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www.HFRP.org

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.

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Promoting Involvement of Recent Immigrant Families in Their Children's Education

The purpose of this article is to present a conceptual framework and promote promising practices for involving Hispanic, immigrant parents/caregivers of students in their children's education. Toward this end, the article presents a model for how teachers and immigrant parents/families can be trained and encouraged to work as partners to improve student performance.

Shari Golan , Dana Petersen (March 2002) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Bilingual Voices and Parent Classroom Choices

Ines, a Spanish speaker feels responsible for her daughter's trouble in an all-English first grade classroom. Based on advice from her daughter's teacher, who believes a bilingual placement might be best, Ines reads with Nina in Spanish, but is uncertain this is the right thing to do. How can parents and teachers reconcile their differences about bilingual education?

Margaret Caspe (2002) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Family, Child & Teacher Interaction in Diverse and Inclusive Educational Settings

We will examine the role of the teacher in the classroom and school community with the intention of developing insight, understanding, and personal style which will support the teacher in his/her interaction with families. The class will study the techniques of family-school collaboration, constructive methods of evaluation, and the parameters of the federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Rena Rice (Spring 2002) Syllabus

Free. Available online only.

Teacher, Family & Community: Relationships and Resources

Examination of how the relationship between schools, families, and communities impacts the school adjustment of children during middle childhood and early adolescence as well as the roles of school personnel, parents, and community agents. Models and methods for facilitating positive relationships are considered. Resources for the education of children within families and communities are investigated.

Lee Shumow (Spring 2002) Syllabus

Free. Available online only.

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.

Stewart Ehly , Tarrell Portman (Spring 2002) Syllabus

Free. Available online only.

Academic Achievement

This issue of FINE Forum explores new forms of and strategies in family involvement, all of which share a common goal: expanding and deepening family and community roles to help students meet high standards.

Harvard Family Research Project (Winter 2001/2002) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Research and Advocacy Collaboration: A New Jersey Case Study

Too often vital research in the early care and education field does not get used effectively for advocacy purposes. While researchers and advocates often share the same goals, they tend to operate on separate tracks. This brief explores how research and advocacy can be bridged for greater effect using strategic communications. By definition, strategic communications means a deliberate plan or tactics for using communications as a channel for achieving a certain result. Collaborative work in the state of New Jersey around the goal of achieving a comprehensive and quality early care and education system is used as a backdrop for learning about effective practice.

Julia Coffman (January 2002) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Defining “Fine”—Communicating Academic Progress to Parents

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?

Holly Kreider , Margaret Caspe (2002) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Setting Standards at Porter Road School

A fourth grade teacher weighs the advantages and disadvantages of a mandated state educational test on her students. She must weigh the conflicting perspectives of parents, students, community members, and her teaching colleagues to define her own stance in regard to the test and to present her thoughts to the school principal.

Sylvia Sensiper , Margaret Caspe (2002) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

School Won't Let Mom Talk About Her Casino Job

A middle school principal will not allow a single mother employed by the local casino to address her daughter's class during Career Week because he is concerned about promoting gambling. How can this school reorganize to serve and respect all families?

Claire McCown (2001) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Reaching out to the Only One out There

Brian is struggling with his sexual orientation and confronts Jacob, a teacher whom he suspects is gay. Jacob reveals his sexual orientation to Brian and when Brian reports this information to his mother, Jill, she demands her son to withdraw from extracurricular activities led by a gay teacher. How can Jacob, knowing the risks of suicide among gay youth, best support Brian and gain Jill's confidence?

Elizabeth Berges (2001) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

What's Going on With Tomasito?

Tomasito's embarrassment at having his parents drop by the school limits the development of a strong, trusting, and communicative parent-teacher relationship. Shy and quiet Tomasito does not share information about his home life with his teacher who in turn holds many misconceptions about his home context. How can teacher and family communicate better?

Ellen Mayer (2001) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Preparing Teachers to Work With Parents

This study surveyed 96 teacher education programs in the United States and examined how these preservice programs incorporate parent involvement in their curriculum.

Diana Hiatt-Michael (October 2001) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Friction at Madison Family Literacy Program

Noreen, an early childhood teacher, arranges free speech therapy for young Junie. She volunteers to take Junie to the therapist, but when Junie's mother fails to pick up her daughter Noreen lashes out with an angry phone message, threatening to call the Department of Social Services. How can the two make the situation better and what could have prevented it?

Maricel Santos (2001) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Diverse Communities

This issue of the FINE Forum provides some promising approaches to preparing teachers to partner with diverse families and communities.

Harvard Family Research Project (Summer/Fall 2001) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Counseling and Intervention in Multicultural Settings

This course focuses upon the unique challenges diversity brings to the provision of counseling and psychological services to children, youth, and parents. Students will learn the history, culture, and expectations of various ethnic and cultural groups and develop the cross-cultural communication skills necessary to effectively work with families of varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students will also explore how issues such as immigration, poverty, sexism, and racism affect counseling practices and the development of effective interventions.

Michael Hass (Fall 2001) Syllabus

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.

Harvard Family Research Project (August 2001) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

What Words Don't Say

Martin, an African-American student struggles with peer problems at his elementary school. He experiences racism and classism. How can Martin's mother and his teacher dialogue about sensitive issues?

Ann Barger Hannum (2001) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Reinventing Evaluation to Build High-Performance Child and Family Interventions

This chapter provides examples of local and state efforts to build capacity of organizations to obtain and use data that will inform and continuously improve practice and policy. Chapter by Heather Weiss in Perspectives on Crime and Justice:1999-2000 Lecture Series.

Heather Weiss (March 2001) Research Report

Bibliography of Family Involvement Research Published in 2001

Harvard Family Research Project (2001) Bibliography

Teacher Preparation

This premier issue of FINE Forum represents the first step in a bold new initiative to strengthen teacher preparation in family and community engagement in education.

Harvard Family Research Project (Fall 2000) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

Resolving Issues at Johnson Elementary School

The director of a Parent Resource Center is concerned to hear that a number of parents are boycotting the program because they think the parent coordinator used her school connections to place her son in a gifted science class. How can the director and principal ease the tension?

Sylvia Sensiper (2000) Teaching Case

Free. Available online only.

Home-School Communication—What's All the Commotion?

This workshop, developed by Margaret Caspe for Harvard Family Research Project, helps teachers understand different approaches to home-school communication and how these shape relationships with families. Concepts are taken from a research study of first and second grade teachers in three sites.

Margaret Caspe () Tool for Practice

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.

Sandy L. Christenson () Tool for Practice

Free. Available online only.

Preparation for Building Partnerships With Families: A Survey of Teachers, Teacher Educators, and School Administrators

This study examined the extent to which Kentucky's teachers are prepared to work with families in the roles which they play in the education of their children. These roles include being teachers, supporters, advocates, and decision-makers. The research questions addressed the pre-service preparation by institutions of higher education, staff development activities of local school districts, and gaps in preservice and practicing teacher levels.

Kay Wright , Tabitha Daniel, Kathryn S. Himelreich (2000) Research Report

Free. Available online only.

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project