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This case study focuses on one district's process of continuous improvement in family engagement. The improvement effort addresses the point at which family engagement tends to decline precipitously and students are particularly vulnerable--the transition into high school. In this article we analyze the implementation of a continuous improvement approach to engaging families as students make this critical transition. In particular, we describe (a) the variation in schools' family engagement activities and participation in cycles of inquiry, (b) the challenges identified by schools to implementing the family engagement approach and cycles of inquiry, and (c) the learning that occurred for both the participating schools and the district-university partnership team through the continuous improvement process.

The work of contemporary school principals is intensifying in terms of complexity and volume. Many factors moderate and drive such work intensification. More than ever before, school principals are expected to build relationships with organizations and agencies connected to the student and school community. Using findings generated from a large-scale survey of 1,400 Ontario principals, this paper reports on the influence of opportunities for school--community involvement on the work principals do on a daily basis and details how involvement in such activities influences and impacts their workloads. Survey findings indicate that principals are engaged in an average of 4.4 community involvement opportunities at the school level. Almost two-thirds of principals reported that school-community involvement increases their workload. Four ways in which work intensification influences principals' ventures in school-community involvement are also identified, including how school-community involvement leaves less time for direct instructional leadership practices.

A study conducted from 1996-2000 focused on the academic development of children within a statewide educational reform effort, including changing the organizational structure of the early years of schooling into nongraded primary programs (formerly age-based classrooms for kindergarteners through third grade). The multisite study involved children from mainly poor and working class families and focused on supports and barriers to learning both in and out of school. Family visits throughout the years of the study viewed parents as experts on their children, with teachers seeking to learn from them through informal conversations and formal interviews. The data collected provided an impetus for restructuring classroom instruction and for exploring ways of engaging the families more intentionally and meaningfully with their children's classrooms. The study reported here is a follow-up with families in one of the sites. Again, family visits included taperecorded interviews about the children's academic performance at the end of high school, current goals, and parents' perceptions of their child's schooling experience and their own involvement with the schools over time. The discussion includes an update about the families, a description of the children's educational outcomes and future educational plans, and insights and implications about family connections and student success. (Contains 3 tables.)

The present exploratory study examined the involvement of 77 Mexican-origin fathers in their school-age (grades 4-6) child's education. Fathers were classified into one of three groups based on their linguistic acculturation status. The three groups were predominantly English-speakers (n = 25), English/Spanish-speakers (n = 27), and predominantly Spanish-speakers (n = 25). Five analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) were conducted using the following father involvement dimensions as outcomes: Perceptions of School, Positive Contacts with Teachers, Attitudes Toward Parental Responsibility, School Involvement (e.g., participation in school activities and events), and Home Involvement (e.g., helping with homework, developing an environment conducive to education). Family socioeconomic status was included as a covariate in all five ANCOVAs. Results indicated that Spanish-speaking fathers reported more negative perceptions of their child's school, less positive contacts with their child's teachers, and were less involved in their child's school than either English/Spanish-speaking or English-speaking fathers. No group differences existed on the other two father involvement indices. Interpretations of the study's results and research implications are presented. (Contains 3 tables.)

S. Redding noted the many challenges facing research and researchers in family-school-community involvement, and he presented a call to "rally the troops" to respond to a series of concerns. The issue of control over defining the role of schools should be a shared enterprise among the family, the school, and the community, with the individual child as the center. This paper presents reflections on past developments providing the background and reasoning for contemporary practice of family-school involvement across America. The paper provides analyses of research and thought in order to present four recommendations for future directions in development and research for family-school-community involvement programs. The first two recommendations focus on "explicitly" incorporating family-community involvement knowledge, skills, and values into preservice teacher and administrator licensing programs and studying the resulting effects on aspects of these programs. These recommendations are crucial to implementation of family and community involvement practices as the teacher and the principal serve as key agents for positive family and community involvement in schools. The third recommendation promotes studying the effects of family involvement in character/civic education on student outcomes. The fourth recommendation encourages research on the effects of tying community organizations, including health and social agencies, with the school. Each of these recommendations should serve to point out areas where family-school-community involvement research would be both timely and fruitful.

