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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Dear FINE Member,

Here are this month's FINE member announcements. Please feel free to forward this information to friends and other education colleagues.

New on the FINE Website

• Research Digest: Story Time: Mothers' Reading Practices in Japan and the U.S.

  Eiko Kato-Otani of Osaka Jogakuin College compares mothers' home reading practices with preschool children in the U.S. and Japan. Kato-Otani describes cultural differences in mothers' approaches to book reading and discusses implications for elementary school teachers in both countries.

• Member Insight by Harriet Feldlaufer, Judy Carson, Wendy Harwin, and Alex Nemeth

  The authors summarize what they learned from discussions with “school action teams” during their evaluation of Connecticut’s School-Family-Community Partnership Program. Teamwork among action team members and effective communication with families were essential to the success of parent involvement programs in Connecticut schools.

Recent Books and Reports

• Engaging All Families: Creating a Positive School Culture by Putting Research Into Practice

  Steven M. Constantino, former principal and founder of the Institute for Family Friendly Schools, believes that the challenge of putting research into practice remains a significant barrier to engaging families with schools. In his new book, Engaging All Families, Constantino summarizes the research on family involvement and school achievement and provides practitioners with a step-by-step process for creating family engagement programs.

• Scaling Up First Things First: Findings From the First Implementation Year

  First Things First, a comprehensive school reform initiative developed by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE), aims to increase student and teacher engagement and improve academic achievement in low-performing secondary schools. Early findings from MDRC’s evaluation of the program in 12 schools suggests that small learning communities and family advocate systems—two key element of the program—have been effective in fostering more personalized relationships among teachers, students, and families.

• Parent Power and Urban School Reform: The Story of Mothers on the Move

  When several mothers in the Bronx discovered their children's schools were the lowest performing in the city, they founded a community-based parent organizing group called Mothers on the Move (MOM). This report from the Institute for Education and Social Policy chronicles the history of MOM and draws lessons from their strategies, achievements, and challenges.

Surveys

• National Survey of Latinos: Education

  The Pew Hispanic Center and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation surveyed 3,421 Latino adults about their attitudes toward public schools and other educational issues and compared their opinions to those of other groups. Latinos tend to be more positive about public schools than non-Hispanic whites and blacks, yet a significant number express concerns that Hispanic students receive unfair treatment in schools. Most Hispanic parents say they are actively engaged with their children's schools and education.

Journal Articles

• An Empirical Evaluation of School-Based Prevention Programs That Involve Parents

  This research review examines 20 school-based prevention programs involving parents that were studied between 1989 and 2001. The research provides evidence for the effectiveness of incorporating parental involvement in school-based early intervention programs.

Evaluation

• New Issue of The Evaluation Exchange: Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation

  As the first issue in The Evaluation Exchange's tenth year of publication, this edition features reflections on some of the trends (both good and bad) that have occurred in the evaluation field over the past decade. Authors consider the “best of the worst” evaluator practices, changes in university-based evaluation training, and the development of evaluation as a discipline. In recognition of the need to look ahead, other articles introduce themes that will be addressed in greater depth in the future, such as international evaluation, technology, evaluation of the arts, and diversity.

• How Can Internal and External Evaluations Help Improve Parent Involvement Programs

  The authors show how internal and external evaluations can be used to improve implementation of parent involvement programs. They offer as a case study the Parents As Learning Partners program of the Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project.

Program Models

• Math and Parent Partnerships (MAPPS)

  After five years of development and four pilot sites, MAPPS is being disseminated nationwide. The curriculum includes 17 Math Awareness Workshops (MAWS) that bring families together to explore mathematical concepts through hands-on problems and games; five Math for Parents (MFP) mini-courses that help parents learn the math they will need to assist children at home; and Leadership Development Sessions for parents who want to become facilitators. The curriculum is aligned with NCTM standards and materials are available in English and Spanish.

Toolkits

• Building Community: A Tool Kit for Youth and Adults in Charting Assets and Creating Change

  This facilitator's handbook from the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development uses an asset-based approach to create positive change in communities. Filled with concrete activities and real-life case studies, the toolkit provides practical information about creating youth-adult partnerships, mapping assets, creating community plans, and mobilizing local change.

Websites to Watch

• Community Problem Solving: Strategy for a Changing World

  The website of the Art and Science of Community Problem Solving Project at Harvard University serves as an information exchange for people and institutions working to solve critical social problems and influence community change. The site includes Strategy Tools, Program Tools, and online forums in education and other fields. In the Creator's Log, Xavier de Souza Briggs, the Project's founder, answers questions related to problem solving in public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

• The Institute for Family Friendly Schools

  The Institute for Family Friendly Schools' website provides resources to help schools develop family engagement programs and foster a family friendly school culture.

Policy

• Organizational Improvement and Accountability: Lessons for Education From Other Sectors

  This report from the RAND Corporation explores accountability mechanisms used successfully in noneducational fields and considers their application to the school accountability system required under the No Child Left Behind Act. The authors conclude that performance measures used by educators should include more indicators that better reflect the public's goals for education.

Contact Us

Have a problem with the website or questions and comments concerning our work? Send an email to fine@gse.harvard.edu.

Enjoy!

FINE - The Family Involvement Network of Educators