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.
Family Involvement News: March 2012
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.
Family Involvement News: June 2012
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.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Maya Warren, Kindergartner
We begin the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case by meeting Maya Warren. Maya is a fun-loving 5-year-old girl who, despite success in preschool, is having a difficult transition to kindergarten.
Questions & Answers: Robert Pianta Talks About Kindergarten Transition
Ensuring children's smooth transition from early education programs to kindergarten requires that attention be paid to the resources and linkages among schools, child care and early education services, and families. In this Q+A, Robert Pianta, professor of Clinical and School Psychology at the University of Virginia, shares his recent research on children's transitions and gives tips on how to support families during this time.
Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Six Volume Set
This set of six volumes offers practical advice for establishing and managing a family support program.
Hard copy out of stock.
Family Involvement News: September 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.
Challenges and Opportunities in Moving Family Involvement Research Into Practice (Presentation)
This presentation by HFRP staff was part of a conference entitled “Family–School Relations During Adolescence: Linking Interdisciplinary Research and Practice.” The conference was held July 20–21 and was hosted by the Sanford Institute of Public Policy at Duke University, sponsored by the American Psychological Association. The goal of the conference was to establish better links among research, practice, and policy related to family educational involvement during adolescence, particularly for families from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.
Free. Available online only.
Supporting Ongoing, Constructive, and Meaningful Conversations About Student’s Progress
Plan for your upcoming parent-teacher conferences and beyond! Use our list of five of our favorite resources to support ongoing conversations about each student’s progress.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Nicole Warren, Maya’s Mother
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Nicole Warren, Maya’s mother. Nicole reflects on her daughter’s difficult transition to kindergarten and thinks about what she might do to improve the situation.
Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Collaboration
Written for program administrators and staff, this guide offers practical advice for establishing and managing community outreach in a family support program.
$10.00 . 66 Pages.
Making the Case for Parental Involvement and Engagement: Part I: Parental, Family, School, and Community Partnerships Make a Difference (Workshop)
Engaging families in education holds tremendous potential for boosting children's achievement, but also ranks among educators' greatest challenges. Staff at Harvard Family Research Project paired up with staff at the Institute for Responsive Education at Cambridge College to make the case for family involvement to educators. Research and evaluation findings on the benefits, challenges, and effective strategies in family involvement were reviewed and illustrated with descriptions of established program models and exemplary practices from local schools.
Free. Available online only.
Family-School-Community Partnerships: A Compilation of Professional Standards of Practice for Teachers
This report summarizes the current family involvement standards of practice for teachers and other educators, as described by a variety of professional associations, including the National Parent Teacher Association, the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Free. Available online only.
Resource Guide for High School Transitions: Annotated Bibliography
This bibliographic resource provides a selected listing of journal articles, research briefs, and other resources that focus on the transitions into and out of high school as well as general high school and college readiness. These resources address a variety of topics related to high school transitions including family engagement, school practices, and student outcomes.
Family Involvement News: September 2014
How can “two-generation” programs help parents influence children’s development? What five ongoing family activities can help children’s literacy development? What project will explore the effectiveness of new reading technology used by early education and parenting initiatives? Read to find out!
Findings From HFRP's Study of Predictors of Participation in Out-of-School Time Activities: Fact Sheet
This Fact Sheet summarizes findings and implications from HFRP's recently completed Study of Predictors of Participation in OST Activities. With funding from the W.T. Grant Foundation, we examined the child, family, school, and neighborhood predictors of children's participation in OST activities, paying special attention to disadvantaged youth.
Free. Available online only.
Featured Teaching Case: Making a Decision About College: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Harvard Family Research Project’s Teaching Cases support teacher training and professional development by highlighting challenges that schools, families, and communities may encounter in supporting children’s learning. In this month’s newsletter, we feature Making a Decision About College: Should I Stay or Should I Go?, which considers the ways in which schools can support students who have significant family obligations to make an appropriate choice about where to attend college.
Bridging Worlds Interactive Case: Meet Teresa Guzman, Preschool Teacher
In this section of the Bridging Worlds Interactive Case, we meet Maya’s former preschool teacher, Teresa Guzman. Teresa considers the role of early childhood programs in preparing children and families for kindergarten.
Building Villages to Raise Our Children: Community Outreach
Written for program administrators and staff, this guide offers practical advice for establishing and linking programs to service systems in a family support program.
$10.00 . 62 Pages.
Demographic Differences in Youth Out-of-School Time Participation: A Research Summary
This 2-page Research Summary synthesizes findings from two HFRP publications that examine demographic differences in children's OST participation. This summary, which contains a subset of findings contained in the Fact Sheet, presents key findings on differences in multiple dimensions of participation in a range of OST activities and among youth from varying family income levels and racial and ethnic groups.
Free. Available online only.