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.
The Transatlantic Forum on Inclusive Early Years. Investing in the Development of Young Children from Immigrant and Low-income Families
April 11, 2014
This Lisbon, Portugal, international forum created by the King Baudouin Foundation, together with partner foundations from Europe and the United States, brought together leading scientists, practitioners, civil society members, business leaders, and political decision makers from Europe and North America to explore what systems, standards, and regulations have been successful in ensuring access to quality child care. Participants also examined how to engage migrant and low-income parents to become their children's "first teachers" and life-long advocates for their children's education.
The video and PowerPoint slides from the meeting present a variety of perspectives from around Europe and the U.S. about how to engage families, while the print materials and video feature Portuguese family engagement programs. Harvard Family Research Project director Heather B. Weiss made a keynote presentation that provided an overview of family engagement within an anywhere, anytime framework and highlighted innovative programs, organizational and community-based strategies, new professional development tools, and policies supporting family engagement.
“In order to ensure that families are full participants in their child’s learning, educators and others who work with children need to consider families as co-creators, co-owners,” says Weiss. “Family engagement is a shared responsibility that entails providing families not just information but also multiple kinds of supports to ensure that they are part of the process and that their voices are heard…As we become a more global world, the more we can build that rich understanding of families across the globe, the better we are going to be.”
Watch The Transatlantic Forum on Inclusive Early Years 3th Forum
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