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.
Parent Link (Nevada Public Radio, 10/27/08)
October 27, 2008
Read more about technology and family involvement!
In Tapping Into Technology: The Role of the Internet in Family–School Communication, Suzanne Bouffard summarizes the benefits and challenges of using Internet technology to connect schools and families.
Nevada Public Radio's "State of Nevada" program talks with Philip Brody, Chief Information Officer of the Clark County (NV) School District (CCSD) and Suzanne Bouffard, Project Manager at Harvard Family Research Project, about CCSD's new Parent Link family involvement program. Launched at the start of the 2008–2009 academic year, Parent Link connects schools and familes through telephone and online communication.
On the program, Suzanne Bouffard discusses her research into the use of the Internet for home–school communication. She explains that, while the Internet can help to increase parent involvement, schools must also be aware of the potential for a "digital divide" separating families with and without access to technology.
Excerpt from the program:
Suzanne Bouffard: What I wanted to do was see how many families were using [online technology for home–school communication] across the country and, then, also look at whether there were benefits for their children. I looked at a group of about 14,000 high school students and their teachers and families.
When I looked at families that were using email or websites to communicate with schools, I found that those students had higher grades two years later, and they also had higher expectations for how far they would go in school. That was true even when I took into account if schools and families were also communicating by other methods, like the telephone, and it was also true for students of both genders and from all economic and ethnic backgrounds.