Strengthening the Ties Between Title I and Family Literacy

When schools work together with families to support learning, children are inclined to succeed not only in school but throughout life as well. Three decades of research show that parental participation in schooling improves student learning. Title I, as amended by the Improving America's Schools Act (Public Law 103-382), reflects these research findings and emphasizes the importance of family involvement as a means to help address more completely the full range of student needs that affect their learning. Although parental involvement can take many forms, in this article I focus specifically on family literacy services. The Title I statute requires any Title I program to include "strategies to increase parental involvement, such as family literacy services." In addition, any school district with a Title I allocation above $500,000 must spend at least 1% of its allocation for district- and school-level parental involvement activities, which can include family literacy activities. Title I also recognizes that schools and patents share responsibility for the education of children. Therefore, each Title I school is to develop school-parent compacts that outline how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which schools and parents will work together to help children achieve high state standards. School-parent compacts area logical tool for addressing family literacy needs. Equally important, Title I has a history of parental involvement that literacy can help enrich further.     

单亲青少年学业成就影响因素辨析

通过对单亲子女学业研究成果的梳理,辨析了家庭结构、经济压力、家庭冲突和社会环境等因素对单亲子女学业的影响,指出贫困、家庭结构缺陷、家庭冲突和情绪并不直接导致单亲教养失败。家庭情绪、父母对子女的学业期待与参与程度、提供资源和支持是影响学业成就的间接变量,学业自我概念是直接变量。通过分析可以看出,同伴交往、单亲家庭的社会支持、文化环境对单亲子女的成长影响更多;对单亲子女人格和社会情感的教育更重要。     

Unwanted by whom?

Unwanted pregnancies bother various groups in the US. Many pregnant teenagers want to be pregnant, even though the pregnancies are often not planned. A childbirth educator in Boston, Massachusetts, wonders who considers adolescent pregnancies as unwanted, the young mothers or the middle class, white, well-educated, and well-meaning adults. Adolescents want babies for the same reasons adults want babies. The difference is that adolescents do not have the same personal, financial, and community resources as adults. A child cannot rob teenagers of a future they do not have; a child provides some joy and hope. These teenagers tend not to see a better life in their future. Education can generate a vision of the future and provide a path out of poverty. Yet, educational opportunities are not always available or inviting. Teenagers need childcare, financial support, and supportive role models or mentors. Many people erroneously believe that poor women have children to be on welfare or to receive subsidized food. Yet, public assistance does no hand out enough money to sustain a family. Besides, it is unpleasant. Some states are starting to deal with the broader problems linked to poverty and lack of education. For example, the welfare system in Florida requires young women to be in high school, to prepare for the GED, or to undergo technical training. If they fail to comply, they lose benefits. Role models and financial, practical, and emotional support allow teen fathers to stay close to their children, to earn a living, and to be responsible. Poverty, immigration, transience, substance abuse, and distance from family result in insufficient support and poor parenting models for teenage mothers. They still are developing physically and emotionally. Teenage mothers need the same support, encouragement, and assistance that adult mothers need. Freedom of choice, education, and responsibility will result in healthier teen mothers and children.     

论“五位一体”(GCUSF)家庭教育指导模式的构建

在社会发展对人才需求日益多样化的今天,家庭教育的重要性得到了越来越多人的认可和关注。然而多年来我国家庭教育的成效却不尽如人意,家庭教育指导不能满足家长需要。虽然青少年家庭教育的成败与家长的教育能力和水平密切相关,但与政府、社区、高校、中小学校的支持与配合也是密不可分的。只有政府、社区、高校、中小学校和家庭五者形成教育合力、发挥叠加效应,才能更好地促进青少年的发展。因此,构建以政府为主导、社会力量为主体的"五位一体"(GCUSF)家庭教育指导模式将有效促进家庭教育指导水平的提升,提高家庭教育的效果。     

关于青少年感恩教育的思考

青少年感恩意识缺失既是社会现象的一种折射,也是教育培养的缺乏.从社会影响、学校教育、家庭教育等方面对当下众说纷纭的青少年感恩冷漠的成因进行分析,并从校园文化建设、课程体系建立、家校合力培养等方面提出了加强青少年感恩教育的培养途径.     

