Dispositions Toward Families and Family Involvement: Supporting Preservice Teacher Development

This article highlights the importance of nurturing preservice teachers as they develop the dispositions essential to establish empowering relationships with children’s families. The authors identify and describe several key dispositions necessary for working with families and offer suggestions for ways that these elements might be integrated into early childhood teacher preparation programs.     

A “Library School:” Building a Collaborative Preschool-Library Partnership to Support Whole Family Engagement

Early Childhood Education Journal - Preschools and public libraries are natural partners in that they share similarities in their support for early learning and family engagement for the young...     

The Academic Achievement of Adolescents from Immigrant Families: The Role of Family Background, Attitudes, and Behavior

The goal of this study was to determine the relative impact of family background, parental attitudes, peer support, and adolescents' won attitudes and behaviors on the academic achievement of students from immigrant families. Approximately 1,100 adolescents with Latino, East Asian, Filipino, and European backgrounds reported on their own academic attitudes and behaviors as well as those of their parents and peers. In addition, students' course grades were obtained from their official school records. Results indicated that first and second generation students received higher grades in mathematics and English than their peers from native families. Only a small portion of their success could be attributed to their socioeconomic background; a more significant correlate of their achievement was a strong emphasis on education that was shared by the students, their parents, and their peers. These demographic and psychosocial factors were also important in understanding the variation in academic performance among the immigrant students themselves.     

Family Relationships, Parenting Practices, the Availability of Male Family Members, and the Behavior of Inner-City Boys in Single-Mother and Two-Parent Families

The primary goal of this study was to clarify if and how differences in the functioning of single-mother and two-parent families relate to the occurrence of behavioral problems among inner-city boys (ages 10–15). Data were collected on family relationships, parenting practices, the positive influence of male family members, and the severity of externalizing behavior problems. Results indicated that (1) multiple family risk factors contribute to the occurrence of behavior problems; (2) most family risk factors were generalizable to both single-mother and two-parent families; (3) although boys in single-mother families were at greater risk for developing behavior problems than boys in two-parent families, the risks associated with single motherhood were offset by a structured family environment, an effective disciplinary strategy that allowed for some degree of adolescent autonomy, and the positive involvement of a male family member; and (4) not all differences in the functioning of single-mother and two-parent families were associated with problem behavior, underscoring the importance of distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive aspects of single-mother family functioning.     

Supporting Learners' Agentic Engagement With Feedback: A Systematic Review and a Taxonomy of Recipience Processes

Much has been written in the educational psychology literature about effective feedback and how to deliver it. However, it is equally important to understand how learners actively receive, engage with, and implement feedback. This article reports a systematic review of the research evidence pertaining to this issue. Through an analysis of 195 outputs published between 1985 and early 2014, we identified various factors that have been proposed to influence the likelihood of feedback being used. Furthermore, we identified diverse interventions with the common aim of supporting and promoting learners' agentic engagement with feedback processes. We outline the various components used in these interventions, and the reports of their successes and limitations. Moreover we propose a novel taxonomy of four recipience processes targeted by these interventions. This review and taxonomy provide a theoretical basis for conceptualizing learners' responsibility within feedback dialogues and for guiding the strategic design and evaluation of interventions.     

Success by Degrees: Addressing Teacher Shortages through a School-Community College-University Partnership

Using a teacher recruitment and preparation model, a unique partnership between PK–12 schools, a community college, and a university is examined. The focus is on the training and credentialing of future educators, particularly from underrepresented backgrounds, in an efficient and quality manner to assist in meeting the current PK–12 teacher shortage. Data indicate that the partnership is progressing towards, or has met, its targets in addressing said shortage.     

Building a Culture of Engagement through Participatory Feedback Processes

In response to school environments in which teachers and students feel disconnected from the learning process, we developed a three-part curriculum feedback system with the goal of creating a school-wide culture of engagement through participatory feedback processes. Here we describe the barriers to participation and ownership that are addressed by our curriculum feedback process, provide a rationale for each component of the multi-prong feedback process, and illustrate how each part of the feedback system was implemented in our pilot schools. We argue that addressing feedback regularly, optimizing the process to be user-friendly, and demonstrating appreciation for positive and constructive feedback can help any curriculum supervisor foster a school-wide culture of engagement among teachers and students.     

Using Family Backpacks as a Tool to Involve Families in Teaching Young Children About Healthy Eating

Children’s obesity rates have increased substantially over the past several decades, due in part to unhealthy eating habits. About 75% of preschool-aged children consume fewer fruits and vegetables than recommended for health. Because children begin developing eating habits during early childhood, obesity prevention programs are increasingly targeting young children in early childhood education (ECE) settings and are involving their families in teaching about healthy eating. The purpose of this pilot study is to assess the effectiveness of a family involvement activity known as the family backpack in increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among 4- and 5-year-old children and their parents through hands-on activities that encourage them to explore and discuss fruits and vegetables at home. Forty-two families (22 experimental, 20 control) participated in the study. Families received a family backpack from their child’s ECE teacher and completed activities with their child at home during a specific week. Experimental-group backpacks contained a children’s book and three activities to encourage parent–child discussion about fruits and vegetables; control-group backpacks contained an unrelated book and activities. Children’s and parents’ fruit and vegetable consumption and frequency of serving fruits and vegetables at home were assessed using parent self-report surveys before and after completing backpack activities. Parents in the experimental group, but not the control group, reported increases in their own and their children’s fruit and vegetable consumption after completing family backpack activities. Family backpacks show promise as a tool for early childhood educators to help families reinforce and expand children’s learning and encourage healthy eating habits at home.     

