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.
Creating Environments to Promote Innovation
For this issue's FINE Newsletter commentary , HFRP consultant Margaret Caspe talks with Heather Weiss, Sherry Cleary, and Jane Quinn about innovation in their respective disciplines. Caspe, who is also Associate Director of Early Childhood Programs at the Children's Aid Society, presents the central themes through a framework designed to help schools and organizations move beyond typical problem solving to discover new ways of thinking.
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.
Free. Available online only.
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.
Update: New Skills for New Schools
Since the 1997 publication of New Skills for New Schools by HFRP, the education reform landscape has changed, making it necessary to align teacher preparation and professional learning for family engagement with the goals of a twenty-first century education. Harvard Family Research Project is working to gather information about promising teacher education practices to prepare teachers to partner with families for student success. A preview of these practices—to be published in our forthcoming policy brief—is summarized in this update.
Free. Available online only.
New & Noteworthy
This section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to the issue's theme of Evaluating Education Reform.
Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student Achievement
Harvard Family Research Project and the National PTA® have teamed up to bring you the third brief in our ground-breaking series about family engagement policy, highlighting the need for teacher education programs to prepare teachers to better work with families.
Free. Available online only.
Building the Field
HFRP talks with five leaders in the family involvement arena about the current state of the field and promising areas for its future.
The Indiana State PIRC’s Collaborative Evaluation Process
Jerrell Cassady and Jackie Garvey illustrate how an ongoing, collaborative process between director and evaluator has informed and im-proved the Indiana State PIRC’s programs to support family involvement.
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.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to performance measurement.
Electronic Mailbox
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to evaluation in the 21st century.
Electronic Mailbox
A list of useful resources on the Internet.
Interview With Patricia McGinnis
Patricia McGinnis, President and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government, discusses the potential of and constraints to public sector organizational learning in the current climate of accountability.
Characterizing and Measuring Participation in Out-of-School Time Programs
Sandra Simpkins Chaput from HFRP summarizes recent developmental research examining dimensions of participation in out-of-school activities.
Looking the Enemy in the Eye: Gazing Into the Mirror of Evaluation Practice
David Chavis outlines the "best of the worst" evaluator practices that impede building good relationships with evaluation consumers.
Information Technology and Outcome Measurement at Girls Incorporated
PeiYao Chen discusses how information technology is used in outcome measurement at Girls Incorporated.
Perceived Academic Support From Parents, Teachers, and Peers: Relation to Hong Kong Adolescents' Academic Behavior and Achievement
This study found that perceived academic support from teachers and parents contributes indirectly to the academic achievement of Hong Kong students.
Free. Available online only.
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.
Community-Based Research: Research for Action
Jill Chopyak, Executive Director of the Loka Institute, details her organization's work on community action research.
Do Educational Programs Increase Parents' Practices at Home?: Factors Influencing Latino Parent Involvement
Latino parents become more involved in their children's education when they understand the school system and know how to help their children.
Free. Available online only.
Family-School Partnerships for Students' Reading Success
Written by Sandy Christenson for the Minnesota Reading Excellence Act training sessions, the two modules in this workshop focus on home-school strategies to enhance students' reading success.
Free. Available online only.
Finding Time Together: Families, Schools, and Communities Supporting Anywhere, Anytime Learning
How do families spend time supporting their children’s informal and formal learning beyond the school day and across settings? Find out how educators and institutions are helping families promote their children’s learning experiences anytime, in school and beyond.
Book Review: The Influence of Teachers: Reflections on Teaching and Leadership
In this review of The Influence of Teachers: Reflections on Teaching and Leadership, Ashley Chu, an early childhood teacher in Washington, DC and a former research assistant for Harvard Family Research Project, provides her personal reflections on the book's messages and her views on the book's implications for family engagement in education.
Book Review: Inviting Families into the Classroom: Learning from a Life in Teaching
This book by Lynne Yermanock Strieb provides readers with insights on family engagement from the perspective of someone with 31 years of experience teaching kindergarten and first and second grade in Philadelphia public schools. While Inviting Families into the Classroom discusses parent–teacher relationships more broadly, this book review focuses on its valuable lessons on building relationships with families whose children are transitioning into elementary school.