This study assesses the impact of five years of community level activities in the Pomona Youth and Family Master Plan (PYFMP) on four school-related risk and protective factors including academic failure, low school commitment, school opportunities for prosocial involvement, and school rewards for prosocial involvement. The intervention and assessment were guided by an integrated conceptual framework which combined social cognitive theory and the risk and protective factors approach. The study conducted same and independent group comparisons of school-related risk and protective factors in 2005–06 (N = 3,967), and 2009–10 (N = 2,693). Two-proportion z-tests were performed at an alpha of 0.05 in four methods of comparative analysis including the following: same students, inter-grade change, same grade, and overall 2005–06 to 2009–10 comparisons. Trends for both school opportunities for prosocial involvement and academic failure were positive on all methods of analysis. Results for school rewards for prosocial involvement and low school commitment showed both negative and positive trends. There is a likelihood the interventions contributed to observed variations between baseline and follow-up because parents, teachers, and students were participants in community intervention activities; there were no other major community initiatives; and there is a convergence of data patterns across methods of comparative analysis and assessed factors. Specific recommendations are provided for community intervention program implementers in Pomona and other poorly resourced communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This mixed-methods study explored cultural models of parent--school involvement. African American, Caribbean, and Hispanic parents, along with teachers, were recruited from an urban school district. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol based on Joyce Epstein's (1995) framework for parent--school involvement, and their responses were thematically coded. Statistical and qualitative analyses of responses revealed significant group differences in ideas about involvement and education across the domains of parenting, communicating, and learning at home, but not for volunteering. The findings suggest that conventional beliefs and practices of parent--school involvement in the U.S. are not universal among parents of different cultural groups, and discrepancies between parents' and teachers' ideas about involvement may therefore emerge as well. The implications of these findings for schools' efforts to involve parents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many parents of young autistic children1 report wanting to be more involved in their child's education. Parental involvement is positively correlated with school satisfaction, yet how various involvement activities are differentially related to satisfaction has not been extensively investigated. This study aimed to learn more about satisfaction with and involvement in education using quantitative and qualitative survey data. Parents (N = 45) of young children with autism generally agreed that they were satisfied with their child's education. However, qualitative data highlighted that school-based involvement options were sometimes limited and that involvement could be difficult for busy families. The amount of time parents spent implementing strategies learned from school into everyday life was significantly related to school satisfaction. This finding points to the importance of involvement for generalization of skills across contexts and will hopefully encourage more parent--teacher communication on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how the key players' multilayered collaboration may be enacted by the Change Laboratory methodology in the footsteps of Virkkunen and Newnham (2013) to address a complex issue for the benefit of adolescents. It can be defined as a group processing approach used by a group to solve a problem of its own defining. Over six months, members of a school community played an important role in participating in the modelling of classroom lessons with adolescents facing the new guidelines of the Canadian Cannabis Act in 2018. Drawing on the theory of expansive learning and the cultural--historical activity theory (CHAT), we used the Change Laboratory approach to dialogue on the problems and solutions to be implemented. The results examine specifically how some of the school community members contributed to the co-modelling of these lessons, taking into account the adolescents' needs in two schools. The collaboration between the members evolved over time. The vertical power hierarchy usually present in schools was modified as parents, grandparents, a medical doctor, a special education teacher, two teachers, and five students agreed to sit together to address the health issue. The qualitative analysis brings to light how the participants shared their needs and engaged in taking transformative actions to intervene directly in two high school classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report from the field showcases authentic examples of initiatives targeting increased family engagement of English learners (ELs) in several culturally and linguistically diverse school districts in the Midwest. The authors use a framework wherein family engagement spans a continuum starting with traditional notions of school involvement to family engagement wherein families have agency on how they can support their child's learning. This article shares specific initiatives that teachers implemented in their classrooms or school settings such as bilingual game nights, cultural celebrations, creating family books, and conducting home visits. Recommendations are shared to assist educators and school leaders in maximizing engagement with their EL families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given family-school engagement is correlated with student academic achievement, educational researchers have long been interested in the construct. However, measuring parental engagement is