Socialization Values and Practices of Indian Immigrant Parents: Correlates of Modernity and Acculturation

Mothers and fathers from 100 first-generation, Gujarati, Indian immigrant families were interviewed about their socialization values and practices. Adolescents provided data about their parents' behavior as well. 3 predictors of parental attitudes and behavior were examined: modernity, acculturation, and time in the United States. The effects of the predictors varied as a function of parent and child gender. Whereas modernity and acculturation predicted socialization values for fathers of girls, only time in the United States predicted the socialization values of mothers. Parental modernity, acculturation, and time in the United States predicted the use of induction and psychological control, but differently as a function of parent and child gender. Implications for understanding the selective nature of acculturation are considered.     

Mothers' Perceptions of Family Climate in Families with a Retarded Child

The aim of this study was to assess the family climate as perceived by the mothers of families with a retarded child compared with ‘regular’ families; mothers of 67 moderately mentally retarded and 69 non‐disabled children participated. Mothers with a mentally retarded child perceived the climate of their families as not encouraging such intense relationships in the area of expressiveness or as much personal growth in the areas of independence and recreation orientation as the contrast families. Results are discussed in terms of the theoretical significance of prolonged crises for the well‐being of the family, and practical implications.     

The Societally Responsive University: Public Ideals,Organisational Realities,and the Possibility of Engagement

The increased public scrutiny of colleges and universities has sparked efforts to reconsider what academic institutions are doing, and what they should be doing, in relation to the needs of the larger society.This paper develops a conceptualisation of societal responsiveness on campus, with the intent of exploring the factors constraining the responsiveness of faculty and their home institutions to public needs.     

Immigrant girls as caregivers to younger siblings: a transnational feminist analysis

This article employs a transnational feminist lens to examine the experiences of racialised immigrant girls who provide care for their younger siblings. The article draws on findings from a participatory action research study in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada to examine the role that immigrant girls’ caregiving practices play in transnational families’ social, economic, and cultural survival. It argues that greater attention should be given to the diverse and complex contexts, consequences, costs, and contributions of immigrant girls’ caregiving labour.     

家长参与的力量——家庭资本、家园校合作与儿童成长

为研究家庭资本、家校合作与儿童成长间的规律性联系,根据“江西省中小学幼儿园家校合作跟踪研究”的大样本数据,从家庭视角,提出了家庭经济资本、人力资本、社会资本、社区环境和家校合作对儿童成长作用的5个研究假设和1个推论,采用定序因变量回归模型和F联合检验的方法,发现在控制儿童智力水平,性别等变量的情况下,家庭所在的社区环境对儿童成长作用不显著,家庭经济资本中的“家庭所在地”、人力资本中的“父母学历”、社会资本中“联系频率”,以及家校合作中的“当好家长”、“相互交流”、“在家学习”等变量对儿童成长有显著的正向影响,且“家校合作减弱家庭资本与儿童成长间的相关性”在中国同样存在.研究指出,弱势家庭可通过加强与学校的合作,促进儿童成功,这种促进就是“家长参与的力量”.     

Families Learn Together: Reconceptualizing Linguistic Diversity as a Resource

While a growing number of diverse children are entering U.S. schools, misconceptions remain regarding language acquisition. Analysis of weekly interactions in an urban children’s playgroup in the South reveals how the concept of language diversity as a deficit is still widespread. Mothers of young children still believed that efforts to learn multiple languages diminish a child’s ability to learn other things. Conversely, research points to multilingualism as a resource rather than a deficit. Findings indicate that interactions among mothers and children, mediated by the researcher, combined with observations of one child’s bilingual development allowed mothers and young children to rethink their beliefs regarding linguistic diversity. They began recognizing that bilingualism/multilingualism adds to the lives of all children.     

从共同体到伙伴关系:教师学习情境和方式的扩展与变革

教师共同体中的教师学习是经验式、参与式和身份获得的学习。边界明晰、成员同质的教师共同体可能压抑教师个体性,限制学习机会,侧重共同体的再生产和知识的代际传递,不利于教育创新。作为边界地带的大学与学校伙伴关系代表着教师学习情境的扩展,其特点在于开放的边界、包容性强,多元话语和实践均能获得对话的空间。伙伴关系中教师学习方式是扩展式、横向式的跨界学习过程,侧重于问题解决和探究,体现在新知识的试验、探索和创造上,代表着教师教学活动系统的整体提升。边界物件的开发和运用与作为跨界者的学校教师,是帮助教师实现跨界学习的中介机制。如何将伙伴关系中的跨界学习与共同体学习两者相融合是教师学习未来重要的研究方向。