Omaha Public SchoolsWe examined ethnicity and cultural orientation as predictors of parents' views of and involvement in children's education, using data gathered from the Latino (n = 74) and non-Latino (17 White and 13 ethnic minority) parents of children in an elementary school's dual-language program. Parents completed a questionnaire that assessed Latino and White American cultural orientations, importance of children's academic and social success, and self-and significant other involvement in children's education. Results indicated that Latino (and other ethnic minority) parents valued academic and social success equally and more strongly than did Whites and that Whites valued social success more strongly than academic success. Latinos also reported greater involvement of significant others. These differences were largely accounted for by cultural orientations. Educational practices that take into account differences in cultural orientations and the involvement of significant others thus seem more likely to improve academic outcomes than do efforts intended to promote the valuing of education. C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The educational needs of minority and, in particular, Latino students in the United States are of growing concern, at least partly because of the dramatic increase in the minority student population. According to the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2002), nearly 40% of the children enrolled in U.S. public schools in 2000 were members of ethnic minority groups, many of them Latino and Latino immigrants. Latino students often experience less academic success than do their majority counterparts. Depending on how high-school dropout is defined, the rate for Latino students is two to three times higher than that of non-Latino Whites (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2006). A lack of parental involvement in education and appreciation of its importance are often cited as major reasons (Ramirez, 2003;Valencia & Black, 2002).Our goal in the present research was to examine Latino and non-Latino parents' views of and involvement in their children's education, including the role of Latino and White American cultural orientations, in an effort to help educators collaborate more effectively with families from varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We gathered data from parents whose children were enrolled in an elementary school's dual-language program. The program seemed an ideal context in which to examine ethnicity and culture because it served equal numbers of native English and native Spanish speakers. We begin by briefly reviewing the research on parent involvement. Parent Involvement in Children's EducationA great deal of research indicates that parents who are more involved in their children's education have children who are more socially and academically successful in school (Epstein,

No abstract

No abstract

Particular strategies of media advocacy can help people contest the dominant body images of fashion advertisements and reframe them to include a broader array of "normal" images. A study with an intervention group (n = 60) and a comparison group (n = 45) of undergraduate college students was conducted to investigate whether analyzing and reframing fashion advertisements changed the students' attitudes and behaviors regarding their own body images. Results from the posttest showed a significant change in beliefs among those in the intervention group but no significant change in behaviors. The comparison group showed no significant change in beliefs or behaviors. Posttest results from the women in the intervention group (n = 44) indicated a significant change in the study participants' beliefs that adult models in advertisements have an ideal body size and shape and that the participants' decisions about dieting or exercising should be based more on looks rather than on health status.

Play assessment is gaining attention as a measure of the developing skills of young children. The procedures and methods of coding child behaviours vary considerably across researchers and practitioners. Because of this, definitive statements about the use of play assessment cannot be made without further research. The present study is an attempt to report a set of standardized procedures for play assessment along with an empirically based coding scheme (PIECES). The reliability of this system of play assessment is also investigated. High inter-observer reliability was found along with moderate test-retest correlations for both the typically developing (r = 0.48) and exceptional (r = 0.58) children. Thus, this version of play assessment holds promise as an observation system for intervention and progress monitoring in early childhood. The authors stress that more research is needed in this area before play assessment can either be used in early childhood or discounted as an inappropriate tool.

No abstract

No abstract

For children with moderate or severe cerebral palsy (CP), a foundational early goal is independent sitting. Sitting offers additional opportunities for object exploration, play and social engagement. The achievement of sitting coincides with important milestones in other developmental areas, such as social engagement with others, understanding of spatial relationships, and the use of both hands to explore objects. These milestones are essential skills necessary for play behavior. However, little is known about how sitting and play behavior might be affected by a physical therapy intervention in children with moderate or severe CP. Therefore, our overall purpose in this study was to determine if sitting skill could be advanced in children with moderate to severe CP using a perceptual motor intervention, and if play skills would change significantly as sitting advanced. Thirty children between the ages of 18 months and 6 years who were able to hold prop sitting for at least 10 s were recruited for this study. Outcome measures were the sitting subsection of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), and the Play Assessment of Children with Motor Impairment play assessment scale, which is a modified version of the Play in Early Childhood Evaluation System. Significant improvements in GMFM sitting scores (p < 0.001) and marginally significant improvement in play assessment scores (p = 0.067) were found from pre- to post-intervention. Sitting change explained a significant portion of the variance in play change for children over the age of 3 years, who were more severely affected by CP. The results of this study indicate that advances in sitting skill may be a factor in supporting improvements in functional play, along with age and severity of physical impairment.