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 Aprender en Familia (Family Learning) Program in Chile
What are the three most important ingredients for improving student outcomes through family engagement? For the Aprender en Familia (Family Learning) Program in Chile, school and family partnerships, parent education, and relationship building prove to be an effective combination.
The Best Dissertation I Never Wrote
HFRP asked leading family involvement researchers about the most important research questions facing the field today and in the future. The highlights below represent just a cross-section of their responses to the following question: Based on your experience and the state of the family involvement field today, what are the most critical questions or topics for future research?
The Build Initiative: An Evaluation of State-Level System-Building Efforts
Barbara Gebhard of Build describes the initiative's interactive evaluation approach.
The C. S. Mott Statewide Afterschool Networks: Statewide Collaboration to Further After School Policies
An-Me Chung of the C. S. Mott Foundation describes the Statewide Afterschool Networks, and three Statewide Afterschool Network coordinators—Jennifer Becker Mouhcine from Illinois, Zelda Waymer from South Carolina, and Janet Frieling from Washington—discuss how their Networks support and promote systems of after school program quality.
The Challenges and Strategies of Evaluating Community-Wide After School Programs
Mark Ouellette and Audrey Hutchinson of the National League of Cities describes strategies to meet the challenges of evaluating citywide after school programs.
The Challenges of Evaluating State Family Support and Education Initiatives: An Evaluation Framework
This paper provided an evaluation framework to analyze four state initiatives that provide multi-generational family support and education programs. The paper documented preliminary findings and was presented at The Public Policy and Family Support amd Education Programs Colloquium in Annapolis, MD, April 26-28, 1989.
Hard copy out of stock.
The Child Trends DataBank: An Evolving Resource for Policymakers, Researchers, and Practitioner
Brett Brown, Kristin Moore, and Sharon Bzostek describe Child Trends' “one-stop data shop” for the latest indicators on child and youth well-being.
The Countdown to Kindergarten: A Collaborative Approach
Sonia Gómez-Banrey, Director of Countdown to Kindergarten (CDtoK) for Boston Public Schools (BPS), and Katherine (Kacy) Hughes, Senior Project Manager for Early Childhood and Family Learning at Boston Children’s Museum, highlight key components of the collaboration between BPS and the Museum as part of the CDtoK program to help BPS families better prepare their children for kindergarten.
The Current State of Early Childhood Education
Lisa Klein, guest editor for this issue, reflects on the progress made inthe early childhood field over the past 40 years and on the work that still has to be done.
The Dr. Seuss Approach to Evaluation
Elaine Replogle, Research Assistant at Harvard Family Research Project, summarizes Michael Patton's talk at the Evaluation Seminar Series, “Sneeches, Zax, and Empty Pants: Processes in Developmental Evaluation.”
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.
The Effects of Comprehensive Parent Engagement on Student Learning Outcomes
This study examined the school-level effects on tested student achievement in 129 high poverty elementary schools that implemented a common set of comprehensive parent-engagement strategies over a 2-year period.
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The Effects of Peer Influence on Parents’ Reading Behavior at Home With Their Children
Parents care about what other parents are doing. Read how an intervention as simple as sharing with parents how often other families read with their children can motivate and increase family engagement.
The eNonprofit Benchmarks Study: Diving Into Email Metrics
Karen Matheson from M+R Strategic Services describes a recent study that helps nonprofits measure and interpret their online advocacy and fundraising success.
The Evaluation Exchange Readers' Survey
JuNelle Harris of Harvard Family Research Project reveals the results of the recent satisfaction survey of The Evaluation Exchange readers.
The Evaluation Exchange Special Report on Scientifically Based Research
This special report offers commentaries from experts on the challenges and opportunities presented by the current federal policy’s emphasis on scientifically based research for the practice and evaluation of education reform.
The Evaluation Exchange Special Report on the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program National Evaluation
This special report offers expert commentary on the implication of When School Stay Open Late: The National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program, First Year Findings for future evaluation and research.
The Evidence Base for Increasing High-Achieving Minority Undergraduates
Mehmet Öztürk discusses findings from a review of evaluations of programs at selective colleges and universities to be used for improving undergraduate academic outcomes for underrepresented minority or disadvantaged students.
The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit: Planning and implementing an initiative to support the pathway to graduation for at-risk students
The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit is designed to support at-risk high school students by engaging families, schools, and the community. Created in a joint effort by United Way Worldwide and HFRP as part of the Family Engagement for High School Success initiative, the toolkit consists of two parts—Part 1: Planning, and Part 2: Implementation.
The Family Involvement Storybook: A New Way to Build Connections With Familes
This article describes five ways for teachers to use family involvement storybooks in their early childhood education classrooms. The article also includes a vignette about the impact of sharing a family involvement storybook in one third-grade class.
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The Federal Role in Out-of-School Learning: After-School, Summer Learning, and Family Involvement as Critical Learning Supports
Four decades of research demonstrate that it is necessary to redefine learning—both where and when it takes place—if the country is to achieve the goal of educating all of its children. This report from Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) makes a research-based case for federal provision of out-of-school complementary learning supports, so that all students gain the skills necessary for success in the 21st century.
The Federal Role in Out-of-School Learning: After-School, Summer Learning, and Family Involvement as Critical Learning Supports (Voices in Urban Education, Summer 2009)
Our article in Voices for Urban Education makes a research-based case for the federal provision of out-of-school complementary learning supports.
The Five Meanings of Scale in Philanthropy
Peter Frumkin of the University of Texas at Austin describes the five primary ways in which funders define scale as it relates to nonprofits’ efforts to create a lasting and significant impact, and warns that strategic giving requires a nuanced stance grounded in a clear understanding of the many meanings—and limits—of scale.
The Guide to Results-Based Accountability: Annotated Bibliography of Publications, Websites, and Other Resources
In addition to summarizing noteworthy articles, research papers, unpublished reports, and books on results-based accountability (RBA), this guide includes a section on RBA sites on the Internet. It includes perspectives from both private and public sectors on how to develop and implement results-based accountability systems, academic literature on RBA theories, and information on how states and localities are developing and implementing RBA systems.
$4.00 . 56 Pages.
The Home Visit Forum: Understanding and Improving the Role of Home Visitation
Heather Weiss, HFRP director, describes a consortium of national organizations working to improve home visitation models.