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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

Families and Teachers as Partners

This digest provides suggestions on how families and teachers can work together in schools to provide enriching experiences for children.

Holly Kreider (March 1998) Research Report

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

The Effects of a Responsive Parenting Intervention on Parent–Child Interactions during Shared Book Reading

This installment in our Family Involvement Research Digest Series features Susan Landry discussing a recent study—conducted by Landry and her colleagues at the Children’s Learning Institute at the University of Texas—about a mother–child intervention aimed at improving the use of responsive parenting techniques.

Susan Landry , Karen E. Smith, Paul R. Swank, Tricia Zucker, April D. Crawford, & Emily Solari (March 15, 2012) 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

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

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

Family Involvement in Early Childhood Programs: How to Choose the Right Program for Your Child

What is family involvement and how can families choose early childhood programs that encourage it? This issue of Early Childhood Digest looks at these questions, and provides information on how to choose an early childhood program that encourages family involvement.

Priscilla M. D. Little (May 1998) Research Report

Family Resource Centers: Where School Readiness Happens

Family resource centers are places where you can get information on raising and educating your child. This issue of the Early Childhood Digest describes family resource centers and how they can help you get your child ready for school.

Priscilla M. D. Little (October 1998) Research Report

Young Latino Infants and Families: Parental Involvement Implications from a Recent National Study

This study provides a deeper understanding of how cultural practices combine with other factors to shape parenting behaviors among families in the United States in the first year of children's lives. Several findings provide information about ways in which practitioners and Latino families can more effectively engage with young Latino children to influence their cognitive, social, language, and literacy development—and therefore facilitate their school readiness.

Michael L. Lopez , Sandra Barrueco, Erika Feinauer, Jonathan C. Miles (June 2007) Research Report

Valuing Families as Partners

Elena Lopez explores the benefits of creating strong partnerships between early childhood programs and families.

M. Elena Lopez (January 2010) Research Report

Something Borrowed, Something New: Libraries as Learning Hubs

We share several resources on libraries - modern, evolving community spaces of education and support for families and children.

Lorette McWilliams (September 2015) Research Report

Family Engagement in Anywhere, Anytime Learning

Explore the world of anywhere, anytime learning with us! Read how researchers and practitioners are helping to close the opportunity gap by creating innovative spaces, developing strategic collaborations to ensure children’s success, and engaging families and children as partners in meaningful learning experiences, both in and out of school.

M. Elena Lopez, Margaret Caspe (June 9, 2014) Research Report

Public Libraries: A Vital Space for Family Engagement

Harvard Family Research Project and the Public Library Association call for libraries to join together with schools and community organizations to establish a system of family engagement that extends throughout a child’s life, supports children and families, and prepares children for success.

M. Elena Lopez, Margaret Caspe, Lorette McWilliams (August 9, 2016) Research Report

Q & A with Laura Overdeck of Bedtime Math: Helping Families and Children Cuddle Up to Math

In this Q & A with Laura Overdeck, learn how Bedtime Math is giving families and children comfort in talking about numbers in their daily lives, and helping families and afterschool programs get children excited about math in the world around them.

Margaret Caspe (May 24, 2016) Research Report

Why Thinking of Family Engagement as Continuous Across Time Matters

A key principle in the definition of family engagement is that it is continuous across time. In this commentary, we explore why thinking of family engagement in this way matters, and we learn about tools educators can use to develop the skills to promote it.

Margaret Caspe (March 8, 2016) Research Report

Four Important Things Research Tells Us About the Transition to School

The transition to school is a process—not just a one-time event—and begins during children’s preschool years and continues into and on through the early elementary grades. Find out four important things research tells us about the transition.

Margaret Caspe, M. Elena Lopez, and Chalatwan Chattrabhuti (March 19, 2015) 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

Building Bridges to Success

In 2010, Silicon Valley Community Foundation started a bold and innovative initiative designed to ensure success by third grade for all children in San Mateo County, California. It focuses on ready children, ready families, ready schools, and ready communities

Michelle Sioson Hyman (March 19, 2015) Research Report

A Strong Start for Family Engagement in Massachusetts

Through its Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge funds, Massachusetts has created strategic partnerships with museums and libraries, public television, family and community programs, community nonprofits, and public transportation to build a robust and growing statewide family engagement system.

Nathan Driskell (December 11, 2014) 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

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

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

The Transition to Afterschool: One City’s Approach to Connecting Young Children and Their Families to Learning and Enrichment Opportunities

What steps can programs take to help families successfully transition to school and afterschool? How can families make informed choices about afterschool opportunities? What information do families need in this process? This video demonstrates how Cambridge, Massachusetts, is addressing these and related questions to help connect families to afterschool learning and enrichment opportunities prior to school entry. 

Christine Patton (June 9, 2014) 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

The Transition to Afterschool: One City’s Approach to Connecting Young Children and Their Families to Learning and Enrichment Opportunities—Part Two

How can you create a resource to help families of young children successfully transition to afterschool? What questions should be addressed? This video looks at one city’s approach to helping connect families and their young children to afterschool enrichment opportunities.

Christine Patton (September 17, 2014) Research Report

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