text is to expose those policies and institutional practices that enable, obscure, and legitimate the "mass exodus of low-income urban students of color" (8). She notes that it is not enough to focus only on equal access to education, but it is also crucial to focus on educational outcomes. High school dropout rates, Fine argues, are the crudest indicator of unequal educational outcomes. Fine presents statistics about who drops out of high school. She notes that social class is a precise predictor of who will drop out of high school. Additionally, she notes that Latinos drop out in urban areas more than any other group. Additionally, institutional characteristics which tend to affect drop out rates are more often found in those schools attended by low-income urban students. Fine uses silencing as a metaphor for the structural, ideological, and practical organization of comprehensive high schools. In this study, Fine notes that the idea of parental involvement differs depending on who is discussing it. For example, school policy makers and administrators tend to see parental involvement as helping with homework, ensuring positive motivation, and supporting schools in the home. Educational advocates, parents, and community representatives see parental involvement as reciprocal and non-hierarchical. School transformation can occur, but it is the responsibility of the activists, school policy makers, educators, and researchers to begin such an evolution. Fraga, L. R., Meier, K. J., & England, R. E. (1986). Hispanic Americans and educational policy: Limits to equal access. Journal of Politics, 48, 850-876. This article is a report of research which examined the degree of access Hispanics have to equal educational opportunity in urban school districts in the United States. The specific focus of this paper is to examine the basis of second-generation educational discrimination. The data set was comprised of a total of 35 urban school districts with 25,000 students with 5 percent or more Hispanic enrollment. The authors drew several conclusions. First, they conclude that because Hispanics are under-represented on school boards and among the faculty compared to their percentage in the population, Hispanics are unable to impact educational policy because they are only occupy subordinate political positions. A second conclusion is that the denial of access to equal education results in unequal access to political resources. Though these two conclusions are pessimistic, the authors determined that two institutional characteristics can be manipulated to improve Hispanic access to educational opportunities, (1) increase the number of Hispanic school board members which will (2) lead to an increase in the number of Hispanic teachers. Garza, H. (1988). The `barrioization' of Hispanic faculty. Educational Record, 68(4)/69(1), 122-124. This article covers the under-representation of minorities on college faculty compared to their representation in the general population. The author also questions the roles of race and ethnicity in collegiality or the lack of it. Hispanic academic scholars are in a dilemma of deciding whether to be strict academics producing "objective" research which is demanded by the universities, or to be involved on a practical level within minority communities. The article is based on a mail questionnaire which was conducted in the first half of 1987. The author found that most Hispanic academics were concentrated in the lower levels of certain departments, such as Chicano studies and bilingual education. Additionally, Garza found that Hispanic academics were not considered full sociologists or historians and were not teaching in mainstream areas. Garza recommended that to avoid this `barrioization', an enormous change in attitude regarding recruitment, hiring, and admissions must take place. Additionally, it is essential that a reassessment of what constitutes legitimate scholarship must take place. Irvine, J. J. (1988). Urban schools that work: A summary of relevant factors. Journal of Negro Education, 57, 236-242. This article gives a brief overview of several case studies of effective urban schools. The author identifies four common characteristics found effective in urban schools. They are: (1) visionary leadership, (2) instruction, (3) loosely and tightly coupled systems, and (4) partnerships with parents and community. The author notes that parents in effective black urban schools did more than actively participate in Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings. Parents were involved in policy development, classroom instruction, and curriculum development. The author also notes that these effective urban schools had assistance in two forms from community groups, partnerships with colleges and universities, and financial support provided to the schools. She notes that it is not necessary to provide additional financial support for a school to develop an effective parent involvement program, but it is certainly helpful if additional funding can be obtained. Purcell-Gates, V. (1991). Low-SES children's success and failure at early literacy learning in skills-based classrooms. Journal of Reading Behavior, 23(1), 1-34. This article reports on a study of low socio-economic urban children's means of interpreting traditional skills-based literacy instruction. The participants were 35 randomly selected kindergarten and first-grade children from three inner city schools. