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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The case method: A powerful way for educators to develop competencies to engage families
Decades of research make it clear that family engagement benefits children and youth in multiple ways. However, educators often find engaging families the most difficult part of their work, and are rarely prepared to do so. The case method is an exciting and valuable teaching technique to prepare educators to effectively engage with families.

Interactive cases available

Making a Decision About College Interactive Case		Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case		Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Family Engagement in the Transition to Kindergarten

About our interactive cases
An interactive case is designed to help you engage and reflect on a difficult situation, independently or with a group, without the explicit input of a case facilitator or course instructor. The interactive case is designed so that you can take a close-up view of the people in the situation, reflect on their perspectives, and then take a step back and think about the larger organizational issues influencing each person’s behavior. 

	When you zoom in on each person you will read about that individual’s perspective in the case. Each perspective presented ends with three reflective questions for you to consider. These questions are based on a human-centered design approach that keeps the focus on the strengths, concerns, and desires of the people in the case.
	When you zoom out, you will be given an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on the bigger picture. You can think about the assumptions people in the case make, where people disagree, where opportunities to connect are missed, and how institutions might become better aligned to support everyone involved.