She analyzed worship services and notes left for the mailman. Heath went beyond description to suggest how insight into different oral and written traditions can help teachers strengthen their students' literacy skills. Many other researchers have followed her lead, producing studies that focus not only on what children know, but on how, in their homes and communities, they have come to know it. They have demonstrated the crucial importance that context plays in education and in the research that supports it. Children who live in poverty can succeed in school if they receive sustained attention from individuals and institutions committed to their success and from programs designed to meet their unique needs.
Children do best when they have the personal involvement and material support of their parents.
But those who have difficult or stressful home lives can thrive if they have guidance and emotional support from other important adults in their extended families or their communities, or if they take part in adult-led community groups. Research shows that virtually all parents, regardless of their circumstances, share high aspirations for their children. But competing pressures and uncertainty make it difficult for many parents to act on these aspirations and participate in their children's education. For many parents, schools are intimidating places where no one would be likely to understand or act on their concerns. Cultural and linguistic factors can make participation in schools difficult.