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed four patterns of success or nonsuccess in literacy development. The children were observed and tested over a two-year period. Several factors emerged which appear to account for the degree of literacy success. These factors include: the degree and type of knowledge about written language possessed prior to the beginning of literacy instruction, degree of home participation, and the degree of fit between the individual learner and the curriculum. The most successful were those who had been exposed to learning prior to kindergarten. Additionally, those children who made the greatest gains during the study were those whose parents and teachers communicated regularly about their progress and whose parents assisted them at home. Yellin, D. & Koetting, J. R. (1991). Literacy as emancipation. Education Digest, 56, 14-16. The authors report that there is still a gap in achievement between middle- and lower-class students. This is partially the result of the nature of the school system and the narrow, skills biased type of literary instruction provided. The authors propose that through home exposure to literacy, middle- and upper-class youth learn that literacy is an essential instrument which can be used for social change. Those students from lower-class homes do not have the same exposure to literacy. As a result, poor children are more likely to be labeled learning disabled. Lower-class students need to be exposed to the "attitudes, values, and potency of literacy to improve society" (16). The authors also recommend these changes in literacy instruction and discuss a program called Foxfire in Georgia.
The Interlocking of Families and Schools Baker, D. P., & Stevenson, D. L. (1986). Mothers' strategies for children's school achievement: Managing the transition to high school. Sociology of Education, 59, 156-166. This article reports on research that explores the relationship between a student's academic achievement and the socioeconomic status of the mother. Specifically, the researchers examined actions parents can take to manage the child's academic career at the point of transition to high school. To delineate the potential theoretical impact, the authors review the structural features and "mobility qualities" of schools in the United States. The authors interviewed a sample of 41 randomly selected mothers of eighth graders. The data collected from these interviews indicate that mothers devise and implement a variety of strategies and that they are actively involved in their children's academic careers. Essentially, the authors found that better educated mothers tend to be better managers of their child's school career. But, it is important to note that the effective influence of parents is cumulative and cannot be at one point in the child's academic career. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Alienation and the four worlds of childhood. Phi Delta Kappan, 67, 430-436. The author states that the essential institutions for human development are being eroded. One of these is the family, and one factor which has had a significant impact on it has been the employment of both parents outside the home. Another is the increasing number of single-parent families. The author notes that it is the way single parent families are treated, and not the structure itself which is the problem. The risks of alienation can be combatted with a combination of support for the family and challenge for the child. Additionally, communities can help counteract the increasing risks by developing links between the home, the peer group, and the school. Calabrese, R. L. (1990). The public school: A source of alienation for minority parents. Journal of Negro Education, 59, 148-154. This article is a report of a study that examines the relationship between the parents of minority students and the public schools. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the degree of separation or alienation these parents may experience in relation to the public schools. The study, done in an urban school district, drew its non-random sample from a racially balanced elementary school (minorities are bussed to the school). Parents of students in grades four and five completed a modified version of the Dean Alienation Scale. The results of this study indicate that minority parents feel more alienated from school than white parents. Additionally, this study demonstrated that parents may develop a "passive attitude" toward helping their children succeed in the public school environment. This study also raised a major issue: school officials need to change their attitudes toward minority parents. Connell, R. W., Ashenden, D. J., Kessler, S., & Dowsett, G. W. (1982). Making the difference: schools, families, and social division. Sydney: George Allenand Unwin. This definitive structural analysis of social inequality in the schools was conducted in Australia. It is mandatory reading for theorizing about educational inequalities in the United States. This book provides a strong critique of deficit perspectives in explaining the educational underachievement of class and racial groups. The authors move away from the conventional framework which asks the questions about "why families lack what it takes for their children to succeed in school." Instead, they pose a different set of issues for investigation, namely "What is it about the situations and structures of families that shape their relations with schools?" The study provides exemplary documentation of how the family operates as the main link between schools, students, and the larger social order. Connell and his associates grapple with the following sort of questions: "How do families in practice relate to their children's schooling? What is it about their situations, and their structure that shapes their relationship with schools?" At the simplest level, home and school are linked by the encounters that family members have with the schools' staff. The most important interactions are the daily transactions between teachers and students which create and recreate the inequalities of class, race, and gender. Delgado-Gaitan, C. & Trueba, H. (1991). Crossing cultural borders: Education for immigrant families in america. Bristol, PA: The Falmer Press. The authors present an ethnographic study of first generation Hispano children and the way in which they are raised by immigrant parents. This empirically-oriented book tries to provide a close view of the daily activities and experiences of those children. Delgado-Gaitan and Trueba specifically explore empowerment and examine ways in which parental involvement might enhance the process. A central component in this dynamic is the role of parents in aiding children's learning. They conclude this volume with a discussion of the ramifications of an ethnography of empowerment for educational reform. Utilizing the information presented in this book, it is possible to develop specific interventions which are designed to increase the quality of education for minority students and to ensure educational opportunities beyond elementary and secondary school. Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1991). Involving parents in the schools: A process of empowerment. American Journal of Education, 100, 20-46. This article reports on a four-year study conducted in a southern California school district. The author looked at parent involvement activities and cooperative linkages between schools and families. These cooperative linkages allowed parents to become empowered by increasing their awareness of both their children's situations in school and their rights as parents. Delgado-Gaitan found that the lack of participation on the part of underrepresented parents must be considered in the framework of remedies provided to them by the school. Nonconventional activities which involve parents and validate their cultural and social experience allowed a better balance of power between home and school. In this study, the schools and parents joined forces to create a process of empowerment. Dornbusch, S., & Wood, K. D. (1989). Family processes and educational achievement. In Weston, W. J. (Ed.), Education and the American family: A research synthesis, (pp. 66-95). New York: New York University Press. The central focus of this article is on family processor behavior. Of particular interest is the section on parental interest and involvement in education. The authors note that when parents are not actively involved in their children's education, i.e., demanding more desirable assignments, the school may shuffle about those children whose parents are not involved. They also note that previous research has not separated those parents who were involved because of their own interest from those who were asked to be involved by the school. They note that the two types of involvement tend to have different results. It appears that the more directly involved parents are in the education of their children, the more the students benefitted. Additionally, they note a study by McLaughlin and Shields which indicates that only middle-class parents will be involved if the parental involvement program is defined on the schools terms. There is still much to learn about family processes and their effect on educational performance. They note that social-status indicators are not good predictors of children's achievement compared to family process variables. Epstein, J. L. (1987). Parent involvement: What research says to administrators. Education and Urban Society, 19, 119-136. This article reports on a study of techniques used by teachers to involve parents in their children's academic program. A survey of first-, third-, and fifth-grade teachers and their principals was conducted. Additionally, in-depth interviews were done with 82 teachers. From this information, the researcher identified four types of parent involvement in schools: (1) parental involvement in the provision of basic survival needs, (2) communication from the school to the home, (3) parental involvement at the school, and (4) assistance with learning activities at home. The author provides guidelines for ways in which administrators can utilize the various types of parental involvement. Specifically, she notes that principals and teachers must be willing to invest the time necessary to implement programs which include the various types of parental involvement. The findings of this study indicate that it is important to share responsibilities between social institutions such as families and schools and that such sharing will improve organizational effectiveness as well as improve the students' academic achievement. Fehrmann, P. G., Keith, T. Z., & Reimers, T. M. (1987). Home influence on school learning: Direct and indirect effects of parental involvement on high school grades. Journal of Educational Research, 80, 330-337. The authors propose that parental involvement is an important influence on academic progress. They propose that such involvement is not a unitary construct, but can include several variables such as verbal encouragement, parental expectations for school performance, academic guidance and support, and student perceptions of parental influence on post-high school plans. This article reports on a study which was designed to determine what direct and indirect effects parental involvement had on grades. The authors used path analysis to analyze data from a sample of high school seniors. The results of this study demonstrates a linear positive effect on grades. What this research does not demonstrate is which aspects of parental involvement, direct or indirect, are most important for students' achievement. Goldenberg, C. N. (1987). Low-income Hispanic parents' contributions to their first-grade children's word-recognition skills. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 18, 149-179. Instead of focusing on the differences which exist between home and school cultures, Goldenberg proposes that the focus of research should be on the commonalities that exist. This article reports on a component of a larger ethnographic study of home and school influences on Spanish reading achievement. Goldenberg utilized "direct observation" to gather data. As a result of this study, two areas of compatibility emerged as cornerstones of American education: (1) parents who place a high value on educational achievement, and (2) achievement which comes from an individual's efforts and persistence. Also, the author reports that parents can contribute to their children's literacy growth by teaching them directly, or by using the "lap method" to read to the child. Goldenberg recommends that educators and researchers further explore these methods to involve minority and majority parents. Gotts, E. E., & Purnell, R. F. (1987). Practicing school-family