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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.

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PROGRAM FOUNDATIONS BUILDING CAPACITY FOR QUALITY PROGRAMS

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

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

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

Padres de Familia como Agentes de Cambio

En este Perfil de Liderando el Ramo, Sandra Gutiérrez, la directora nacional del programa Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, programa que está enfocado en la familia latina, comparte su visión de cómo las familias son fundamentales para transformar las vidas de nuestros hijos y de nuestras comunidades. [This article is also available in English as Parents as Agents of Change.]

Sandra Gutiérrez (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Using Information Architecture to Improve Communication

Erin Harris from Harvard Family Research Project with Suzanne Muchin, CEO of Civitas, illustrate the design concept “information architecture” for displaying complex information clearly and simply.

Erin Harris , Suzanne Muchin (Winter 2002) Evaluation Exchange Article

Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Esther Lasher, Head Start Educational Director

In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Esther Lasher, the educational director of the Grant Head Start Program. Esther works to smooth the transition to kindergarten by planning with multiple community and school representatives.

Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report

Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Supporting Data 

In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we examine some school-level data to develop a better understanding of the factors influencing Maya’s difficult transition to school.

Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report

A Click Away: A Q&A With Chip Donohue About the Benefits of Online Distance Learning for In-Service Teachers

In this Q&A, Chip Donohue talks with HFRP about early childhood educators’ participation in online distance education courses and discusses how the topic of family engagement is being integrated into these classes.

Harvard Family Research Project (December 5, 2013) Research Report

Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Piecing It All Together

In the final section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we piece it all together. We think about the principles guiding smooth transitions to school, assumptions people in the case make, and how difficult issues might be resolved.

Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report

Family Involvement News: December 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.

Harvard Family Research Project (December 5, 2013) Research Report

Q & A With Lori Takeuchi: Research Findings From Learning at Home: Families’ Educational Media Use in America

Lori Takeuchi, Joan Ganz Cooney Center Research Director, discusses the Center’s report findings on families’ and children’s educational-media use, including families’ selection of educational media for their children and ways that practitioners can support families in their choices. Takeuchi notes some of the following findings: when parents use media alongside their children, the educational value of the experience is enhanced; educational-media use varies based on the age of the child; and children are applying what they learn from educational media to nonmedia activities.

 

Harvard Family Research Project (February 19, 2014) Research Report

Quilting Stories of Innovation in Family Engagement

A collection of innovative family engagement practices with a link for you to share with us your family engagement story!

Harvard Family Research Project (January 2016) Research Report

Family Involvement in Mathematics

This issue of the FINE Forum focuses on promising practices to engage families and communities in supporting students' mathematical proficiency.

Harvard Family Research Project (Spring 2003) Research Report

Family Involvement News: February 2014

We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The following resources highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy as well as family-school partnerships.

Harvard Family Research Project (February 19, 2014) Research Report

Innovative Stories of Family Engagement From Around the World

Find inspiration for your family engagement efforts from around the world.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 2016) Research Report

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