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.
National Evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers
Mark Dynarski and Mary Moore of Mathematica Policy Research, reveal the challenges of evaluating a national program implemented in multiple locations with inherently different key elements.
Supporting Effective After School Programs: The Contribution of Developmental Research
Jacquelynne Eccles, Professor at the University of Michigan, shares her thoughts about the contribution of developmental research to the after school conversation and the need for an infrastructure to support this.
Reflective Assessments: A Tool for Learning
Sharon Edwards and Ira Cutler of Cornerstone Consulting Group explain how organizations can use reflective assessments to assess their progress and consider the choices ahead.
Evaluating Nonprofit Advocacy Simply: An Oxymoron?
Marcia Egbert and Susan Hoechstetter offer nine principles to guide advocacy evaluation, based on a recent and groundbreaking Alliance for Justice tool on this topic.
Home/School/Community: Systems Interventions
The purpose of this course is to provide the student with information on a broad array of issues relating to school and community collaboration with families. Systems interventions within the home, school, and community contexts will be considered. Emphasis is placed on system-level consultation theories, research, and practice. The course prepares school professionals to function as consultants in school and community settings.
Free. Available online only.
Parent-Teacher Communication
Class sessions introduce the student to communication techniques that are essential to parent-teacher collaboration. After essential skills are defined, the course reviews important options for parent-teacher involvement available within schools. The strategies for involvement are considered within the context of selected issues affecting public education. Finally, the content considers legal/ethical and professional issues surrounding involvement with parents.
Free. Available online only.
Home/School/Community Partnerships
Class sessions address system-level issues in working with children and their families. Attention is given to strategies and tactics used by school districts, community groups, and private sector organizations to support academic, health, and social goals for children and their families.
Free. Available online only.
Federal Collaborations: Bringing Authentic STEM Experiences to High-Need Communities Through the Nation’s Largest Out-of-School Program
Ellen Lettvin from the U.S. Department of Education highlights how the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program is collaborating with various federal agencies to bring STEM into out-of-school time learning.
An Update on University-Based Evaluation Training
Molly Engle and James Altschuld reveal some recent trends in university-based evaluation training.
Helping Every Student Succeed: Schools and Communities Working Together
This four-session discussion guide by the Everyday Democracy (formerly the Study Circles Resource Center)is intended for communities trying to close the achievement gap in their schools.
Free. Available online only.
Resource Guide for Family-Centered Child Care
This guide offers ideas and resources for implementing family support principles in child care, and an annotated bibliography of up-to-date publications and training materials that child care providers can use to improve their efforts to support families.
$4.50 . 27 Pages.
Civic Participation and the Citizens Research Method
Serene Fang of Harvard Family Research Project explains the Citizen Research method to better inform and engage citizens in understanding and influencing policymaking.
Why evaluate after school programs?
Olatokunbo (Toks) Fashola, Associate Research Scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), reveals the steps new programs can take to initiate evaluation.
Ongoing Evaluations of Programs in Parent Leadership and Family Involvement
Kelly Faughnan and Cassandra Wolos of HFRP present two listings of upcoming program evaluations, the first in parent leadership and organizing, the second in family involvement in education.
Technology Goes Home: Connecting Families, Communities, and Schools
Kelly Faughnan from HFRP describes a program that connects families and schools in the Boston area through the mechanism of technology.
Libraries Engaging Families: Reflections From the Public Library Association’s President
Public Library Association (PLA) president Felton Thomas Jr. writes about the importance of public libraries in engaging families, and how PLA and Harvard Family Research Project have begun a journey together to support libraries in this work.
Getting Serious About Excellence With Equity
Ronald Ferguson, Director of the Achievement Gap Initiative and Lecturer at Harvard University, proposes that parents must be part of a broader movement for excellence with equity.
Empowerment Evaluation in Theory
David Fetterman of Stanford University and the California Institute of Integral Studies describes empowerment evaluation.
Empowerment Evaluation's Technological Tools of the Trade
David Fetterman, from the Schools of Medicine and Education at Stanford University, describes how technological tools can be integrated into the practice of empowerment evaluation.
International Communication Research and Evaluation at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs
Maria Elena Figueroa from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs reveals the Center’s methods for evaluating communication campaigns and offers five examples of their evaluations in progress.
Using and Evaluating Social Media for Social Change
Allison H. Fine is a senior fellow at Demos, a network of action and ideas based in New York City. She writes and speaks on increasing civic participation by harnessing the power of digital technology. In 2006, she published her latest book, Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age.
Evaluating Advocates' Spheres of Influence With Domain Leaders
The evaluation of the Center for Tobacco-Free Kids gathered data from a wide range of audiences that the advocacy organization targets in order to influence public policy.
Partnering With Parents and Communities: Are Preservice Teachers Adequately Prepared?
This study examines how the topic of school, parent, and school partnerships are incorporated into preservice teacher education. Preservice teacher comfort levels with parent involvement is documented.
Free. Available online only.
Building Quality in Out-of-School Time in the United Kingdom
Ian Fordham, Pam Boyd, and Tony Apicella of ContinYou, a leading youth development organization in the United Kingdom, describe their efforts to improve quality in OST programming nationwide.
Connecticut's Family Resource Centers
Susan Frankel of RMC Research Corporation outlines the evaluation of Connecticut's school-based family resource model.