relations in urban settings. Education and Urban Society, 19, 212-218. A questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 446 teachers who were selected from 17 communities in the region served by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL). The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain data regarding the effects of school-family relations on parent involvement, and to determine whether there is a difference between urban and rural schools. The authors report three findings: (1) urban schools cannot depend upon communication processes which are informal, (2) rural schools play a more central part of community life than do urban schools, and (3) rural parents report feeling more secure about conformity to community standards by their secondary-level children. The authors also noted that the level of parental involvement differs between elementary and secondary school. In general these results seem to indicate that the most effective school-home relations occur when the plans fit the lives, circumstances, and conditions of the parents. Henderson, A. T. (Ed.). 1987. The evidence continues to grow: Parent involvement improves student achievement. Columbia, MD: National Committee for Citizens in Education. The editor has provided extensive summaries of various studies regarding parental involvement. She notes that the evidence clearly demonstrates that children do better in school when parents are involved. Henderson has identified and provided examples of three basic types of parental involvement programs. She strongly states that parents are the basic ingredient and must be intimately, not peripherally involved. For the future, research must look at the kinds of involvement that is best for low-income and high-risk children. Also, researchers need to determine whether different forms of parental involvement are appropriate for different grade levels. Another gap in the research pertains to the appropriate role of federal, state, and local government agencies. Also, what contributions might the community provide. Lareau, A. (1989). Home advantage: Social class and parental intervention in elementary education. London: The Falmer Press. Lareau notes that many sociologists do not consider the powerful influence that social class has on family life and children's lives outside the home. Specifically, social class has an influence on the patterns of parental involvement. She notes that the influence is not on the absolute level of parental involvement, but on the gap which exists between the level of involvement of middle- and upper-middle class parents compared to that of working-class and lower-class parents. This book looks at how and why social class influences parent involvement in children's education. For example, teachers requests of working-class parents differed than requests of upper-middle class parents. The level of involvement expected of working-class parents was three fold: (1) read to their children, (2) reinforce classroom material, and (3) respond to teachers' requests for assistance. Teachers also requested that upper-middle-class parents read, reinforce and respond, but they also ask that these parents add respecting the advice and actions of the teacher. Lightfoot, S. L. (1978). World apart: Relationships between families and schools. New York: Basic Books. Lightfoot proposes that life in the classroom is influenced and defined by the social structure of the school, which is further shaped by the "sociopolitical and economic structure of the community of which it is part" (4). This book was written to communicate the structural and institutional forces that influence the dynamic intersection of families and schools. For example, Lightfoot notes that parents and teachers have an adversarial relationship, and that conflicts are endemic to the nature of family and school as institutions. Also, she notes that parents and teachers have few opportunities to interact beyond ritualistic occasions such as Parent-Teacher Association meetings and open houses at the beginning of the school year. Lightfoot notes that schools reproduce classes through differences in rules, expected modes of behavior, and opportunities for choice. That is, middle class students are rewarded for individuality, aggressiveness, and initiative. Lower-class students are reinforced for passivity, withdrawal, and obedience. Often it seems that teachers see students as miniature versions of their parents' perceived status in society. The author recommends that future research should develop strategies which will be holistic and not search for pathology or deviance. She further states that children appear to grow and learn in schools where parents and teachers share similar ideas and collaborate on guiding students forward. Milne, A. M. (1989). Family structure and the achievement of children. In Weston, W. J. (Ed.), Education and the American family: A research synthesis, (pp. 32-65). New York: New York University Press. Milne has conducted an extensive review of the literature regarding family structure and the achievement of children. This literature specifically looks at two major aspects of family structure: a) the number of parents in a family, and b) the work status of parents, primarily the mother. She provides a review of the recent changes in demographics of families. She conducted her review of the two bodies of the literature by first looking at single-parent families which were identified as primarily female-headed. Second, she reviewed the literature on working mothers. In her examination, most of the evidence favors two-parent families. Specifically, a comprehensive review of recent research has found that children from two-parent families scored higher in aptitude, grade point average, and other teacher assigned scores. Additionally, effects of maternal work was found for subgroups which were defined by race and gender. For example, it appears that employment of the mother may have positive effects on the achievement of lower-class and Black children. Out of this review Milne raises two concerns. First, are