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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

Helping Parents Communicate Better With Schools

Spanish Translation Available. Good communication between parents and teachers has many benefits. This Early Childhood Digest shares information on how to establish good parent-teacher communication.

Holly Kreider , Ellen Mayer, Peggy Vaughan (May 1999) Research Report

Identifying Assumptions About and Barriers to the Transition to School

Through a case discussion, the Bridging Worlds case became a catalyst for robust dialogue discussion about the assumptions teachers make during the transition to kindergarten and their potential consequences for children and families.

Anita Ede (August 25, 2015) Research Report

Innovative Models to Guide Family Support and Education Policy in the 1990s: An Analysis of Four Pioneering State Programs

This research study evaluates and analyzes state initiatives in Missouri, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Maryland to support parents and early childhood. Lessons learned and evaluation methodologies are presented.

Harvard Family Research Project (March 1990) Research Report

Innovative Stories of Family Engagement From Around the World

Find inspiration for your family engagement efforts from around the world.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 2016) Research Report

Kindergarten Home Visit Project

The need for home–-school collaboration begins even before a child’s the first day of school. Researcher Amy Schulting shares data from a recent evaluation study to describe how one home visiting project eases children's transition to kindergarten.

Amy Schulting (January 2009) Research Report

Latino Families: Getting Involved in Your Children's Education

Spanish Translation Available. This Early Childhood Digest provides tips on how families can support their children in childcare, preschool, Head Start, and kindergarten.

Eliot Levine (April 1999) Research Report

Learning Together—Exploring a Nonprofit-Museum-Preschool-Family Partnership Model

Through a resourceful museum-preschool-family partnership involving cultural institutions across the city, an organization in New York City is providing rich anywhere, anytime learning opportunities for young children from low-income households. Learn how the Literacy Through Culture program hopes to increase families’ enthusiasm and appreciation for learning in a variety of contexts and build strong parent–child interactions around fun learning activities.

Barbara Palley, Cathleen Wiggins, Melissa Ptacek, Shanta Lawson, and Charlene Melville (June 9, 2014) Research Report

Lessons From Museums and Libraries: Five Ways to Address Families’ Digital Learning Needs

Culture expert Marsha L. Semmel notes that museums and libraries are increasing their offerings for families in support of such vital 21st-century learning skills as problem solving, digital media literacy, and creativity. Learn how these institutions play important roles in addressing our children’s digital learning needs.

 

Marsha L. Semmel (April 24, 2014) Research Report

Libraries Engaging Families: Reflections From the Public Library Association’s President

Public Library Association (PLA) president Felton Thomas Jr. writes about the importance of public libraries in engaging families, and how PLA and Harvard Family Research Project have begun a journey together to support libraries in this work.

Felton Thomas, Jr. (August 9, 2016) Research Report

Libraries Helping to Close the Opportunity Gap: Maryland Library Partnership 

Through innovative and engaging family activities, the Maryland Library Partnership is playing a crucial community role by promoting learning anywhere, anytime and reaching out to parents to help them with their children’s learning, improve literacy, and close the vocabulary gap between low-income learners and their peers.

 

Nathan Driskell (June 9, 2014) Research Report

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.

Amy Horenbeck (October 2010) Research Report

Math Is Everywhere, When We Know What to Look For

Learning mathematics starts in infancy and happens anywhere, anytime. In this commentary, Taniesha Woods explores what young children need to know about math, what environments rich in mathematics learning look like, and how families can support children’s math development.

Taniesha A. Woods (May 24, 2016) Research Report

Mobile Technology and Family Engagement: Texting Intervention Increases Head Start Parents’ Engagement in Parent‒Child Activities

Text messaging parent‒child activity tips to families with young children is an effective way to support family engagement, especially among fathers. In this Research Digest, learn about a successful Head Start text-messaging program designed to complement ongoing family engagement services.

Lisa B. Hurwitz, Alexis R. Lauricella, Ann Hanson, Anthony Raden, and Ellen Wartella (March 2016) Research Report

New Offices, New Programs, New Interventions: A Look at New Developments in Early Childhood Education

In this FINE Newsletter Commentary, HFRP’s Christine Patton explores how new developments in early learning research, policy, and practice reflect a national “coming together” around the importance of early childhood experiences and their role in later school success.

Christine Patton (March 15, 2012) Research Report

New Research on Family Involvement and Academic Achievement (Symposium)

This multiple paper symposium at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association followed up on our panel session in 2005. It featured four research studies that used nuanced definitions of family involvement and cutting-edge methodologies to address processes of family involvement and academic outcomes for disadvantaged children across the developmental continuum.

Heather Weiss , Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey, Wendy Barnard, Suzanne Bouffard, Eric Dearing, and Christine McWayne (April 11, 2006) Conferences and Presentations

New Stories of Innovation in Family Engagement

Find family engagement stories from the field highlighting innovative partnerships.

Harvard Family Research Project (February 2016) Research Report

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.

Jacqueline Jones (March 15, 2012) Research Report

Ongoing Child Assessment and Family Engagement: New Opportunities to Engage Families in Children’s Learning and Development

This paper by the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, a new center formed by HFRP and Brazelton Center at Children's Hospital Boston and other partners for the Office of Head Start, focuses on child assessment data as a tool for parent and family engagement in the early childhood arena. It is the first in a series that will help early childhood care and education programs identify ways that they can share information in order to strengthen partnerships and work toward common goals.

National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (March 2011) 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

Parent Involvement

Research studies show that the level of children's development (especially their cognitive and language development) depends more directly upon their family structure, socioeconomic status, home stimulation, and parental values rather than how much time they spend in a child care or preschool environment, good or poor, and whether their parents are involved or not. The goal of the course is to make the most effective use of ourselves as early childhood teachers in working together with parents to optimize the experiences of the children for whom we share responsibility.

Tom Drummond () Syllabus

Parent Involvement and Early Literacy

Parents’ involvement at school is related to children’s higher literacy, particularly for those from socially or economically disadvantaged families.

Qiuyun Lin (October 2003) Research Report

Parent Involvement and the Social and Academic Competencies of Urban Kindergarten Children

This study shows positive social and academic outcomes for low-income, minority kindergarten children whose parents promote learning in the home and contact schools regularly.

Christine McWayne , Marissa Owsianik (October 2004) Research Report

Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework: Promoting Family Engagement and School Readiness from Prenatal to Age 8

This framework is a vital tool for early childhood education and care providers seeking to build effective family engagement strategies. It was developed by the Office of Head Start with the assistance of the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement for the Office of Head Start

Office of Head Start (August 2011) 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

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project