deceptively challenging. The concept includes school-based engagement, home-based learning support, and family-school communication. In this article we focus exclusively on measuring school-based family engagement. Examining this topic requires measuring parents' perceptions of their engagement with schools alongside the barriers that may limit their involvement. However, it is not obvious that barriers items should function like a traditional survey scale. We addressed these measurement challenges through a survey design process that synthesized academic theory with empirical findings from parent respondents, resulting in three survey tools: an engagement scale, a school invitational barriers sub-scale, and a non-school barriers composite measure. Three studies (n = 385; n = 266; n = 589) provide evidence that the school-based engagement tools effectively measure engagement patterns. We conclude by describing the potential uses of the tools for educators and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic achievement for African American and Latino students is lower than for White and Asian students. To help overcome the achievement gap, policymakers and social scientists have focused on the relationships between student outcomes and family, community, and schools. Family, church, and community have always played significant roles in providing educational opportunities for diverse youth. In this multisite, mixed methods study, a skill building intervention for enhancing parents' engagement in their children's education was implemented with 107 families and its effectiveness analyzed using ANOVA and focus groups. Differences were found by setting as well as between parents of students receiving gifted education and parents of special education students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current pilot study examines the impact of the Ten Education Commandments for Parents program on (1) new immigrant Latino parents' knowledge of the U.S. public education system, (2) parent engagement, and (3) their children's academic achievement. Utilizing a preexperimental, pre- and posttest research design, four schools with similar demographic compositions were chosen for the study. Parents in the experimental group (n = 68) participated in the Ten Education Commandments for Parents workshop sessions and completed pre- and posttests to assess differences in their perceptions and knowledge of parent engagement before and after attending the program. Additionally, two consecutive years of student data from these parents' children (n = 164) were compared with students attending similar schools (n = 1,628) whose parents did not participate in the workshop sessions. Results from both parent survey questionnaires and student report cards strongly suggest positive outcomes in three areas: increase in parents' understanding and knowledge of the U.S. education system, greater parent engagement in their children's education, and improvement in student achievement. Findings also support the implementation of the Ten Education Commandments for Parents program in other schools, suggesting it has the potential to positively influence both parent engagement and the academic achievement of Latino students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parent engagement in education has been shown to have positive effects on students' academic and social/emotional success. However, much of the research has focused on younger students. Less attention has been given to parent engagement at the secondary level, especially with respect to how parents choose to engage and how adolescents perceive this engagement. This article reviews the literature on parent engagement at the secondary level, focusing on its importance to academic achievement, high school completion rates, and social-emotional functioning. Factors influencing parents' decisions to become engaged are discussed, including parental self-efficacy, role construction, and specific invitations from the child. Parent engagement remains important at the secondary level, though parent behaviors appear to change to match the developmental needs of students. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the challenges and consequences of family separation and reunification during immigration from Latin America to the U.S. The historical pattern of paternal immigration as well as the recent rise in maternal immigration are discussed. The article addresses the impact of length of separation and how separation impacts family dynamics and school success. Recommendations are given for how schools can address the challenges that students face related to family separation and reunification during immigration including creating and fostering school-based mental health services, teacher training, school-caregiver and school-family partnerships, teacher-student relationships and peer relationships, and other supports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to understand students' perspectives on the role of homework. Middle school students (N = 506) volunteered to complete open-ended surveys describing their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of homework. Qualitative analysis revealed that students identified several instructional and noninstructional reasons for having to complete homework, including enhancing learning, practice, review, punishment, and assessment. Data also described issues related to time, grading, and technology. Further, analysis identified the negative feelings students expressed regarding homework assignments, teacher motivation, and infringement on the quality of family life. How both ambiguous and inconsistent homework practices diminish student commitment and effective learning is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, over 40 states in the U.S. have legislation in place to promote professional development in family engagement in school districts. Some of these states also have a mandate in place that preservice teachers are required to take a course in family engagement to obtain teacher licensure. This