the findings regarding family structure consistent and are they large enough to be meaningful? Second, what other factors or variables could affect the relationship? The author concludes that the effects of maternal work on children are not clear. She recommends that future research might consider the aggregate influence of the following variables: being a child of an unmarried Black woman who is living in poverty, has no high-school diploma, and possesses few, if any, marketable skills. Milne also notes that it is not family structure itself that what makes a difference, it is the ability of families to provide educational and other resources. Mulkey, L. M., Crain, R. L., & Harrington, A. J. C. (1992). One-parent households and achievement: Economic and behavioral explanations of a small effect. Sociology of Education, 65, 48-65. The authors conducted a path analysis of the effect of single-parent upbringing on students' evaluations. This analysis demonstrates that the effect of single-parent upbringing on a student's evaluation in school is consistent with previous studies and that effect is small. The differential effects of both mother and father absences are transmitted through intervening variables of race-ethnicity, economic conditions, parental educational level. Yet when this variable is controlled for, the current study demonstrates that it is a student's misbehavior which affects his/her grades. It appears that students who live in one-parent households are less likely to connect with the school. This is evidenced by the high rate of dropouts of students from single-parent households. Reynolds, A. J. (1991). Early schooling of children at risk. American Educational Research Journal, 28, 392-422. This study was conducted to assess the impact several alterable variables had on reading and mathematics achievement, and socio-emotional maturity of 1539 low-income minority children. The variables which were considered to be directly alterable by families and/or schools were: prekindergarten experience, motivation, mobility, and parent involvement. The author used a LISREL estimation of the model. The principal results indicated that those variables which were alterable had a significant influence either directly or indirectly on early school outcomes. Rich, D. (1987). Schools and families: Issues and actions. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association. Rich contends that the relationship between the family and the school is "complementary, nonduplicative, unique and vital" (9). She also states that there is a correlation between family background and achievement and that is a stronger correlation than that between achievement and school quality. In fact, she cites Uri Bronfenbrenner who states that active involvement of the family is critical to the students success in school. The effects are positive for the student, the community, and schools when teachers involve parents. The specific effects for students noted by Rich are: a decrease in absenteeism, higher achievement scores, improved student behavior, and restored confidence. For the community, involving parents is a strategic use of scarce resources. Unfortunately, teachers and administrators have not been enthusiastic about parental participation in curriculum development, instruction or school governance. On the other hand, both teachers and administrators do support parent involvement in parents assisting with homework and tutoring. Rich notes that parents are interested in taking a more active role than helping with homework or tutoring. Rich provides some limited recommendations for action and includes seven characteristics which are necessary to build an effective program: (1) parental participation is widespread and sustained when it is seen as being directly linked to the achievement of their child; (2) opportunities for families to supplement and reinforce the development of academic skills with work in the home must be included; (3) various modes of participation must be provided; (4) opportunities to be involved must exist at all levels of schooling; (5) the impetus has tended to emerge from federally funded programs; (6) get active support and cooperation from school boards, community agencies, and professional organizations, and (7) parental participation must be viewed as a legitimate activity of the schools and as an integral part of its delivery of services, not just as an add-on. In conclusion, Rich notes several emerging themes from recent research on parental participation. First, interest in parental participation is clear, strong and specific from all sides. Second, educators need to re-examine current beliefs about parents, their capabilities and interests. Third, interest in parental participation must occur beyond the early elementary grades. And, last, the incomplete and evolving nature of research information on parental participation must be recognized. Rumberger, R. W., Ghatak, R., Poulos, G., Ritter, P. L., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1990). Family influences on dropout behavior in one california high school. Sociology of Education, 63, 283-299. The purpose of this study was to explore a number of variables that reveal some of the mechanisms utilized by families to influence students' decisions to dropout of school. A portrait of dropouts revealed that dropouts are more likely to be Hispanic, Black, and Anglo rather than Asian or other ethnic groups. Additionally, dropouts tended to be different in regard to grades (lower), disciplinary problems (more) and attendance patterns (poorer). The authors identified three major differences between the families of dropouts and those of other students. Those are: (a) parenting styles, (b) reactions of parents to students' grades, and (c) differences in the academic involvement of the parents. The authors reached two conclusions. First, the areas of social support, academic encouragement, and academic assistance must be addressed. Second, parental influences must be strengthened through the development of strategies to combat dropping out. Schools need