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 updates. Please feel free to forward this information to friends and other colleagues.

FINE Resource Roundup: Early Childhood Education

Since the resources on the FINE website are varied and extensive, we periodically spotlight a thematic collection of existing resources. This month we bring you a roundup of FINE resources related to early childhood education.

• Bibliography: Research on Early Childhood Education

  Our recently updated bibliography features research on family involvement in early childhood education and lists journal articles, theses, books, and reports from 1999 to 2005.

• Research Digest: Family Support Services Promote School Readiness

  This study by Shari Golan, Donna Spiker, and Carl Sumi demonstrates that a wide variety of parent and child factors are linked to school readiness. We also learn that parenting education and support services promote family activities that relate to positive child outcomes.

• Research Digest: Parent Involvement and the Social and Academic Competencies of Urban Kindergarten Children

  Christine McWayne and Marissa Owsianik’s research shows positive social and academic outcomes for low-income, minority kindergarten children whose parents promote learning in the home and contact schools regularly.

• Research Digest: Parent Involvement and Early Literacy

  Qiuyun Lin’s research reveals that parents’ involvement at school is related to children’s higher literacy, particularly for those from socially or economically disadvantaged families.

• Research Digest: Parents Come to Kindergarten: A Unique Junior Kindergarten Program for Four Year Olds and Their Families

  Janette Pelletier describes a preschool parenting and readiness program in Canada that results in higher school readiness among program children and families and prepares teachers to work with families.

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

  Eiko Kato-Otani compares American and Japanese mothers' home reading practices with their preschool children, highlighting cross-cultural differences.

• Research Report: Getting Parents “Ready” For Kindergarten: The Role of Early Childhood Education

  Holly Kreider of HFRP suggests that family involvement in young children's education may contribute to a smooth transition to elementary school for children and prepare parents for later involvement in their children's learning.

• Research Report: The Transition to Kindergarten: A Review of Current Research and Promising Practices to Involve Families

  Marielle Bohan-Baker and Priscilla Little of HFRP look at the transition to kindergarten and its importance to school success, focusing on promising transition practices and the role that schools might play in the implementation of these practices.

• Family Involvement Storybook Corner

  Our Storybook Corner shows you how to use published children's storybooks with family involvement themes to engage families in their children's education, encourage family-school-community partnerships, and support literacy.

• Teaching Case: Friction at Madison Family Literacy Program

  Noreen, an early childhood teacher, arranges free speech therapy for young Junie. She volunteers to take Junie to the therapist, but when Junie's mother fails to pick up her daughter, Noreen lashes out with an angry phone message, threatening to call the Department of Social Services. How can the two make the situation better and what could have prevented it?

• FINE Forum e-Newsletter: Early Childhood Education

  This FINE Forum examines family support during school transitions, parent mobilization for child care, cultural diversity, and other topics relevant to early childhood education.

• FINE Forum e-Newsletter: Lessons from Leaders on Mathematics Education

  Marilou Hyson, NAEYC Associate Executive Director for Professional Development, discusses how teachers and families can work together to help children know and love mathematics.

• Member Insight: How can early childhood settings encourage parents to advocate for their child?

  Six early childhood education experts explain how early childhood settings can encourage parents to advocate for their children.

• The Evaluation Exchange on Early Childhood Programs and Evaluation

  This issue of The Evaluation Exchange charts the course of early childhood programming and evaluation over nearly half a century.

New from Harvard Family Research Project

• Out-of-School Time Database and Bibliography Update

  We have added eight new profiles about out-of-school time programs and their evaluations and one new profile of an out-of-school time research study. You can access both the database and the bibliography on our website at the link above.

• What Are Kids Getting Into These Days? Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation

  This research brief discusses findings from the first phase of our study on youth participation in out-of-school time programs and activities. Building on our previous work, we are using national data to examine the many factors and contexts in children’s lives that predict participation. Here we focus on demographic characteristics of youth participants and offer implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.

Recent Reports on Early Childhood Eduction

• From the Beginning: Early Head Start Children, Families, Staff, and Programs in 2004

  This brief, the latest in a series on Head Start from the Center for Law and Social Policy, reports that Early Head Start serves diverse families with working parents and provides parent education and medical support through home- and center-based programs.

• Rural Disparities in Baseline Data of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: A Chartbook

  Child Trends and the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives at Mississippi State University look at the data on care and development of rural and nonrural children. Among other findings, the researchers observed that rural children are more likely to participate in Head Start but less likely to take part in other early education. We learn that rural children have smaller kindergarten classes and more contact with their noncustodial parents.

Upcoming Events

• Bridging Cultures

  Join Noelle Caskey of WestEd as she leads a free, interactive online presentation on May 17, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific Time, using case materials to examine how teachers and administrators can better understand students and families from Latino and other cultures. You can access more information and participation instructions at the link above.
  

• National Council of La Raza Annual Conference

  This conference for Hispanic American advocacy, aimed at researchers, leaders of community and business organizations, elected officials, and activists, will take place in Los Angeles, July 8–11. Workshop topics include parent educational engagement, involving families in youth development, and community empowerment.
  

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