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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Family Involvement News: June 2014
Find out in these resources what an online survey reveals about parent involvement in classrooms, why New York Schools chancellor Carmen Farina plans to encourage more student-led parent-teacher conferences, and how a Denver public-school teacher uses text messaging to reach out to parents during the school day. Also learn how some out-of-school time (OST) programs are making a shift from a “program-centered” to a “learning-centered” approach to family engagement in OST learning, and much more!
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.
Redefining Family Engagement for Student Success
This paper offers an expanded definition of family engagement based on research about children’s learning and the relationships among families, schools, and communities in support of such learning. The topics presented in this paper were originally introduced as commentaries in the August 2009, November 2009, and April 2010 issues of the FINE Newsletter.
Family Engagement as a Shared Responsibility in a Digital Learning Environment
HFRP director Heather B. Weiss examines how families and others involved with children and youth can ensure that children obtain the access, supports, and opportunities that they need to get the full benefits of digital media for learning.
Seamless and Connected—Education in the Digital Age
Through connected learning, says Mizuko Ito, schools, museums, and libraries are employing innovative strategies, leveraging digital media to make learning more relevant and engaging to youth, and linking the crucial spheres in a learner’s life—peers, interests, and academic pursuits.
Transforming Pittsburgh Into Kidsburgh!
Dynamic Pittsburgh! Hundreds of the city’s PreK–12 educators, artists, technologists, and families are working together to remake learning.
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.
What About the Parents?
Katie Salen Tekinbaş outlines strategies and activities that New York City public school Quest to Learn has implemented to ensure that families are engaged in the digital learning life of students.
Perspectives: Guiding Families on Children’s Media Use
Three experts reflect on their work in engaging families in a digital learning environment. We asked them to address the question, How can institutions offer relevant and useful guidance to parents and families about scaffolding their children’s digital media use?
Family Involvement News: April 2014
We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The resources in this section highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy, strategies, and research, along with family engagement and digital learning.
Social Media—Engaging Families in Children's Learning and Use of Digital Media
Are you interested in using social media to find out how families can navigate digital media to enhance children’s learning? Start here—we guide you to organizations and individuals that bring the latest DML research into public focus!
Research Spotlight: Get Started!—Resources on Using Evaluation for Continuous Improvement
This Research Spotlight, which follows up on our 2013 fall FINE Newsletter, has been compiled in response to our readers’ interest in using data for continuous improvement.
Family Involvement News: February 2014
We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The following resources highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy as well as family-school partnerships.
Research Spotlight: Families and Digital Media in Young Children's Learning
These resources look at issues related to digital media and learning in early childhood and focus on such topics as children’s media use in the 21st century, family perspectives on children’s media use, and research-based guidance for practitioners and parents.
Q & A With Lori Takeuchi: Research Findings From Learning at Home: Families’ Educational Media Use in America
Lori Takeuchi, Joan Ganz Cooney Center Research Director, discusses the Center’s report findings on families’ and children’s educational-media use, including families’ selection of educational media for their children and ways that practitioners can support families in their choices. Takeuchi notes some of the following findings: when parents use media alongside their children, the educational value of the experience is enhanced; educational-media use varies based on the age of the child; and children are applying what they learn from educational media to nonmedia activities.
Teaching Cases on Family Involvement
Teaching cases are a valuable tool in preparing teachers and school administrators to engage effectively with families. This handout provides a detailed list of HFRP's teaching cases in family involvement, sorted by topic, gender, and age-group, as well as ethnicity, of the students discussed.
Staying on the Path Toward College: One Boy at the Crossroads
Paulo Domínguez is an intelligent sixth-grade boy who has recently become disengaged from schoolwork and is hanging out with peers whom his teachers and parents fear are a bad influence. How can community programs, schools, and families work together to keep Paulo on the path towards college as he transitions to middle school? An interactive version is also available.
Bridging Worlds: Family Engagement in the Transition to Kindergarten
This teaching case explores the complex issues surrounding the transition to kindergarten and the importance of family engagement in the process. Three expert commentaries and discussion questions are included. An interactive version is also available.
Free. Available online only.
A Click Away: A Q&A With Chip Donohue About the Benefits of Online Distance Learning for In-Service Teachers
In this Q&A, Chip Donohue talks with HFRP about early childhood educators’ participation in online distance education courses and discusses how the topic of family engagement is being integrated into these classes.
Six Activities to Spice Up the Teaching Case Method Discussion
Margaret Caspe discusses how college and university instructors can use the teaching case method to prepare future educators for family engagement. She offers a suite of activities that instructors can combine with the cases to help students dive deeply into the family engagement issues and dilemmas of practice that are presented in each case.
Teaching Future Educators and Families: Helping Maximize Children’s Learning
In this article, Pérsida Himmele talks about hosting engagement workshops for families and using what she learns from families to inform future teachers and provide them with meaningful in-class experiences to practice their family engagement skills.
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.
Strengthening Family Engagement Through Teacher Preparation and Professional Development
In this Commentary, HFRP’s M. Elena Lopez and Christine Patton discuss the importance of teacher preparation in family engagement, and highlight the ways in which we at HFRP are working to advance educator training and professional development in this field.
Exploring the Parent, Family, Community Engagement Simulation: A Conversation With Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richard
What you say to families and do with them matters! In this Q & A with Brandi Black Thacker and Guylaine Richards, we learn about how the Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Simulation can be used as a professional development tool in Head Start/Early Head Start programs and beyond.
Professional Development in Family Engagement: A Few Often-Overlooked Strategies for Success
In this resource, HFRP’s Christine Patton and the University of Pittsburgh’s Shannon Wanless discuss the importance of professional development (PD) in the area of family engagement, point out strategies for trainers and teachers to think about when designing and considering participating in trainings, and highlight the changing nature of PD in general.