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.
Basic Applications of Multilevel Modeling
Eric Dearing, from the University of Wyoming, explains some of the basic uses of multilevel modeling, using examples from family involvement research and evaluation.
What Matters in Family Support Evaluation?
M. Elena Lopez of HFRP interprets themes from a participatory evaluation and parent engagement institute.
Learning From Parents Through Reflective Evaluation Practice
David Scheie, See Moua, and Pang Lee summarize lessons learned by listening to parents’ spontaneous stories during a parent survey interview.
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.
Perspectives on Family Involvement
Nancy Hill, Amy Baker, and Kevin Marjoribanks discuss the present state and future direction of family involvement research and evaluation, from the perspectives of developmental psychology, evaluation, and education, respectively.
Evaluating Family Involvement Programs
This issue of The Evaluation Exchange brings together the current knowledge base of programs in family support and family involvement, providing a continuous perspective on family processes with regard to children's learning and development, from a child's early years through adolescence. Articles address the challenges of evaluating family programs, such as the need for conceptual clarity, methodological rigor, accountability, and contextual responsiveness. Rounding out the issue are examples of ongoing evaluations of parent leadership and organizing to ensure that schools serve all children at high standards.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Evaluating Family Involvement Programs by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Co-Constructing Family Involvement
M. Elena Lopez, Holly Kreider, and Margaret Caspe from HFRP discuss the co-construction of home-school partnerships to support children’s learning and development.
A Conversation With Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn reflects on the breakthrough findings and new directions for research, evaluation, and practice in family-focused interventions.
Promoting Quality Outcome Measurement: A Home-Visitation Case
Audrey Laszewski, project director of the Early Years Home Visitation Outcomes Project of Wisconsin, describes how a stakeholder collaboration resulted in a common outcome measurement process.
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.
Engaging Parents in an Urban Public High School: A Case Study of Boston Arts Academy
An urban public school successfully engages parents by offering a variety of school-based activities, a welcoming environment, and frequent communication between staff and parents.
Free. Available online only.
Other Organizations' Out-of-School Time Publications
See other organizations' publications and resources related to community youth development and youth civic engagement, and The National 21st Century Community Learning Centers program evaluation.
Family, School, and Community Connections Symposium: New Directions for Research, Practice, and Evaluation
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.
The Effects of Comprehensive Parent Engagement on Student Learning Outcomes
This study examined the school-level effects on tested student achievement in 129 high poverty elementary schools that implemented a common set of comprehensive parent-engagement strategies over a 2-year period.
Free. Available online only.
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.
“Daddy Says This New Math Is Crazy”
Beth Martin, a fourth grade teacher, finds her students respond well to the new mathematics curriculum she is using in her class, but at home parents struggle to understand the new math and help their children with homework. How should Beth and her colleagues respond to parents' skepticism about the new curriculum and support their involvement at home?
Free. Available online only.
Preparing Teachers to Engage Parents
This research report reviews parent involvement modules created for preservice teachers focusing on parent-teacher communication and collaborating with community. The online, problem-based modules were designed by the North Texas Partnership for Parent Engagement.
Free. Available online only.
The Promotive Effects of Family Educational Involvement for Low-Income Children
Article in the Journal of School Psychology, 42(6), 445–460. In this article the authors longitudinally examined associations between family involvement, children's feelings about literacy, and children's literacy achievement from kindergarten through fifth grade. Children's feelings about literacy mediated associations between family educational involvement and literacy achievement. Also, family involvement was more positively associated with literacy outcomes for children whose mothers were less educated compared with children whose mothers were more educated.
Understanding and Evaluating Family Engagement in Out-of-School Time (Workshop)
Engaging with families is one of the many strategies that out-of-school time (OST) programs use to create quality, adult-supervised experiences for youth during nonschool hours. This workshop introduced participants to the latest research and evaluation findings on family involvement in OST programs, and shared strategies for engaging with families, using two case studies to illustrate these practices in context.
Free. Available online only.
Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Social Inquiry
Book chapter on using mixed methodology in the social sciences. In B. Somekh & C. Lewin (Eds.), Research methods in the social sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Parent Involvement and the Social and Academic Competencies of Urban Kindergarten Children
This study shows positive social and academic outcomes for low-income, minority kindergarten children whose parents promote learning in the home and contact schools regularly.
Free. Available online only.
Girls Make the Message: Community Action Through the Girls Incorporated Lens
Faedra Lazar Weiss and Deborah Aubert describe a program in which young women use video production technology for community needs assessment and action.
Information Technology and Outcome Measurement at Girls Incorporated
PeiYao Chen discusses how information technology is used in outcome measurement at Girls Incorporated.