UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Department of Psychology

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

603 East Daniel Street

Champaign, IL 61820

Dear Parents,

As parents, educators, and psychologists, we share an interest in optimizing children’s learning as they make their way through middle school, which is often a challenging time for children. We know that children from the United States and East Asia approach their schoolwork very differently over the middle school years, but we don’t know why. The University of Illinois Center for Parent-Child Studies in collaboration with Oakwood Jr. High is trying to answer this question. Because children’s relationships with their peers and parents make a difference in how children approach their schoolwork, we are studying how these relationships differ in the United States and East Asia. We hope this information will help us to optimize children’s achievement over the middle school years.

Children in the seventh grade at Oakwood Jr. High will be taking part in this research project. Participating children will complete a set of surveys during two 45-minute sessions in their classroom this fall and spring as well as the fall of next year. The survey sessions will take place in the classroom at a time teachers decide is convenient for children. Children will be asked about their relationships with their peers and parents (e.g., how close they feel to them); children will also report on their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in school and other areas (e.g., aggressive behavior and emotional experience); they will provide information about physical changes due to puberty (e.g., pubic hair) as well. We will collect children’s grades and standardized test scores across the three semesters of the study. A blank copy of the surveys your children will complete is available for you to view in the school’s main office.

Children’s responses will be completely confidential. To ensure maximum privacy, children will be assigned an identification number, and their names will be removed from their responses. Children will also be able to cover their answers as they complete the surveys so that others cannot see them. We do not foresee any particular risks in children’s participation beyond those children might experience on a day-to-day basis – for example, in hanging out with their peers. As a token of our appreciation, children will receive a small gift (for example, a pencil or ruler) for their participation.

If you are willing to allow your child to participate, you need not do anything. However, if you do not want your child to take part in the project, please return the attached form to the main office at Oakwood Jr. High. Alternatively, you can notify us via e-mail () or phone (217-265-6378) – feel free to call collect. If we do not hear from you by October 6th, we will assume that you are willing to allow your child to participate. If your child will not be participating in the study, she or he will work or read quietly in class while the participating children complete the surveys. Your decision as to whether or not to permit your child to take part in the research will not affect your child’s standing in school.

If you have any questions at any time, please feel free to ask us. You can contact the Project Coordinator, Dianna Moore ( or 217-265-6378), or the Principal Investigator, Dr. Eva Pomerantz ( or 217-244-2538). If you have any questions about your or your child’s rights as a participant in this project or any concerns or complaints, please contact the University of Illinois Institutional Review Board via email () or phone (217-333-2670) – collect calls will be accepted if you identify yourself as a research participant. Please keep this letter for your records.

Sincerely,

Eva M. Pomerantz, Ph.D. Dianna Moore

Principal Investigator Project Coordinator

fax 217-244-5876 • url www.psych.uiuc.edu

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS RESEARCH PROJECT
At Oakwood Jr. High
I have decided that I do not want my child to take part in the University of Illinois Research Project to be conducted at my child’s school this fall and spring as well as next fall. I understand that this decision will not influence my family’s relationship with my child’s school or any other entity, such as the University of Illinois.
Child Printed Name: ______
Parent Printed Name: ______
Date: ______
Please return this card to the main office at your child’s school by October 6th. You may also notify us of your wish not to have your child participate in the study by e-mail () or phone (217-265-6378) – feel free to call collect.