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www.HFRP.org

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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WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND FAMILIES DEVELOPMENT PERIODS
COMPLEMENTARY LEARNING CONNECTIONS

Five Professional Development Resources That Promote Family Engagement

When organizations invest in developing the competencies of its professionals to engage families everyone benefits. To help accomplish this we share five of our favorite resources on professional development in family engagement along with tips on why they work.

Laura Alves (December 11, 2014) Research Report

Sharing Assessment Data With Preschool Families in Preparation for Kindergarten

What are the benefits and challenges of sharing assessment data with preschool families? How can you do so effectively? A preschool teacher writes about her experiences, and provides valuable tips on how to share data with families in preparation for kindergarten.

Nell Shapiro (September 17, 2014) Research Report

Family Involvement News: April 2014

We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The resources in this section highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy, strategies, and research, along with family engagement and digital learning.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 24, 2014) Research Report

Q & A With Lori Takeuchi: Research Findings From Learning at Home: Families’ Educational Media Use in America

Lori Takeuchi, Joan Ganz Cooney Center Research Director, discusses the Center’s report findings on families’ and children’s educational-media use, including families’ selection of educational media for their children and ways that practitioners can support families in their choices. Takeuchi notes some of the following findings: when parents use media alongside their children, the educational value of the experience is enhanced; educational-media use varies based on the age of the child; and children are applying what they learn from educational media to nonmedia activities.

 

Harvard Family Research Project (February 19, 2014) Research Report

Family Involvement News: February 2014

We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The following resources highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy as well as family-school partnerships.

Harvard Family Research Project (February 19, 2014) Research Report

Research Spotlight: Families and Digital Media in Young Children's Learning

These resources look at issues related to digital media and learning in early childhood and focus on such topics as children’s media use in the 21st century, family perspectives on children’s media use, and research-based guidance for practitioners and parents.

Harvard Family Research Project (February 19, 2014) Research Report

Staying on the Path Toward College: One Boy at the Crossroads

Paulo Domínguez is an intelligent sixth-grade boy who has recently become disengaged from schoolwork and is hanging out with peers whom his teachers and parents fear are a bad influence. How can community programs, schools, and families work together to keep Paulo on the path towards college as he transitions to middle school? An interactive version is also available.

Catherine R. Cooper, Elizabeth Domínguez, Margarita Azmitia, Erica Holt, Dolores Mena, and Gabriela Chavira (2014) Research Report

Bridging Worlds: Family Engagement in the Transition to Kindergarten

This teaching case explores the complex issues surrounding the transition to kindergarten and the importance of family engagement in the process. Three expert commentaries and discussion questions are included. An interactive version is also available.

Margaret Caspe (2014) Research Report

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.

Pérsida Himmele (December 5, 2013) Research Report

Exploring the Parent, Family, Community Engagement Simulation: A Conversation With Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richard

What you say to families and do with them matters! In this Q & A with Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richards, we learn about how the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Simulation can be used as a professional development tool in Head Start/Early Head Start programs and beyond.

Brandi Black Thacker , Guylaine Richard (December 5, 2013) Research Report

Helping Head Start and Early Head Start Programs Create a Culture That Embraces Data

A new interactive online learning module, Data in Head Start and Early Head Start: Creating a Culture that Embraces Data, developed by the National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operations, helps Head Start/Early Head Start leaders understand how to use data to inform their decision making.

Harvard Family Research Project (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Continuous Improvement: Being Responsive When There is Need for Change

Deborah J. Brown, external evaluator for Save the Children, discusses how continuous improvement processes have helped strengthen one of Save the Children’s language development and pre-literacy programs, Early Steps to School Success.

Deborah J. Brown (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Parents as Agents of Change

In this Leading the Field profile, Sandra Gutierrez, national director of the Latino family-focused Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors program, shares her vision of how families are fundamental to transforming the lives of our children and our communities. [Este artículo también está disponible en español como Padres de Familia como Agentes de Cambio.]

