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.
From Health Consumers to Health Consumer Researchers
A grassroots network of families of children with special health care needs shares the lessons they learned about conducting research to improve the health care for their children.
FINE Commentary: The Challenge of Cross-Cultural Family–School Communication
Guest commentator Elise Trumbull, EdD, an Independent Educational Consultant and co-creator of the Bridging Cultures Project, discusses the challenges of communicating with families from different cultural backgrounds. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, over one-third of students in Pre-K through grade 12 classrooms are from minority groups, and the families of an increasing number of students are immigrants, many with native languages other than English. However, many new teachers are unprepared to deal with the challenges of this diversity in their classrooms. Dr. Trumbull addresses these concerns and presents a framework to help teachers understand cultural patterns, as well as guidelines for cross-cultural parent–teacher conferences.
Family Computing and the Academic Engagement and Achievement of Low-Income, Urban Adolescents: Findings From the Computers for Youth Intervention
Computers for Youth looks at how family computing can connect adolescents with their parents and sustain their engagement in school.
Free. Available online only.
New & Noteworthy
An annotated list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Early Childhood Programs and Evaluation.
New & Noteworthy
A list of new resources on the evaluation of community-building efforts, including reports, tools, and organizations of interest.
New & Noteworthy: Expanded Web Only Version
This web only version of the New & Noteworthy section features an expanded list of new resources on the evaluation of community-building efforts, including reports, tools, and organizations of interest.
The Success Case Method: Finding Out What Works
Tezeta Tulloch from Harvard Family Research Project reviews Robert Brinkerhoff's, The Success Case Method: Find Out Quickly What's Working and What's Not.
New & Noteworthy
A list of organizations and initiatives related to the issue's theme of Reflecting on the Past and Future of Evaluation.
Assessing the Effects of Parent Involvement Interventions on Elementary School Student Achievement
Herbert Turner, Chad Nye, and Jamie Schwartz explain the Campbell Collaboration’s application of its systematic review process to parent involvement interventions.
Learning a New Language: Effectively Communicating Early Childhood Research to State Legislators
Jack Tweedie, from the National Conference of State Legislatures, explains how to convey research to legislators in ways likely to influence their policymaking.
The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit: Planning and implementing an initiative to support the pathway to graduation for at-risk students
The Family Engagement for High School Success Toolkit is designed to support at-risk high school students by engaging families, schools, and the community. Created in a joint effort by United Way Worldwide and HFRP as part of the Family Engagement for High School Success initiative, the toolkit consists of two parts—Part 1: Planning, and Part 2: Implementation.
What Is Participatory Evaluation (PE)? What Are Its Roots?
HFRP posed this question to Carole Upshur and Esterla Barreto-Cortez, researchers at the Mauricio Gastón Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Efficacy Trials of Promising After School Programs: Supporting Experimental Studies Through a Research Consortium
Michael Vaden-Kiernan and Debra Hughes Jones from SEDL describe a U.S. Department of Education initiative to support rigorous research on the potential of after school programs to affect academic performance.
Investigating Quality: The Study of Promising After-School Programs
Deborah Lowe Vandell and Elizabeth R. Reisner discuss whether and how participation in high quality after school programs matters for youth outcomes.
Can We Talk About Family?
Latoya Roberts, a new first grade teacher, worries about Keon, a student being raised by his grandmother, when he begins to share information about his family in school. Will encouraging such sharing strengthen Latoya's bond with Keon and help him succeed? Latoya wants his grandmother's permission to encourage his openness, but she wonders if pushing the issue might strain her relationship with Keon's grandmother.
Free. Available online only.
A Special Education Plan for Anabela: Does Supporting Her Needs Mean Holding Her Back?
A mother advocated strongly for her daughter's special education placement at a new school, but now appears under-involved to the teachers. The classroom and resource room teachers disagree about whether to retain the girl in second grade, and the classroom teacher must make a recommendation to the principal, knowing the family has opposed retention in the past.
Free. Available online only.
Bringing It Home: Supporting the Local Use of Data
Mary Wagner and Shari Golan of SRI International share information from their evaluation of California's Healthy Start School-Linked Services Initiative and the use of evaluation information at local sites.
What is the Evidence of the Effectiveness of School-Linked Services?
HFRP posed this question to Mary Wagner, Ph.D., who is the program manager of educational and human services research at SRI International, and James Davis, Ph.D., who is a professor in the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Delaware.
Life on the Ground: Balancing Youth Ownership With Adult Input
Kathrin Walker and Reed Larson from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explore the dilemmas adult leaders in youth programs face and how they address them to improve program quality.
Parental Involvement in Homework: A Review of Current Research and Its Implications for Teachers, After School Program Staff, and Parent Leaders
Parents often become involved in their children's education through homework. In 2001 research on parental involvement in children's homework was conducted (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2001). The review focused on understanding why parents become involved in their children's homework, what strategies they employ, and how involvement contributes to student learning. In this paper, findings from the 2001 review suggest several ways in which schools can invite parents' involvement in homework.
Free. Available online only.
An Emerging Assessment of College Preparation, Media, and Arts Programs
Karen Walking Eagle, Sebastian Castrechini, and Monica Mielke from Policy Studies Associates preview a new assessment of programs that connect youth with multiple out-of-school supports to promote future success.
Teaching for the Commonwealth: Linking Schools With Communities
This course is taught at the Jane Addams School of Democracy as a summer institute for teachers. This field-based course will examine broad strategies to link schools with communities to improve access, expand the learning resources, and strengthen or create structures that make formal and informal learning contiguous. An attentiveness to neighborhood as “place” will include the history of St. Paul's West Side in Minnesota, discussion of the public work initiatives underway, and interaction with neighborhood resource people. Participants in the course will have opportunity to reflect on their teaching as vocation and the civic dimensions of teacher.
Free. Available online only.
Evaluation of an Extended Services School in Boston
Mary Walsh and George Madaus, Professors at the Graduate School of Education at Boston College, talk about the development of a model extended services school in Boston.
Book Review: A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform
Justina Wang, a graduate research assistant at HFRP, reviews a new book by Mark R. Warren and Karen L. Mapp, which offers a glimpse at six communities across the U.S. where families, youth, and local organizers have reshaped the educational landscape in their districts.
Evaluating New Jersey’s School-Based Youth Services Program
Anita Baker and Constancia Warren of the Academy for Educational Development describe their evaluation of New Jersey's School-Based Youth Services Program.