青少年心理健康问题及其对策

目前，我国青少年学生的心理健康问题日趋严重，因此对青少年进行心理健康教育已刻不容缓。学生心理健康受家庭、学校和社会等环境因素影响，为此，青少年的心理健康应着重抓：良好家庭环境的建立、校园心理环境的优化以及社会环境的净化。     

Psychiatric treatment of abusing mothers — Two case studies

Cases of two mothers who abused their preschool children are presented. The patients are discussed with a focus on psychological and social phenomena which created the stress situations. The importance of a combined treatment approach, with family involvement, as contrasted to traditional psychotherapeutic methods is underscored. Long term supportive involvement with the family is also illustrated. Resolution of the mothers' conflicts came about in psychotherapy when they re-experienced their forgetten painful affects from childhood. The authors suggest that the prevention of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies should decrease the high incidence of child abuse.     

School-based model for preventing teenage pregnancy

Social workers in the schools can take positive and immediate action to address teenage pregnancy through the use of interventive models that help teenagers avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancy. The present article describes and empirically supports 1 such school-based model. The author 1st delineates the major problems associated with teenage pregnancy and then relates the preventive model to prior research and details its implementation in school settings. A discussion of reslults from the model's field evaluation is followed with implications for school social workers. The model reported here is directed to all adolescents rather than focusing on a "high-risk" population. The risk of pregnancy is assumed to be a normal part of adolescent development. Grounded in an intterpersonal conceptualization of teenage pregnancy and in related empirical research, the school-based model helps young men and women acquire the requisite skills for preventing unwanted pregnancy. The program requires school social workers to meet with 12-18 teenage students of both sexes and to provide them with basic information on human sexuality, reproduction and contraception. These topics are covered by lectures, demostrations, discussion and audiovisual presentations. Through instruction, feedback and reinforcement, student learn how to talk about sensitive topics, stand up for their rights and be convincing and effective when carrying out decisions. Homework assignments are designed to develop the students'skills in interactions with dating partners, parents and friends. The clinical applicability and effectiveness of this prevention training model is documented through a study conducted in an urban high school. 36 informed and consenting sophomores of both sexes were randomly assigned either to an interventive group or to a non-treatment control group. Compared to the latter, the former had more accurate knowledge of human reproduction and contraception after the intervention. Buttressing these and other positive results, the students' enthusiastic feedback left little doubt that they enjoyed the group process and were interested in the training. Moreover, analyses of follow-up data on coital activity, the use of contraceptives, and family planning decisions revealed that the training had produced striking effects. Decision making tests, behavioral performance tests, follow-up questionnaires and videotaping of behavior during stressful interpersonal situations were among the evaluation techniques used.     

School-based Sex Education in Russia: The current reality and prospects

The last decade has been characterised in Russia by a sharp increase in the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), especially in teenagers, as well as by a high level of unwanted pregnancies, sexual violence and other phenomena relevant to the issues of reproductive and sexual health and behaviour. Though the overwhelming majority of Russian teenagers, their parents and teachers favour the introduction of sex education in schools, there is no national programme of school-based sex education in Russia at the moment. Currently, some conservative forces and the Russian Orthodox Church are actively opposing school sex education and family planning. Opponents of sex education have mounted an aggressive campaign against the implementation of sex education in schools. The attempt of the Russian Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UNESCO, to implement in-school sex education has practically failed. At present, direct instruction of schoolchildren in these matters is in fact forbidden. So in the near future, it is only really feasible to promote direct educational work with youngsters on a local basis and in cooperation with some foreign experts within the framework of separate, fairly small-scale projects.     