Sandra Gutierrez (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Family Involvement News: September 2013

We are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family engagement. View our list of links to current reports, articles, resources, and events in the field.

Harvard Family Research Project (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Padres de Familia como Agentes de Cambio

En este Perfil de Liderando el Ramo, Sandra Gutiérrez, la directora nacional del programa Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, programa que está enfocado en la familia latina, comparte su visión de cómo las familias son fundamentales para transformar las vidas de nuestros hijos y de nuestras comunidades. [This article is also available in English as Parents as Agents of Change.]

Sandra Gutiérrez (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Making Data Meaningful

In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Christine Patton explores how the conversations that people are having about education data have changed, and outlines key components of effective data-sharing practices.

Christine L. Patton (April 18, 2013) Research Report

Helping Parents Become Interventionists Through the Use of Child Assessment Data

Heather Schrotberger, Andrea Clements, and Elizabeth Nichols of Project EAGLE talk about sharing data with families and illustrate how program staff and parents work as partners to review child assessment data and co-create goals for children.

Heather Schrotberger , Andrea Clements, Elizabeth Nichols (April 18, 2013) Research Report

Tips for Administrators, Teachers, and Families: How to Share Data Effectively

This new set of tip sheets helps administrators, teachers, and families identify the best ways to share student data in meaningful ways, on a regular basis, to strengthen family–school partnerships and promote student learning. The tips can be used to guide the formal conversations that take place during parent–teacher conferences, but they are especially designed to help promote less formal, ongoing conversations about student progress among teachers, families, and students throughout the year.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 18, 2013) Research Report

A New Tool for Understanding Family–School Relationships: The Harvard Graduate School of Education PreK-12 Parent Survey

This tool, developed through a partnership between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Survey Monkey, provides educators with free access to a set of survey questions, or scales, to help them collect and analyze data about their family engagement work. These scales also provide educators with an efficient way to assess the progress of their work and identify areas for improvement.

Beth Schueler (February 7, 2013) Research Report

Connected Educators, Connected Families

Elementary school principal and “connected educator” Joe Mazza discusses how he has integrated technology—including social media—into his school’s family engagement strategies to enhance his school’s ability to connect with families. He also stresses the importance of balancing technology-based engagement strategies with in-person relationship-building efforts.

Joe Mazza (February 7, 2013) Research Report

Creating Conditions for Effective and Ongoing Family Engagement

In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Senior Research Analyst, Heidi Rosenberg, looks at the ways in which schools, programs, and other community institutions can help facilitate continuous family engagement to help children succeed.

Heidi Rosenberg (September 20, 2012) Research Report

Helping Families Pave the Path to College: Supporting the Developmental Processes That Facilitate College Readiness

Mandy Savitz-Romer is director of the Prevention Science and Practice Program and a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Suzanne Bouffard is a research project manager and writer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. In this article, Bouffard and Savitz-Romer discuss findings from their recent book, Ready, Willing, and Able: A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success.

Mandy Savitz-Romer , Suzanne Bouffard (September 20, 2012) Research Report

Family Engagement and Children with Disabilities: A Resource Guide for Educators and Parents

This resource guide highlights research reports, journal articles, examples of best practices, and tools that provide information on facilitating a comfortable and effective family–school partnership in the interest of successful outcomes for children with disabilities.

Harvard Family Research Project , Jamie Ferrel (September 2012) Bibliography

We Were a "Hard-to-Reach" Family

Former Head Start parent, Nikia Parker, started out as a “hard-to-reach” parent but developed a strong, positive relationship with her family’s Early Head Start home visitor, which enabled her to not only effectively support her own children, but also take on advocacy and leadership roles within the larger Head Start community.

Nikia Parker (September 20, 2012) Research Report

Raising Expectations for Out-of-School Time

Samantha Grant, a program evaluator at the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development, and a parent, offers guidance to families looking to make good decisions about their children’s out-of-school time activities.

Samantha Grant (June 28, 2012) Research Report

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