to develop better strategies to identify those parents of students that are most at risk. Velez, W. (1989). High school attrition among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white youths. Sociology of Education, 62, 119-133. The author examines various factors which influence the dropout behavior of high school students. He hypothesized that six factors affected the likelihood of dropping out. Those factors are: (1) confrontation; (2) accelerated role taking; (3) school factors; (4) background, i.e. SES; (5) sociopsychological; and (6) migrant status. Velez utilized the logic method on data drawn from the sophomore cohort of High School and Beyond which is a national study. The results of this study suggest that each of these factors has a different impact on the various groups studied. Velez states that dropping out is primarily influenced by the structure of the family and its resources and by the student's age, gender, and confrontation with school officials. He suggests that some of these factors are well within the control of the school, and that school administrators should rethink their policies regarding at-risk students.
Programs and Policies for Bridging Families and Schools Abi-Nader, J. (1991). Creating a vision of the future: Strategies for motivating minority students. Phi Delta Kappan, 72, 546-549. The author spent six months as a participant-observer of the PLAN Program (Program: Learning According to Needs) which has been designed to get participating students into college. The program motivates students as well as trains them to successfully communicate. Three major strategies of PLAN include: (a) a mentor program, (b) the oral tradition of PLAN, and (c) future-oriented classroom talk. The program's success is demonstrated by the number of college acceptances and scholarships noted through out the program's history. Beane, D. B. (1990). Say YES to a youngster's future: A Model for Home, School, and Community Partnership. Journal of Negro Education, 59, 360-374. This article describes the pilot program for the National Urban Coalition's Say YES Schools Project. The pilot project took place during the 1987-88 school year, and was implemented in nine public elementary schools in two school districts whose enrollment was at least 75 percent African-American and/or Hispanic students. The objectives of the program were to improve the confidence of teachers and students in mathematics and science, to increase the interests and skills of elementary students of color, and to increase the number of children of color who are prepared for advanced levels of mathematics and science at the secondary level. The project had four essential elements at each project site; and one of these was family activities. A comparison of project and nonproject classrooms indicates a significant improvement in project classrooms over and above that of nonproject classrooms. Additionally, this project seems to confirm the potential of activity-based instruction as a tool to increase student interest and achievement in science, mathematics, and reading. This project appears to be an effective intervention model for a home, school, and community intervention project. Chavkin, N. F. (1991). Community collaboration gives dropouts a choice. Education Digest, 56, 17-19. This article reports on the San Marco, Texas, alternative high school for dropouts and potential dropouts. It is based on the principle that collaboration among a variety of community agencies is essential to positively impact the current high rate of dropouts. The specific purpose of the Coalition for PRIDE is to provide an arena for collaboration among social agencies, businesses, parents, schools, and a university, and to also provide a model for reducing the dropout rate nationwide. The program is making significant progress and shows what can be accomplished when a "school reaches out to the communities and parents it serves" (18). One of the important components of this program is the interagency council which provides linkage for the social workers. The success of the program partially comes from the coalition's emphasis on the "multi-ethnic family/school/community collaboration" (19). Collins, C. H., Moles, O., & Cross, M. (1982). The home-school connection: Selected partnership programs in large cities. Boston, MA: The Institute for Responsive Education. This report provides information on 28 programs that can be utilized to develop partnerships between the home and school. The programs included upper elementary and secondary school levels. They provide different approaches to involve parents in improving the academic achievement and social development of their children. The programs vary in complexity, goals, strategies, and roles for parents. The information gathered for this report was obtained in several steps: (1) telephone contact, (2) profile development, and (3) site visits. Comer, J. P. (1980). School power: Implications of an intervention project. New York: The Free Press. This book is an in-depth discussion of the much cited successful intervention program between the Yale Child Study Center and two public elementary schools in New Haven, Connecticut. The program, implemented in 1968, is a ten-year report. The major contributor to improving the quality of and level of learning in the two schools may be directly attributable to the parental involvement aspect of the program. Especially important was parental participation in the governance and management of the schools. The demand for the active and intimate involvement of parents is needed most in low-income and minority communities. The implementation of this program led not only to an improvement in academic achievement, but also to a decrease in serious behavior problems. Comer, J. P. (1988). Educating poor minority children. Scientific American, 259, 42-48. The author provides a report of a successful parental involvement program which was implemented in New Haven, Connecticut. The original concept for this program evolved out of his own childhood. He proposes that because his parents gave him