Lao Youth Union networks to promote adolescent reproductive health

The Central Lao Youth Union (LYU) is implementing the third component of the Reproductive Health Sub-Program. It has collaborated with the National Statistic Center in a knowledge, attitude, and practice study on reproductive health among adolescents and youth between the ages of 15 and 24. The findings of this study will provide data on the knowledge that youth have on birth spacing and contraceptive methods; their attitudes towards unwanted pregnancy, reproduction, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse; and common youth practices concerning heterosexual relationships, sexual relationships, discussions on sex, planning for marriage, and sex with commercial sex workers. Moreover, the LYU is also collaborating with the Institute for Mother and Child Health, the Lao Women's Union, and the Ministry of Education in developing a reproductive health manual. The manual will cover reproductive health-related topics that will be used as reference material for LYU leaders and volunteers at the district and village levels.     

网络环境下青少年思想道德教育问题探析

网络具有开放性、交互性和虚拟性等特点,对青少年的世界观、人生观和价值观的形成起着日益重要的作用,给思想道德教育工作者提出了新的挑战。在网络环境下,要利用校园网平台,加强青少年思想道德教育;开展网络道德教育,引导青少年树立正确的网络道德观念;加强网络思想道德教育队伍建设,提高思想道德教育工作者的现代信息技术素养;形成社会合力,优化青少年成长的网络社会环境。     

Neglected children with severe obesity have a right to health: Is foster home an alternative?—A qualitative study

ObjectiveTo explore key person’s perspectives of foster home placement or notification of risk of harm to Social Services of children with severe obesity.MethodsThis case study research was performed in the southwest of Sweden and based on interviews with nine informants: a foster home youth, two foster parents, a social worker, two hospital social workers, a pediatric physician, a pediatric nurse, and a psychologist. Content analysis was used for narrative evaluations, within- and cross case analyses and displays.ResultsPositive health outcomes of the foster home placement were described as a healthy and normalized weight status, a physically and socially active life, and an optimistic outlook on the future. The foster parents made no major changes in their family routines, but applied an authoritative parenting style regarding limit setting about sweets and food portions and supporting physical activity. The professionals described children with severe obesity as having suffered parental as well as societal neglect. Their biological parents lacked the ability to undertake necessary lifestyle changes. Neglected investigations into learning disabilities and neuropsychiatric disorders were seen in the school and healthcare sector, and better collaboration with the Social Services after a report of harm might be a potential for future improvements. Rival discourses were underlying the (in) decision regarding foster home placement.ConclusionA child’s right to health was a strong discourse for acting when a child was at risk for harm, but parental rights are strong when relocation to a foster home is judged to be necessary.     

我国中小学生网络成瘾研究综述

网络成瘾是指在无成瘾物质作用下的上网行为的冲动失控,表现为由于过度使用互联网而导致个体明显的社会、心理功能损害。对近年来我国中小学生网络成瘾的文献进行分析,总结出网络成瘾受到性别、年级、城乡、学校与家庭因素的影响。干预的手段主要有心理、药物、家庭、学校、政府及综合干预。     

Delivering social work services in collaboration with the legal representation for individual clients: An effective,ethical and economical approach to supporting families in child abuse and neglect legal proceedings

This article discusses the need to improve the quality of helping relationships between families and social workers in the child protection system and the growing body of evidence that teams of social workers and lawyers are effective at improving outcomes in child protection legal proceedings. The author presents an alternative structure of delivering social work services within the child protection systems once a court gets involved with a family, proposing that social workers should focus on individual clients in collaboration with their legal representation, rather than the traditional model of a governmental agency social worker serving the family as a unit as it also determines placement of the children. Pairing the social worker to an individual client in tandem with their legal representative would help resolve the widely observed relationship problems between service users and governmental agency social workers that include the power imbalance created by the agency's authority to determine placement of children, the conflicts of interest that agency workers face when required to manage differing family members' needs, and the lack of protection of the due process right of confidentiality for parties involved in legal proceedings. This alternative structure also impacts the need to use resources more efficiently and has been demonstrated to result in substantial returns on investment. This article concludes that when a family becomes involved in child abuse and neglect legal proceedings, the child welfare agency should shift the delivery of social work services to the individual parties, away from the governmental agency and in conjunction with their legal representation.     

