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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.
One way to help educators better understand how parents and teachers think and feel during the transition to school is by pairing the Bridging Worlds case with an Empathy Map.
This meta-analysis of parent involvement research brings together the results of 77 recent studies. Jeynes shows that parent involvement has an overall positive effect on student achievement and that the largest effects are associated with parental expectations.
Free. Available online only.
In this Research Digest, William Jeynes highlights key findings from his recent meta-analysis examining the effectiveness of different types of school-based parental involvement programs. His study found that programs that emphasized shared reading, teacher–parent partnership, checking homework, and teacher–parent communication all had statistically significant positive effects on student outcomes. Jeynes discusses why the effects of school-based programs are greater than the effects seen with “voluntary” expressions of parental engagement.
Communication is key during the transition to school, and a mock team meeting based on the perspectives presented in the Bridging Worlds case helped school psychologists gain confidence talking with representatives from different learning settings.
Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor on Early Learning to the Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education, highlights the Department’s new Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge competitive grant program and the decision to make family engagement an integral part of the grant criteria.
Latino parents share their perspectives on what teachers should know in order to teach children more effectively and emphasize that Latino parents care about their children's education.
Free. Available online only.
We teamed up with the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) to present this 1-day Family, School, and Community Connections Symposium: New Directions for Research, Practice, and Evaluation.
Free. Available online only.
This comprehensive, easy-to-read guide to understanding how to engage families in after school programs is a critical resource for after school providers looking to create or expand an existing family engagement program. It offers a research base for why family engagement matters, concrete program strategies for engaging families, case studies of promising family engagement efforts, and an evaluation tool for improving family engagement practices.
Free. 48 Pages.
A comparison between American and Japanese mothers' home reading practices with their preschool children enriches our understanding of cross-cultural differences.
Free. Available online only.
In this course we will consider the social and cultural contexts which shape developmental and educational processes. The primary focus will be on understanding the nature of contemporary social problems including racism, sexism, ethnic prejudice, social class oppression, and ability discrimination as they affect children, families, and schooling. Emphasis will be given to the special role of education in linking community resources for an integrated approach to addressing problems in children's lives.
Free. Available online only.
With Head Start’s 50th anniversary right around the corner, Kiersten Beigel from the Office of Head Start shares the vision for family engagement and ways that different federal agencies can join together to realize it.
This digest provides suggestions on how families and teachers can work together in schools to provide enriching experiences for children.
Free. Available online only.
This ethnographic study examined 11 elementary principals who built relationships with low-income parents with limited resources . Effective principals set goals, expand services to children and families, provide parenting education, negotiate and celebrate cultural differences, build strong relationships, and support teachers. In Principal, 78(3), 16–19. (Also available through the ERIC Database, ERIC number EJ579351.)
Spanish Translation Available. Good communication between parents and teachers has many benefits. This Early Childhood Digest shares information on how to establish good parent-teacher communication.
Free. Available online only.
Presents a framework of family-centered training.
$10.00 . 111 Pages.
This research brief synthesizes the latest research that demonstrates how family involvement contributes to adolescents' learning and development. The brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement—specifically, the research studies that link family involvement during the middle and high school years to outcomes and programs that have been evaluated to show what works.
Free. 12 Pages.
Molly is surprised when her son's teacher recommends he attend summer school. She thought he was doing just fine and the family had been doing a lot to make the home a rich reading environment. How can teachers better communicate academic progress with parents? How can administrators support teachers in this effort?
Free. Available online only.
Tim Kelly, a first grade student, comes to school hungry, dirty, emotionally needy, and academically unprepared. His teacher believes his lack of care at home is contributing to his poor school performance. How can a teacher individualize parent involvement?
Free. Available online only.
This research brief presents preliminary evidence that family involvement in young children's education may contribute to a smooth transition to elementary school for children, and also helps parents remain involved in their children's learning in school.
Free. Available online only.
This course is designed to acquaint and apprentice teachers in early childhood education to the theories, practices, skills, and knowledge(s) of home and school relationship building in home and school partnership literatures. There is a focus in this course to develop understandings of diverse contexts and ethics when working with families and children. In this course you will study yourself, the school, communities, families, and children you work for as well as the contexts of future teaching situations.
Free. Available online only.
The purpose of this class is to provide professional skills that will help students to select, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based family strengthening interventions. Students will increase their knowledge, skills, and expertise in the most up-to-date information on effective family strengthening interventions in their area of primary interest.
Free. Available online only.
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.
This book examines the history of public housing, women's key leadership roles in those communities, and the experiences of eight family support programs located in public housing developments. In-depth case studies provide lessons on how entities as diverse as public housing authorities, community-based agencies, and research institutions work to empower these often-neglected communities.
When organizations invest in developing the competencies of its professionals to engage families everyone benefits. To help accomplish this we share five of our favorite resources on professional development in family engagement along with tips on why they work.
This article offers promising recruitment and retention strategies to school administrators seeking to boost participation rates in their school-based after school programs.