You are seeing this message because your web browser does not support basic web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.

www.HFRP.org

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.

Terms of Use ▼


Browse by Topic
 | 
All Publications & Resources
PROGRAM FOUNDATIONS BUILDING CAPACITY FOR QUALITY PROGRAMS

Bridging Worlds: Family Engagement in the Transition to Kindergarten

This teaching case explores the complex issues surrounding the transition to kindergarten and the importance of family engagement in the process. Three expert commentaries and discussion questions are included. An interactive version is also available.

Margaret Caspe (2014) Research Report

Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student Achievement

Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA® have teamed up to bring you the third brief in our ground-breaking series about family engagement policy, highlighting the need for teacher education programs to prepare teachers to better work with families.

Margaret Caspe , M. Elena Lopez, Ashley Chu, & Heather B. Weiss (May 2011) Research Report

Lessons From Family-Strengthening Interventions: Learning From Evidence-Based Practice

Examine how effective family-strengthening interventions can positively impact families and children in this practitioner-friendly brief from Harvard Family Research Project. Lessons From Family-Strengthening Interventions: Learning From Evidence-Based Practice is based on our review of interventions that have been rigorously evaluated through experimental and quasi-experimental studies. We offer educators, service providers, and evaluators recommendations for creating successful programs and evaluations.

Margaret Caspe , M. Elena Lopez (October 2006) Research Report

Engaging Families in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Project-Based Learning

To be successful, children need a strong science, technology, engineering, and math foundation. Learn how Iridescent, a project funded in part by the National Science Foundation, connects families, engineers, and children to develop these skills early on in school.

Tara Chklovski (March 19, 2015) Research Report

Finding Time Together: Families, Schools, and Communities Supporting Anywhere, Anytime Learning

How do families spend time supporting their children’s informal and formal learning beyond the school day and across settings? Find out how educators and institutions are helping families promote their children’s learning experiences anytime, in school and beyond.

Christine Patton and Margaret Caspe (September 17, 2014) Research Report

Examining the Efficacy of Two Models of Preschool Professional Development in Language and Literacy

Nancy Clark-Chiarelli from Education Development Center, Inc. describes an evaluation of two approaches to early literacy professional development—one with a traditional face-to-face mode of delivery and one with a technology-enhanced component.

Nancy Clark-Chiarelli (Winter 2005/2006) Evaluation Exchange Article

Examining the Efficacy of Two Models of Preschool Professional Development in Language and Literacy

Nancy Clark-Chiarelli from Education Development Center, Inc. describes an evaluation of two approaches to early literacy professional development—one with a traditional face-to-face mode of delivery and one with a technology-enhanced component.

Nancy Clark-Chiarelli (Winter 2005/2006) Evaluation Exchange Article

Evaluation Based on Theories of the Policy Process

Harvard Family Research Project explains how it helps to ground evaluation in theories of the policy process.

Julia Coffman (Spring 2007) Evaluation Exchange Article

Evaluation Based on Theories of the Policy Process

Harvard Family Research Project explains how it helps to ground evaluation in theories of the policy process.

Julia Coffman (Spring 2007) Evaluation Exchange Article

Grantmaking to School Districts: Lessons for Foundations

This brief offers lessons and best practices from foundations across the country on grantmaking to school districts. It offers advice to foundations that are considering school district investments for the first time. It also offers a useful "check" to more experienced foundations that want to examine their thinking and approaches against the lessons and practices of other foundations.

Julia Coffman , Heather Weiss, Erin Harris, Priscilla M.D. Little (September 2010) Research Report

Research and Advocacy Collaboration: A New Jersey Case Study

Too often vital research in the early care and education field does not get used effectively for advocacy purposes. While researchers and advocates often share the same goals, they tend to operate on separate tracks. This brief explores how research and advocacy can be bridged for greater effect using strategic communications. By definition, strategic communications means a deliberate plan or tactics for using communications as a channel for achieving a certain result. Collaborative work in the state of New Jersey around the goal of achieving a comprehensive and quality early care and education system is used as a backdrop for learning about effective practice.