social skills and confidence, this enabled him to take advantage of educational opportunities. Current educational reforms do not place enough emphasis on interpersonal factors and tend to assume that all children come to school equally prepared to participate. While this program was not immediately successful, it is now considered to be so and it has been expanded beyond its original location in Connecticut to various states around the country. One of these sites is in Benton Harbor, Michigan. An analysis of the original schools in the program demonstrated that the key to academic achievement "is to promote psychological development in students." To attain this goal, a governance and management team was established at each school. This team of twelve people included the principal, parents, teachers, a mental-health specialist, and someone from the nonprofessional support staff. These teams were responsible for deciding issues pertaining to the academic and social programs at the school, and they functioned with several very specific guidelines. By 1975 it was obvious that the program was having positive effects. First, behavioral problems in the schools had declined. Second, relations between the staff and the parents had improved. And, third, the intelligence level of the children involved had become apparent. In addition, to reporting on the success of this specific program, Comer provides several recommendations for the future. Comer, J. P. (1986). Parent participation in the schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 67, 442-446. The author proposes that education programs which actively and effectively involve parents provide an excellent atmosphere for both teaching and learning. Comer provides an overview of a three-level parent participation project which was implemented in elementary lower-income neighborhood schools in New Haven, Connecticut public schools. When students observed parents interacting with school teachers in a cooperative way, students responded in a positive way to both academic and behavioral expectations of school personnel. Between 1969 and 1984 students involved in the project in New Haven had improved their academic performance. Davies, D. (1991, January). Schools reaching out: Family, school, and community partnerships for student success. Phi Delta Kappan. pp. 376-382. The author states that parent involvement in schools can make a powerful contribution to the reform of urban schools. Additionally, they can offer a significant contribution to the national goal of providing a successful school experience for all students. He introduces several approaches to involving parents in schools, and notes that all have three common themes. First, success must be provided for all children. Second, the whole child must be served. And, third, responsibility must be shared between the school, the family, and other community agencies and institutions. That is, schools must reach out to the family and the community as a whole. Hall, S. H., & Henderson, A. (1991). Uniting schools and families. Education Digest, 56, 46-50. This article discusses the "Comer process" which is based on the concept that the difference between home and school cultures deeply affects the psychological and social development of youngsters and that these differences may cause poor academic performance--especially among the poor, minority children. The "Comer process," which is a holistic process, has demonstrated success since its start in 1968. Those results have included an increase of 3-10 percent on standardized test scores and an average daily attendance of 96 percent. The process is not without criticism, and one of these is that it does not empower the students, parents and other community members, but relies on Comer's Center at Yale. As a counter to that criticism, a parent involvement specialist points out that the program attempts to get parents involved and to develop parent leaders. Comer states that the core purpose of the program is to give children access to high self-esteem and opportunities to succeed emotionally, socially, and academically. If parents and teachers grow in the process, it is a side benefit. Lacey, R. A. (1991). `I have a dream' for dropout prevention. The Education Digest, 56, 20-23. This article provides an overview of Eugene Lang's "I Have a Dream Program." The core of this program is sustained personal involvement with individual at-risk students and their families. The sponsors finance the coordination of social, financial, and academic services for dropout prevention such as trained staff who work full-time to assist the "Dreamers." The structure of the program is flexible, and ample time is crucial to allow relationships and trust to develop. The program is now nationwide and one state (Louisiana) has passed legislation to subsidize college tuition for any qualified high school graduate and similar legislation is being considered in several other states. The potential weakness of this program is that college tuition may not be enough of an incentive to keep at-risk students in school through graduation. Additionally, this program may not have an impact on the quality of teaching or learning in schools. The author of this article also poses several questions about the program and whether it reinforces the idea that luck plays an important part of success, that is, only those lucky enough to have a sponsor will have the opportunity to succeed academically and socially. McPartland, J. M. & Nettles, S. M . (1991). Using community adults as advocates or mentors for at-risk middle school students; A two-year evaluation of project RAISE. American Journal of Education, 99, 568-586. This article reviews the effects of Project RAISE on student outcomes. Project RAISE is a multifaceted approach utilizing adults as mentors and school-based advocates. The results of this project demonstrate that positive effects were found in student attendance and report-card grades. The authors used comparison groups and statistical tests to judge the effects of the program. While these successes were demonstrated, it