Two studies of low income parents' involvement in schooling

An interview and an intervention study are reported. Interview findings extend research on the positive relationship of parent involvement to school success. That is, although most of the low income families reported low-moderate participation, a postive relationship was found between parent involvement and school adjustment as early as kindergarten. With respect to negative valuing and barrier interpretations of low participation, the data support the latter; all but a few parents reported positive attitudes toward school involvement, while the majority indicated significant barriers. In comparing Latino and non-Latino groups, the former reported more barriers. Within the Latino group, parents whose children had made a good school adjustment indicated the most participation. Non-English proficient parents reported more barriers than those proficient in English but comparable degrees of involvement. In the intervention study, a simple strategy resulted in more treatment than control parents attending a school event. Differences in attendance were related to ethnicity and language.This work was carried out in conjunction with a dropout prevention demonstration project conducted as a collaborative effort of the School Mental Health unit (Janelle Munn, Director) and Dropout Prevention unit (Pete Martinez, Director) of the Los Angeles Unified School District and the School Mental Health Project at UCLA (Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, Co-directors). Partial support for the project came from the U.S. Department of Education. The authors, of course, assume full responsibility for the contents, but we want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of participating schools and project staff (especially Mary Beth DiCecco and Alison McAlpine). And although she declined author credit, this work could not have been accomplished with the many contributions of Linda Taylor, the project director. We would also like to thank Regina DeWitter, Teresa Gonzales, Kathy Eides and the many other UCLA students who assisted in various phases of the research.     

The Culture of History in Sport Management's Foundation: The Intellectual Influence of Harvard Business School on Four Founding Sport Management Scholars

In this essay, the researchers explore the careers of four foundational figures in sport management, who received training as historians. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources, we illustrate how Earle Zeigler, Guy Lewis, Stephen Hardy, and Lawrence Fielding helped create the field of Sport Management with insights drawn from business historians, especially those at the Harvard Business School. Overall, we claim that sport business history can serve to help frame much of the field and is vitally relevant to the study of the sports industry. Furthermore, we advocate that the study of history be included as a prominent area within sport management curriculums. To support this assertion, we elucidate the importance of the historical case-study approach to sport management.     

The Early College High School Initiative: An Overview of Five Evaluation Years

In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation started the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI). Through this initiative, more than 200 Early College Schools (ECSs) opened by fall 2009. All of the schools aim to provide underserved students access to college classes while in high school. This article will provide an overview of the first 6 years of the ECHSI, and key findings across 5 years of the ECHSI evaluation, in particular highlighting how participants have implemented the ECHSI's core principles. However, the ECS is not a rigid model, and this article describes the variations in ECS implementation. Finally, this article documents outcomes such as attendance, grade-to-grade progression and graduation rates, student performance on assessments, and college credit accrual.