Julia Coffman (January 2002) Research Report

A Conversation With Richard Rothstein

Richard Rothstein argues that narrowing the achievement gap requires substantial changes in social policy in addition to extensive school reform.

Julia Coffman (Spring 2005) Evaluation Exchange Article

A Conversation With Richard Rothstein

Richard Rothstein argues that narrowing the achievement gap requires substantial changes in social policy in addition to extensive school reform.

Julia Coffman (Spring 2005) Evaluation Exchange Article

Libraries Helping to Close the Opportunity Gap: Maryland Library Partnership 

Through innovative and engaging family activities, the Maryland Library Partnership is playing a crucial community role by promoting learning anywhere, anytime and reaching out to parents to help them with their children’s learning, improve literacy, and close the vocabulary gap between low-income learners and their peers.

 

Nathan Driskell (June 9, 2014) Research Report

Racing to the Top: Maryland's Promising Practices in Family Engagement

Maryland is embedding a new family engagement definition statewide as a foundation of policy and infrastructure. Through comprehensive partnerships, the state brings to scale family engagement approaches and launches new initiatives.

Nathan Driskell (September 17, 2014) Research Report

Parent Involvement

Research studies show that the level of children's development (especially their cognitive and language development) depends more directly upon their family structure, socioeconomic status, home stimulation, and parental values rather than how much time they spend in a child care or preschool environment, good or poor, and whether their parents are involved or not. The goal of the course is to make the most effective use of ourselves as early childhood teachers in working together with parents to optimize the experiences of the children for whom we share responsibility.

Tom Drummond () Syllabus

Resource Guide for Family-Centered Child Care

This guide offers ideas and resources for implementing family support principles in child care, and an annotated bibliography of up-to-date publications and training materials that child care providers can use to improve their efforts to support families.

Saren Eyre (June 1998) Research Report

Libraries Engaging Families: Reflections From the Public Library Association’s President

Public Library Association (PLA) president Felton Thomas Jr. writes about the importance of public libraries in engaging families, and how PLA and Harvard Family Research Project have begun a journey together to support libraries in this work.

Felton Thomas, Jr. (August 9, 2016) Research Report

The Build Initiative: An Evaluation of State-Level System-Building Efforts

Barbara Gebhard of Build describes the initiative's interactive evaluation approach.

Barbara Gebhard (Summer 2004) Evaluation Exchange Article

The Build Initiative: An Evaluation of State-Level System-Building Efforts

Barbara Gebhard of Build describes the initiative's interactive evaluation approach.

Barbara Gebhard (Summer 2004) Evaluation Exchange Article

Understanding Family Involvement in the Preparation of Graduate Students: Measuring Family-Centered Beliefs, Skills, Systems, and Practices

Family-centered practices by professionals serving families and their young children with disabilities have become a cornerstone of personnel preparation programs in early childhood intervention (ECI) and early childhood education. Our research project sought to develop a measure to examine the family-centered beliefs, skills, work systems, and work practices of ECI and ECE graduate students.

Angie Giallourakis , Kristie Pretti-Frontczak, Bryan Cook (September 2005) Research Report

Family Support Services Promote School Readiness

This study demonstrates that a wide variety of parent and child factors are linked to school readiness and that parenting education and support services promote family activities that relate to positive child outcomes.

Shari Golan , Donna Spiker, Carl Sumi (December 2005) Research Report

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.

Sonia Gómez-Banrey , Katherine Hughes (February 7, 2013) Research Report

Parents as Agents of Change

In this Leading the Field profile, Sandra Gutierrez, national director of the Latino family-focused Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors program, shares her vision of how families are fundamental to transforming the lives of our children and our communities. [Este artículo también está disponible en español como Padres de Familia como Agentes de Cambio.]

Sandra Gutierrez (September 17, 2013) Research Report

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project