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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

A Human-Centered Approach to Family Engagement

A human-centered design approach – an approach that is based on observation, empathy, optimism, collaboration, and experimentation – opens new possibilities for educators to motivate and sustain family engagement.

Harvard Family Research Project () Research Report

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.

William H. Jeynes (February 7, 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

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

Beyond the Head Count: Evaluating Family Involvement in Out-of-School Time

This brief offers an overview of how out-of-school time programs can evaluate their family involvement strategies and practices. It draws on findings from our OST Evaluation Database, interviews, and email correspondence.

Margaret Caspe , Flora Traub, Priscilla M.D. Little (August 2002) Research Report

Building the Future of Family Involvement

This double issue of The Evaluation Exchange examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. Featuring innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, and interviews with field leaders, the issue is designed to spark conversation about where the field is today and where it needs to go in the future.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Evaluation

Written for program administrators and staff, this guide offers practical advice for evaluating family support programs.

Harvard Family Research Project (1993) Research Report

Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Six Volume Set

This set of six volumes offers practical advice for establishing and managing a family support program.

Harvard Family Research Project (1993) Research Report

Children and Youth

This issue of The Evaluation Exchange is devoted to the evaluation of youth programs that support positive youth development. Topics include evaluating strength-based approaches to youth development, youth participation in evaluation, lessons learned from the international community on evaluating youth programs, and foundation grantmaking for children and youth.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Community-Based Initiatives

This issue provides a broad overview of the status of evaluations of community-based initiatives (CBI) and begins an ongoing dialogue among practitioners, evaluators, and funders about how to address the challenges involved in evaluating them.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Data Collection Instruments for Evaluating Family Involvement

As evidence mounts that family involvement can support children's learning, there is an increasing call in the field for common data collection instruments to measure home–school communication and other aspects of family involvement. This resource from Harvard Family Research Project compiles instruments developed for rigorous program impact evaluations and tested for reliability.

 

Helen Westmoreland , Suzanne Bouffard, Kelley O'Carroll, Heidi Rosenberg (May 2009) Research Report

Embracing the Use of Data for Continuous Program Improvement

In this Commentary, Harvard Family Research Project’s Heidi Rosenberg discusses how continuous improvement processes can strengthen family engagement strategies, and outlines the mindset and key practices that organizations need to adopt in order to use data to understand and improve upon their work.

Heidi Rosenberg (September 17, 2013) Research Report

Engaging Families in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Project-Based Learning

To be successful, children need a strong science, technology, engineering, and math foundation. Learn how Iridescent, a project funded in part by the National Science Foundation, connects families, engineers, and children to develop these skills early on in school.

Tara Chklovski (March 19, 2015) Research Report

Engaging With Families in Out-of-School Time Learning

This Snapshot provides an overview of how researchers are evaluating out-of-school time programs’ engagement with families.

Erin Harris , Christopher Wimer (April 2004) Research Report

Evaluating Family Involvement Programs

This issue of The Evaluation Exchange brings together the current knowledge base of programs in family support and family involvement, providing a continuous perspective on family processes with regard to children's learning and development, from a child's early years through adolescence. Articles address the challenges of evaluating family programs, such as the need for conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, accountability, and contextual responsiveness. Rounding out the issue are examples of ongoing evaluations of parent leadership and organizing to ensure that schools serve all children at high standards.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Evaluating Family Support: Thinking Critically, Thinking Internationally (Keynote Address)

Evaluation plays a major role in shaping new directions for the field of family support. In her keynote address at the Participatory Evaluation and Parent Engagement Institute, sponsored by Family Support America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, in Kansas City, Missouri, September 20–22, 2004, Heather Weiss, Founder and Director of HFRP, described how evaluation can support learning, continuous improvement, and innovation. The four components of a family support evaluation strategy that she outlined were experimental studies to show program impact on families, utilization-focused evaluation to support policy and practitioner decision making, action research and empowerment evaluation, and performance standards based on solid research and evaluation.

Heather Weiss (September 20, 2004) Conferences and Presentations

Evaluating School-Linked Services

This issue of The Evaluation Exchange, Harvard Family Research Project's quarterly evaluation periodical, focuses on how to evaluate school-linked services.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Explore: Resources to Strengthen Program Evaluation

Interested in developing a logic model, learning more about improvement science, or advancing your program evaluation? This guide offers valuable resources practitioners can utilize to strengthen their evaluative work and develop more productive relationships with evaluators.

Harvard Family Research Project (November 19, 2015) Research Report

Family Engagement in Public Libraries Is Valued, but There Is Work to Be Done

Ever wonder what libraries around the country are doing to engage families? Learn the answer to this question and others through HFRP and PLA’s national survey of family engagement in public libraries—– the results of which are presented here.

Harvard Family Research Project (August 16, 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 Involvement Interventions: Shining the Spotlight on Evaluation (Symposium)

This panel symposium, held at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Chicago on April 10, 2007, followed up on HFRP's family involvement sessions at previous AERA meetings in 2005 and 2006. The 2007 symposium featured discussion regarding the evaluation of family involvement interventions

Heather Weiss , Pat Davenport, Chad Nye , Dana Petersen, Margaret Caspe, James Rodriguez (April 10, 2007) Conferences and Presentations

Family Involvement Makes a Difference in School Success

Family involvement helps children get ready to enter school, promotes their school success, and prepares youth for college. This Research Brief presents findings from HFRP's ongoing, in-depth review of research and evaluated programs that link family involvement in children's education to student outcomes.

Harvard Family Research Project (2006) Research Report

Family Involvement News: December 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 (December 5, 2013) Research Report

Family Involvement News: January 2009

We at Harvard Family Research Project are committed to keeping you up-to-date on what's new in family involvement.  View our list of links to current reports, articles, events, and opportunities in the family involvement field.

Harvard Family Research Project (January 2009) Research Report

Family Resource Centers

This issue of The Evaluation Exchange, Harvard Family Research Project's quarterly evaluation periodical, explores alternative ways of evaluating family resource centers.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

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Published by Harvard Family Research Project