Opening Doors: Understanding School and Family Influences on Family Involvement

Family involvement in schooling can benefit young children, teachers, and families. Family involvement in schools can be influenced by both school-related and family-related factors. School-related factors include teachers’ attitudes toward families, and school and teacher expectations. Family-related factors include ethnicity, prior school experiences, and family work schedules. Teachers who recognize and understand these influences can employ a variety of strategies to facilitate the involvement of families in the school experience of young children.     

A longitudinal investigation of direct and indirect links between reading skills in kindergarten and reading comprehension in tenth grade

In this study, researchers examined the extent to which several fundamental measures of reading proficiency from kindergarten students (N = 3180) were linked to reading comprehension in tenth grade while controlling for third grade vocabulary and oral reading fluency. Analyses tested the direct and indirect relations between and among kindergarten, third grade, and tenth grade measures. Results showed significant direct effects from kindergarten nonsense word fluency and letter naming fluency to tenth grade reading comprehension, along with significant indirect effects of kindergarten nonsense word fluency and vocabulary to tenth grade reading comprehension. Findings suggest that fundamental precursors maintain strong impact upon reading comprehension into the secondary school years. These findings are discussed along with implications for interventions and ideas for future research.     

Special Education Integration: The Arezzo Approach

Interviews were conducted in three schools in Arezzo, Italy to determine progress in the integration of students with a disability in regular class settings. Thirteen parents, seven teachers and three school administrators were interviewed. Findings indicated strong teacher and administrative support for integration, a good collaborative relationship between regular and special education teachers, and a focus on social development in the elementary grades. Concerns were expressed about insufficient supportive services at the middle and secondary school levels as well as less tolerance for students with a disability. Arezzo has made significant progress toward integration but program development is needed at the secondary level.