Factors shaping parent–adolescent communication about sexuality in urban China

Within a rapidly changing cultural and socio-economic context, young people in China are increasingly engaging in romantic experiences and sexual behaviours with consequences such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Across a range of contexts, parental communication about sexuality has been recognised as protective in terms of increasing the likelihood of sexual abstinence and safer sexual practice. This study focuses on the factors shaping parent–adolescent communication about sexuality. Thirty-eight young people and twenty-seven parents, recruited from two high schools in a Northern-Eastern city of China, were interviewed. Thematic analysis of their interview responses was conducted using a social constructionist framework. Four main themes were identified: timing; discomfort and uncertainty; assumptions; and the parent–adolescent relationship. Findings suggest that communication between parents and children is influenced by individual as well as interpersonal factors and factors relating to the broader Chinese sociocultural context. To facilitate communication, both parents and young people need support from health and other professionals, while parents need more help and support in overcoming historical, social and cultural barriers to open communication about sex.     

Outcomes of child sexual contacts: patterns of incarcerations from a national sample.

OBJECTIVE: In a test of the relationships between sexual touching before puberty and later incarcerations during adolescence and adulthood, two theoretical models were examined. These models focus on examination of crime from the developmental origins of criminals and the adaptive and maladaptive outcomes of early experiences. METHOD: Data were taken from the National Health and Social Life Survey to study the sexual touching and social origin variables in childhood and incarceration variable during teen years. The sample was a stratified, random sample of 3,362 adults (18 to 59 years of age) throughout the United States. RESULTS: Data support inferences from the two interrelated models. Respondents reporting touching before puberty were significantly more likely to experience incarceration. They were also more likely to engage in behaviors as teenagers that were associated with an increased probability of jailing. Such behaviors include sexual promiscuity and early departure from the parental family. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent for first jailing as a teenager and as an adult, as well as for those with short (less than a week) or longer (a week or more) spells of incarceration. Prepubertal sexual touching has a significant and enduring effect on later adolescent and adult incarcerations.     

“非主流”青少年的学校社会工作介入方法

随着中国经济和社会的不断发展与开发,青少年所受到的外部影响因素越来越多,也越来越复杂。在这个过程中,不少青少年出现了不符合社会大众期望或标准的行为,并逐渐形成了一个特殊的群体——＂非主流＂青少年,他们对学校家庭为代表的主流教育和控制方式强烈的排斥,原有的应对措施已不足,这对青少年工作模式提出了严峻挑战。本论文针对＂非主流＂青少年的现状,结合国外以及港台地区关于学校社会工作的理论和方法,对我国学校社会工作的理论建立、如何介入＂非主流＂青少年工作提出了基本看法和基本设想。     

论青少年创新思维的家庭教育

家庭作为社会活动组织的重要细胞和青少年生存发展的重要空间，历来承担着社会教育活动的重要功能。创新教育作为现代社会教育的重要内容与特征，其核心就在于创新思维教育。家庭教育应该成为青少年创新思维教育的重要领域。社会时代的要求、现代家庭结构的变化及其作为教育对象的青少年自身状况的变化规定了创新思维能力素质的培养、创造性生活技能的培养和创新心理素质的教育。这三者构成了青少年创新思维家庭教育活动的基本内容。在对青少年进行创新思维家庭教育活动过程中必须坚持民主宽容性教育、兴趣性教育、生活化情景教育、早期教育和开放性教育等基本原则。     

新时期青少年道德失范表现及原因剖析

新时期青少年的道德状况的主流是积极、健康的,但由于青少年涉世不深,缺乏社会生活经验,再加上学校、社会、家庭教育等方面存在种种原因,导致了青少年在道德认知与道德行为上存在着种种失范现象。