The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.
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A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Different Types of Parental Involvement Programs for Urban Students
In this Research Digest, William Jeynes highlights key findings from his recent meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of different types of school-based parental involvement programs. His study found that programs that emphasized shared reading, teacher–parent partnership, checking homework, and teacher–parent communication all had statistically significant positive effects on student outcomes. Jeynes discusses why the effects of school-based programs are greater than the effects seen with “voluntary” expressions of parental engagement.
A New Tool for Understanding Family–School Relationships: The Harvard Graduate School of Education PreK-12 Parent Survey
This tool, developed through a partnership between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Survey Monkey, provides educators with free access to a set of survey questions, or scales, to help them collect and analyze data about their family engagement work. These scales also provide educators with an efficient way to assess the progress of their work and identify areas for improvement.
Connected Educators, Connected Families
Elementary school principal and “connected educator” Joe Mazza discusses how he has integrated technology—including social media—into his school’s family engagement strategies to enhance his school’s ability to connect with families. He also stresses the importance of balancing technology-based engagement strategies with in-person relationship-building efforts.
The Countdown to Kindergarten: A Collaborative Approach
Sonia Gómez-Banrey, Director of Countdown to Kindergarten (CDtoK) for Boston Public Schools (BPS), and Katherine (Kacy) Hughes, Senior Project Manager for Early Childhood and Family Learning at Boston Children’s Museum, highlight key components of the collaboration between BPS and the Museum as part of the CDtoK program to help BPS families better prepare their children for kindergarten.
Transforming Family Engagement
In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Evelyn Brosi Semenza and Heidi Rosenberg examine how innovative approaches and tools—including digital media—are helping to transform family engagement. Approaches include community–school partnerships that help promote school readiness; the integration of digital media in educators’ family engagement strategies; and the use of online tools to gather information about parents’ perspectives.
Family Involvement News: February 2013
We are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family engagement. View our list of links to current reports, articles, resources, and events in the field.
Family Engagement and Children with Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Educators and Parents
This resource guide highlights research reports, journal articles, examples of best practices, and tools that provide information on facilitating a comfortable and effective family–school partnership in the interest of successful outcomes for children with disabilities.
We Were a "Hard-to-Reach" Family
Former Head Start parent, Nikia Parker, started out as a “hard-to-reach” parent but developed a strong, positive relationship with her family’s Early Head Start home visitor, which enabled her to not only effectively support her own children, but also take on advocacy and leadership roles within the larger Head Start community.
Creating Conditions for Effective and Ongoing Family Engagement
In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Senior Research Analyst, Heidi Rosenberg, looks at the ways in which schools, programs, and other community institutions can help facilitate continuous family engagement to help children succeed.
Helping Families Pave the Path to College: Supporting the Developmental Processes That Facilitate College Readiness
Mandy Savitz-Romer is director of the Prevention Science and Practice Program and a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Suzanne Bouffard is a research project manager and writer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this article, Bouffard and Savitz-Romer discuss findings from their recent book, Ready, Willing, and Able: A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success.
Family Involvement News: September 2012
We are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family engagement. This list of links to current reports, articles, events, and opportunities will help you stay on top of research and resources from HFRP and other field leaders.
Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions into Kindergarten
Because early social performance and academic achievement are predictors of later school success, ensuring that children get off to a good start in kindergarten is critical. This brief, by Harvard Family Research Project's Christine Patton and Justina Wang, examines important elements of high-quality kindergarten transition strategies and profiles promising practices from six states that take an integrated and collaborative approach to helping kindergartners enter school ready for success.
Joining Forces: Families and Out-of-School Programs as Partners in Supporting Children’s Learning and Development
Harvard Family Research Project’s Senior Research Analysts Heidi Rosenberg, Erin Harris, and Shani Wilkes explore how the relationship between families and afterschool is shifting from a focus on increasing afterschool program participation toward a focus on parents’ supporting children’s learning and development in afterschool settings.
Family Involvement News: June 2012
We are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family engagement. View our list of links to current reports, articles, resources, and events in the field.
A Field is Born: Reflections on a Decade of Afterschool
Priscilla Little, an independent consultant working in afterschool research and evaluation, reflects on the transformation of afterschool from being merely a “safe haven” for kids whose parents are working to a core component of a holistic education. She also highlights six strategies for engaging families in afterschool programs.
Raising Expectations for Out-of-School Time
Samantha Grant, a program evaluator at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development, and a parent, offers guidance to families looking to make good decisions about their children’s out-of-school time activities.
MAKESHOP: Family Engagement in Exploration, Creativity, and Innovation
Jane Werner and Lisa Brahms, from the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, discuss the Museum’s innovative MAKESHOP studio space, which invites children and families to co-create projects and transforms the traditional museum visit experience.
New Offices, New Programs, New Interventions: A Look at New Developments in Early Childhood Education
In this FINE Newsletter Commentary, HFRP’s Christine Patton explores how new developments in early learning research, policy, and practice reflect a national “coming together” around the importance of early childhood experiences and their role in later school success.
Service is Everything: How Home Visiting Service Delivery Impacts Family Outcomes
Anne Duggan is Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Duggan reflects on what she has learned from nearly 20 years of evaluative research on home visiting—particularly looking at what factors influence service delivery and family outcomes—and how that research can be applied to practice.
Book Review: A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform
Justina Wang, a graduate research assistant at HFRP, reviews a new book by Mark R. Warren and Karen L. Mapp, which offers a glimpse at six communities across the U.S. where families, youth, and local organizers have reshaped the educational landscape in their districts.
Family Involvement News: March 2012
We are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family engagement. View our list of links to current reports, articles, resources, and events in the field.
The Effects of a Responsive Parenting Intervention on Parent–Child Interactions during Shared Book Reading
This installment in our Family Involvement Research Digest Series features Susan Landry discussing a recent study—conducted by Landry and her colleagues at the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas—about a mother–child intervention aimed at improving the use of responsive parenting techniques.
Giving Children and Families a Head Start: Research-based Tools for Parent and Family Engagement in Early Childhood
Kiersten Beigel, Family and Community Partnerships Specialist for the Office of Head Start, discusses the recent work by the National Center for Family, School, and Community Engagement and the Center’s research-based tools designed to help Head Start and other early childhood programs reach out to parents and families.