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.
May Family Involvement News
May 15, 2014
Dear FINE Member,
We are pleased to share timely Family Involvement News with you! Please feel free to forward this information to friends and other education colleagues.
Best wishes,
Harvard Family Research Project FINE Team
NEW FROM HARVARD FAMILY RESEARCH PROJECT
The Transatlantic Forum on Inclusive Early Years. Investing in the Development of Young Children from Immigrant and Low-income Families
Harvard Family Research Project director Heather B. Weiss made a keynote presentation that provided an overview of family engagement within an anywhere, anytime framework and highlighted innovative programs, organizational and community-based strategies, new professional development tools, and policies supporting family engagement.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
2014 Fred Forward Conference—Connections by Design: Creating Media, Children, and Family Partnerships through Research, Collaboration, and Advocacy
The Fred Rogers Center celebrates its 10-year anniversary and invites media creators, scholars, educators, and advocates to discuss the promising role of media and technology for children’s learning. The conference will take place at the Senator John Heinz History Center from June 1 to June 3, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY
Department of Education Releases New Parent and Community Engagement Framework
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently announced the release of a new family engagement framework for schools. The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, developed by Harvard Graduate School of Education senior lecturer Karen Mapp and doctoral student Paul Kuttner, presents a new framework for designing school–family engagement initiatives around the success of students. According to the Department of Education, the framework provides a process for schools and district staff to effectively engage parents and, in turn, for parents to engage with schools.
Partners in Education
In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, SEDL has published Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships, a report that delves into the four components—The Challenge, Opportunity Conditions, Policy and Program Goals, and Family and Staff Capacity Outcomes—of the dual capacity-building framework released by the Department of Education. Based on research in such areas as effective family engagement and home–school partnership strategies and practices, the framework looks at elements that contribute to effective family–school partnerships. In addition, the report includes three case studies on schools that have used family engagement initiatives to turn around performance.
FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS
8 Tips for Reaching Out to Parents
Veteran teacher David Cutler offers advice to teachers on building positive relationships with parents in this Edutopia blog post. The advice ranges from how to run a phone conversation to how to prepare a successful back-to-school night. Whether handling difficult situations or being the bearer of good news, the important thing, Cutler notes, is to build and sustain teacher–parent relationships.
5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew: Your Children Can Do More Than You Think
In this New York Times article, Jessica Lahey turns the tables on teachers and asks them what they wish parents knew about their kids. Teachers’ responses center on ways that parents could incorporate positive feedback, model certain behaviors, and give students more autonomy. Their answers emphasize the fact that parents are teachers, too, and can enhance student learning and development in a variety of ways.
Homework’s Emotional Toll on Students and Families
Homework is defining students’ and families’ lives outside of school, according to KJ Dell’Antonia of the New York Times. Researchers at Stanford report that students experience stress and sleep deprivation as a result of large homework loads, and families struggle with how much homework takes over family time. According to Stanford researcher Denise Clark Pope, there may be ways to ameliorate this growing issue, including having teachers create homework packets that will enable parents and students to plan for the week ahead, and encouraging schools to build time into the school day for students to begin their homework.
Pupils and Schools Thrive When Parents Become Involved
In The National, Nadia Petrossi stipulates that parents are necessary partners for schools due to their unique influence on their children. She cites studies by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and University of Melbourne professor John Hattie in support of the “parent engagement effect”—the positive long-term results of combining parental encouragement and high expectations for children. As the manager of the parental engagement program at GEMS Education, Petrossi also advocates an approach to parent engagement that includes a number of strategies that parents can use daily, such as encouraging learning through honest feedback, talking with their children about what they are learning, and asking their children to share their learning experiences.
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND DIGITAL LEARNING
10 Ways to Engage Children and Families in Reading with the Power of Technology
In celebration of National Reading Month, National PTA senior manager and Huffington Post blogger Sherri Wilson gives parents practical advice on utilizing technology to get kids excited about reading. Whether reading books or e-books, families can advance children’s literacy and comprehension by reading aloud, going to the library, and giving literary gifts. Wilson writes that utilizing free reading programs such as the National PTA-sponsored Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle, is one way to use electronic media to promote reading at home.
PTA Family Reading Experience, Powered by Kindle
The National PTA, together with Amazon Kindle, has created a set of activities available in English and Spanish that PTA programs can use to engage families in literacy activities with a focus on improving reading skills between kindergarten and fifth grade. PTA programs can put on a series of events where families come and visit stations that highlight literacy domains, including phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary, using both physical books and e-books. Families are also provided with take-home activities so that they can continue to support their child’s learning outside of school. This free set of activities and tools can be found online here.
Breaking Out of the Library Mold in Boston and Beyond
The Boston Public Library is the latest city library to attempt to modernize and expand its offerings, according to Katharine Q. Seelye of the New York Times. As libraries increasingly become places where families can access print and digital information, they are also evolving into more comprehensive community centers. In Boston, teenagers will have their own space where they can hang out, record music, and utilize game rooms and digital labs.
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