is unfortunate that mentoring and advocacy did not eliminate or decrease the risks that came with the students when they entered the program. Moll, L. C. (1988). Some key issues in teaching Latino students. Language Arts, 65, 465-472. The author reports on the way two teachers taught Latino working class students who were succeeding academically. For six months the author observed and formally and informally interviewed the teachers. Moll found that the major difference between these classrooms and other working class Latino experiences was the emphasis the teachers placed on the creation of meaning rather than on rote learning. This suggests three related factors: teachers were sound theorists, they were able to obtain support from their administration to implement the curriculum, and the teachers depended on collegial support. The author reports specific findings. First, the teachers' orientation is opposite the status quo. For example, instead of being rigid in their instruction, they offer flexibility. Second, they offer students options and autonomy instead of exerting control. Third, their approach can be taught to other teachers and adapted to a variety of situations. Fourth, the teachers understand that political action in education is important. Last, the academic needs of their most problematic students can be met by turning available resources into assets for teaching and learning. Padron, E. J. (1991). Hispanics: A missing piece of the puzzle? Community, Technical, and Junior College Journal, 61, 55-56. This editorial notes the increasing Hispanic population in the United States and the fact that enrollment in college has not kept pace. To increase college enrollment, we must start by decreasing high school dropout rates through outreach and retention programs which may include participation by the students' parents. In addition to these programs, it is essential to increase the number of Hispanic faculty and administrators in secondary and post-secondary schools. Padron notes several strategies which could be implemented to accomplish this including a mentor program for students and new faculty. He notes that it is crucial to recruit and keep students in secondary and post-secondary schools to prevent the perpetuation of the cycle of inadequate education and poverty that occurs in the Hispanic population in the United States. Rivera, R. (1988). Latino parental involvement in the Boston public schools: Preliminary notes from the field. Boston: William Monroe Trotter Institute. This report focuses on Hispanic parental involvement in Boston Public Schools. Rivera noted that greater parental involvement results in a higher probability of graduation due to four factors which contribute to a low level of Latino parental involvement: (1) institutional, (2) cultural, (3) socio-demographic, and (4) socio-economic. Rivera further notes that parental involvement in their children's education is a foreign concept for most Latino parents. Rivera provides recommendations for involving Latinos in their children's education. Additionally, he notes that there is conclusive evidence indicating that an effective partnership between parents and school can make a positive impact on the educational performance of Hispanic students. He provides a brief description of three models which have been successful in involving parents. One of these programs is "Helping Parents to Help Children to Learn." The program took place in a Spanish bilingual kindergarten class. It was designed to decrease the amount of time the children spent watching television and to find ways parents could help with homework. A second program Rivera describes is the "Parent's Activity Center and Training Program;" the program is classroom-based. Activity centers were created in a number of classrooms and their purpose was to develop the ability of parents' to assist their children in academics. The third program discussed is "Good Beginnings/Un Buen Comienz." One purpose of the program is to get Latino parents to help their children succeed academically. In all three programs, a very important purpose is to make connections between the home and school. Truby, R. (1987). Home-school projects that work. Education and Urban Society, 19, 206-211. This article reviews several successful parent involvement projects. These projects are not as detailed as on-going projects such as School Improvement Councils or Parent Advisory Committees. The author implemented these programs in Idaho and West Virginia. The projects were: Parents in Reading, Letter to New Parents, Libraries and Book Lists, Monthly Reminders, and I Promise. The author notes that these programs are not substitutes for long-term intervention programs. Wells, S. E. (1990). At-risk youth: Identification, programs, and recommendations. Englewood, CO: Teachers Ideas Press. This book identifies five categories of characteristics which tend to be exhibited by dropouts and potential dropouts. The author states that these characteristics can be used as predictors of potential dropouts. Additionally, the author presents identification systems for At-Risk students and notes that many school districts are just beginning to develop systems to identify students who maybe at-risk. The author recommends various programs to school districts. Additionally, she provides a fairly extensive description of various prevention programs such as mentor programs, Hispanic role models in the classroom (teachers, counselors, business, and community leaders), parental involvement, and school-community partnerships. Additionally, the author has included several family support programs ranging from parental involvement at the elementary level to high school. Some of the recommendations for parental involvement are: invite and encourage parents to help at school; have parents serve on advisory committees and/or assessment/evaluation teams; have school staff call parents when a potential dropout has done something positive; and focus on activities that would involve aunts, uncles or other relatives. |
|
|
|
For more information, contact: |
