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.
Six Activities to Spice Up the Teaching Case Method Discussion
Margaret Caspe discusses how college and university instructors can use the teaching case method to prepare future educators for family engagement. She offers a suite of activities that instructors can combine with the cases to help students dive deeply into the family engagement issues and dilemmas of practice that are presented in each case.
Six Steps to Successfully Scale Impact in the Nonprofit Sector
Erin Harris of HFRP reviews the literature on this topic and discusses how nonprofits can successfully scale up an intervention, thus expanding impact to reach larger populations.
Social Capital
This issue of the FINE Forum features some examples families, schools, and communities coming together to enrich children's learning and social development opportunities.
Free. Available online only.
Social Capital in the Connected Society
Andrew Nachison, director of the Media Center, an organization that studies the intersection of media, technology, and society, writes about social capital and democratic processes in a digital society.
Social Contexts of Education
This class has an experimental design. It has been planned in collaboration with the leaders from the Boston Public Schools (BPS) in general and Brighton High School faculty and Garfield Elementary School faculty in particular. In this class we will endeavor not only to understand specific social contexts of education, but also to play a proactive role in improving communication between two schools and the communities they serve.
Free. Available online only.
Social Media—Engaging Families in Children's Learning and Use of Digital Media
Are you interested in using social media to find out how families can navigate digital media to enhance children’s learning? Start here—we guide you to organizations and individuals that bring the latest DML research into public focus!
Society for Research on Adolescence Annual Meeting
This symposium featured findings from several studies funded by the William T. Grant Foundation on youth participation in out-of-school time activities, including contextual predictors, youth engagement, program quality, duration of participation, and youth outcomes.
Free. Available online only.
Society for the Study of Human Development Annual Meeting
This presentation, Supporting Children's Development in and out of the Classroom, examined parenting behaviors and their associations with one another and with children's outcomes in early and late adolescence.
Free. Available online only.
Software Programs for Nonprofit Evaluation
Erin Harris from HFRP provides an overview of software programs for nonprofit program evaluation.
Something Borrowed, Something New: Libraries as Learning Hubs
We share several resources on libraries - modern, evolving community spaces of education and support for families and children.
SPARKing Innovation
Tony Berkley of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation describes the application of a theory of change to a complex initiative to facilitate team learning, strategic management, and program improvement.
Spreading Our WINGS: Using Performance Data to Prepare for Scale-Up
Many nonprofits collect data to measure their impact. But as Ginny Deerin, CEO of WINGS for kids, describes, they can also mine a treasure trove of performance data to improve their program models even before they undergo the scaling process.
Staff Characteristics and Professional Development in Quality After School Programs
Denise Huang describes her work with the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning to identify best practices for learning in after school programs, including characteristics of effective professional development.
Standards for Success: Linking Families, Schools, and Communities to Support Student Achievement
Sheri DeBoe Johnson from the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) discusses the PTA’s newly revised National Standards for Family–School Partnerships.
State Policy Documentation Project: Data Collection and Dissemination
Lisa Plimpton of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) reports on the work that CLASP is doing to document state policies on welfare reform.
State Results-Based Accountability Initiatives
Diane Schilder and Anne Brady of Harvard Family Research Project summarize the challenges noted by the policymakers, practitioners, and program directors interviewed in Minnesota, Oregon, and other states developing new results-based accountability systems.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Meet Alberto and Sarita Domínguez, Parents of Paulo
Sarita and Alberto are Paulo’s parents. In their story, they reflect on their own educational opportunities and their desire for Paulo to pursue college in his future.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Meet Miguel Robles, a Family Friend
Meet Miguel, a friend of the Domínguez family, who mentors Paulo and tutors him in math. Miguel was also a part of the Más Allá program for college-bound students when he was in middle school and high school. Now he attends college.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Meet Paulo Domínguez, Sixth Grader
Paulo Domínguez is an intelligent sixth-grade boy who has recently become disengaged from schoolwork and is hanging out with peers whom his teachers and parents fear are a bad influence. Begin here to read Paulo’s story.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Meet Rachel Marquez, Community College Outreach Program Director
Más Allá is a college outreach program run by Rachel Marquez. Rachel meets Paulo at an informational session about Más Allá and worries that he is like many of the young men on the fringe she has encountered before.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Nancy Brown, Paulo’s Math Teacher
Teachers are often among the most influential adults in a child’s decision to stay engaged in or disengaged from school. Hear from Nancy Brown, Paulo’s math teacher, about her perspective on and concerns about Paulo’s direction in school.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Piecing It All Together
In the final section of the Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case, we piece it all together. We think about the principles guiding smooth transitions to middle school that lead to high school and college success, assumptions people in the case make, and how difficult issues might be resolved.
Staying on the Path Toward College Interactive Case: Supporting Data
In this next section, we explore data for Bay Vista Middle School and the Más Allá program. Looking at these data will help provide a glimpse into the larger setting in which Paulo’s story is situated.
Staying on the Path Toward College: One Boy at the Crossroads
Paulo Domínguez is an intelligent sixth-grade boy who has recently become disengaged from schoolwork and is hanging out with peers whom his teachers and parents fear are a bad influence. How can community programs, schools, and families work together to keep Paulo on the path towards college as he transitions to middle school? An interactive version is also available.
Story Time: Mothers' Reading Practices in Japan and the U.S.
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.