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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All Publications & Resources WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND FAMILIES DEVELOPMENT PERIODS |
COMPLEMENTARY LEARNING CONNECTIONS
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Reimagining the Parent-Teacher Conference
Starting meaningful conversations before the school year, focusing on student data throughout the school year, leveraging technology, and engaging families outside of school are four new trends we see transforming the traditional parent-teacher conference.
Preparing Educators to Engage Families: Case Studies Using an Ecological Systems Framework, Third Edition
Incorporating the use of HFRP research-based teaching cases and theoretical perspectives, this revised book looks at family engagement issues from the early years through pre-adolescence.
Reading Interactive Math Storybooks
Researchers from Teachers College, Columbia University, explore how a relatively new type of book– interactive math storybooks – can help parents appreciate and foster their child’s mathematical thinking.
Preparing Teachers to Work With Parents
This study surveyed 96 teacher education programs in the United States and examined how these preservice programs incorporate parent involvement in their curriculum.
Teaching Future Educators and Families: Helping Maximize Children’s Learning
In this article, Pérsida Himmele talks about hosting engagement workshops for families and using what she learns from families to inform future teachers and provide them with meaningful in-class experiences to practice their family engagement skills.
Re-thinking Family Engagement: Moving Beyond the Program Model Toward Systemic Engagement that Promotes Student Learning
Anna Hinton, Director of Parental Options and Information in the Office of Innovation and Improvement for the U.S. Department of Education, shares her vision for transforming family engagement at the federal, state, and local levels.
Making Data Come Alive for Families through Young Children’s Play
Amy Horenbeck, training director from the Tools of the Mind program based at the Center for Improving Early Learning at the Metropolitan State College of Denver in Colorado, discusses a different approach to early childhood education and using children's work as a unique type of student data to track development and share children's progress with parents.
A Model for Statewide Parent Involvement Leadership in Colorado
Tina House of the Colorado Parent Involvement Network for Education discusses a collaborative approach to providing statewide leadership for family engagement.
Parents Write Their Worlds: A Parent Involvement Program Bridging Urban Schools and Families
A participatory research project examines a school-based writing workshop in which parents write stories for a literary magazine that is circulated in the school and community.
Seamless and Connected—Education in the Digital Age
Through connected learning, says Mizuko Ito, schools, museums, and libraries are employing innovative strategies, leveraging digital media to make learning more relevant and engaging to youth, and linking the crucial spheres in a learner’s life—peers, interests, and academic pursuits.
Fast Forward: What Education Could Be in 2043
In this Guest Commentary, GreatSchools founder and CEO Bill Jackson offers a vision for the future of family engagement in which parents demand more from both the educational system and themselves to help prepare their children for a complex, globally-connected workforce. He also lays out the steps that educators need to take to realize this vision and help students succeed.
Families, Schools, and Community Resources
Analyzing family, school, and community resources and needs as related to the family life cycle, examining child welfare and education and ecological approach, and exploration of careers related to children and families. Strategies to improve communication and collaboration are emphasized with a focus on family types, cultures, economic conditions, school systems, community services, political forces, advocacy groups, and other factors that impact young children and their families.
Supporting Relationships and Family Engagement in the Transition to Kindergarten
Presenting the Bridging Worlds case with a Fishbowl activity helped educators came to understand the need to support relationships between families and schools during the transition period.
Communication Is Key to Strong Family‒School Partnerships During the Transition to School
One way to help educators better understand how parents and teachers think and feel during the transition to school is by pairing the Bridging Worlds case with an Empathy Map.
A Meta-Analysis of the Efficacy of Different Types of Parental Involvement Programs for Urban Students
In this Research Digest, William Jeynes highlights key findings from his recent meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of different types of school-based parental involvement programs. His study found that programs that emphasized shared reading, teacher–parent partnership, checking homework, and teacher–parent communication all had statistically significant positive effects on student outcomes. Jeynes discusses why the effects of school-based programs are greater than the effects seen with “voluntary” expressions of parental engagement.
Parental Involvement and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis
This meta-analysis of parent involvement research brings together the results of 77 recent studies. Jeynes shows that parent involvement has an overall positive effect on student achievement and that the largest effects are associated with parental expectations.
Creating Coordination Among Families, Schools, and Communities: A Mock Team Meeting
Communication is key during the transition to school, and a mock team meeting based on the perspectives presented in the Bridging Worlds case helped school psychologists gain confidence talking with representatives from different learning settings.
Now is the Time: Helping States Prepare Students for Success from the Very Start
Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor on Early Learning to the Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education, highlights the Department’s new Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge competitive grant program and the decision to make family engagement an integral part of the grant criteria.
Incorporating Latino Parents' Perspectives Into Teacher Preparation
Latino parents share their perspectives on what teachers should know in order to teach children more effectively and emphasize that Latino parents care about their children's education.
Family, School, and Community Connections Symposium: New Directions for Research, Practice, and Evaluation
We teamed up with the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) to present this 1-day Family, School, and Community Connections Symposium: New Directions for Research, Practice, and Evaluation.
Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School
This comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to understanding how to engage families in after school programs is a critical resource for after school providers looking to create or expand an existing family engagement program. It offers a research base for why family engagement matters, concrete program strategies for engaging families, case studies of promising family engagement efforts, and an evaluation tool for improving family engagement practices.
Story Time: Mothers' Reading Practices in Japan and the U.S.
A comparison between American and Japanese mothers' home reading practices with their preschool children enriches our understanding of cross-cultural differences.
Family, School, & Society: The Social Context of Development and Learning
In this course we will consider the social and cultural contexts which shape developmental and educational processes. The primary focus will be on understanding the nature of contemporary social problems including racism, sexism, ethnic prejudice, social class oppression, and ability discrimination as they affect children, families, and schooling. Emphasis will be given to the special role of education in linking community resources for an integrated approach to addressing problems in children's lives.
Tim Kelly: A School Responds to a Family in Need
Tim Kelly, a first grade student, comes to school hungry, dirty, emotionally needy, and academically unprepared. His teacher believes his lack of care at home is contributing to his poor school performance. How can a teacher individualize parent involvement?
Getting Parents “Ready” for Kindergarten: The Role of Early Childhood Education
This research brief presents preliminary evidence that family involvement in young children's education may contribute to a smooth transition to elementary school for children, and also helps parents remain involved in their children's learning in school.