Home Literacy Environments and Foundational Literacy Skills for Struggling and Nonstruggling Readers in Rural Early Elementary Schools

Factors such as weak early literacy skills and living in poverty may put young students at risk for reading disabilities. While home literacy activities and access to literacy materials have been associated with positive reading outcomes for urban and suburban students, little is known about home literacy environments of rural early elementary school students living in poverty and their relationship to foundational reading skills for struggling and nonstruggling readers. This study examined how home literacy environments might relate to rural kindergarten and first grade students’ reading performance. Parents of 1,108 kindergarten and first grade students in the rural Southeast completed questionnaires on the frequency of home literacy activities and access to literacy materials. Multilevel model analyses revealed that home literacy activities and access to literacy materials were positively related to basic word reading skills, passage comprehension, and spelling. Implications for families and educators are discussed.     

EFFECTS OF PARENTAL DIVORCE OR A FATHER'S DEATH ON HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION

Associations between parental loss and high school (HS) completion were examined in data drawn from 1,761 male and 1,689 female offspring born in wedlock to mothers participating in a nationally representative study. Multiple logistic regression models were conducted predicting HS completion by age 19 among offspring whose parents divorced or father died, compared to offspring of continuously married parents. Models were estimated without and with adjustment for correlated sociodemographic characteristics, including maternal education and age at first childbirth and offspring age at last assessment and race/ethnicity. In unadjusted models, parental divorce predicted a 41% decreased odds of HS completion for males, and paternal death predicted a 79% decreased odds of HS completion for females. In models including sociodemographic risk factors, associations between parental divorce and paternal death reduced slightly. Findings highlight the importance of examining unique risks from paternal death versus parental divorce on educational attainment in male and female offspring.     

Education for Aboriginal Peoples in Canada: An Overview of Four Realms of Success

In line with an Aboriginal worldview of interconnectivity, I outline successful educational programs, policies, and services for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. These programs and initiatives are presented within four thematic areas related to (a) early childhood education, (b) Aboriginal pedagogy, language, and culture (throughout kindergarten to Grade 12), (c) postsecondary education, and (d) governance and partnerships. These issues are then positioned within the concept of ethical space. The insight from this information is intended to assist teachers, educational leaders, and policy makers in promoting ongoing educational achievement for Aboriginal learners.