ABSTRACT
Research on the role of the family in children’s education falls roughly into three categories: (a) studies that examine and recommend ways to increase parent involvement in school or improve family-school relationships (see Epstein, 1995; Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler, 1995, 1997; Lightfoot, 1978; Lombana, 1983; Sheppard & Rose, 1995), (b) those that focus on the relationship between families and schools (Curtis, 1988; Diaz-Soto, 1997; Shannon & Latimer, 1996) or how to empower parents in that relationship (Miramontes, Nadeau, & Commins, 1997), and (c) those that examine how families manage their children’s education and what results in academic success or failure (R. Clark, 1983; Ford, 1993; Gutman & McLoyd, 2000).