has spurred an interest in how various assignments that are part of a course in family engagement influence preservice teachers' development of an understanding of the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships (National PTA, 2012). The purpose of this study was to provide a summary of outcomes from two sections of a secondary preservice teacher course on family engagement. A pretest posttest design was used to explore changes in preservice teacher perceptions. The National Standards were used as the outline for the curriculum of the online course entitled Parent Involvement and Family Engagement (7-12 Perspective). Working with diverse families and helping families help their children with content were themes interwoven into the assignments and readings for the course. The results of the study help support the importance of gathering data not only at the beginning and end of two sections of a course on family engagement but also the importance of looking closely at assignments during the course through the lens of the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the theoretical frameworks used to frame research on family-school partnerships over a five-year period. Although many researchers have described their theoretical approaches, little has been written about the diversity of frameworks used and how they are applied. Coders analyzed 215 journal articles published from 2007 to 2011 on family-school partnerships to determine the theoretical or conceptual frameworks used. Of the 153 articles that were empirical, nearly half (46.40%) did not specify a family-school partnership framework. Of the 82 articles that did describe or apply such a framework, four theories were used most often: Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory; social capital theory from the perspectives of Bourdieu, Coleman, and Lareau; Epstein's overlapping spheres of influence; and Moll and colleagues' funds of knowledge. Authors also employed two conceptual frameworks most often: Epstein's types of family involvement, and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's model of the parent involvement process. Given the lack of theoretical and conceptual foundations for much of the work done over the time period studied, the field would benefit from more focused articulation of theoretical foundations in research and better preparation of doctoral students in applying theory to research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores linkages between adult educator practices and the parent involvement needs of adult students with school-age children. A comparative case study examined the knowledge, experiential, self-efficacy, and social capital dimensions of adult educator practices that inform parent involvement efforts. One English as a Second Language (ESOL) program and one Adult Basic Education (ABE)/General Educational Development (GED) program served as the cases. Data sources include observations, semi-structured interviews with instructors and program leaders, and program and school district documents. Both explicit and implicit connections between adult education and parent involvement are identified. The degree to which these connections are recognized and encouraged is determined by the program emphasis, characteristics of the student population served, and the adult educator. Individual educator's understanding and efforts to make connections are framed by how each defines his or her role, language, social networks, and prior experiences with K-12 schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a mid-level rural school, and a high-poverty urban school. A multiple-case study approach was used, and interdisciplinary teams at each middle school were interviewed, responded to journal questions, and were observed at parent nights and related events. Parents were also included as participants through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and written questionnaires. The researcher identified themes within each setting, as well as four cross-case themes. All of the interdisciplinary teams in this research study utilized strategies grounded in a belief regarding the essential role parental involvement plays, maintained an open and approachable attitude toward parents, served as a resource to parents, and approached problem-solving opportunities as a team. The findings of this study serve as a bridge between what is known about adolescent development, best middle school interdisciplinary teaming models, and the essential nature of parental involvement in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study addresses certain limitations in prior analyses of teachers' perceptions of parents' involvement in education. In our analyses, we draw on teachers' responses to the School Community Survey (SCS) as well as information on school characteristics to address two limitations in prior studies. The SCS is a descriptive tool that describes the school community from the viewpoint of parents, students, teachers, and principals. Prior studies have relied on responses to the SCS collected from communities in a limited number of areas. In the current study we assess the generalizability of measures of teachers' perceptions developed within the SCS. Specifically, we assess the internal consistency of nine subscales as well as a complete index of teachers' perceptions developed in prior analyses. In addition, we explore the association between the demographic characteristics of teachers, institutional (i.e., school) characteristics, and teachers' perceptions. Our findings suggest that measures included in the SCS consistently gauge teachers' perceptions and that multiple measures can be combined to form summary measures of distinct elements of overall perceptions. In addition, our linear regression analyses using robust clustered standard errors suggests there are important variations in both the individual and institutional level correlates of elements of teacher perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, youth whose parents are involved in their schooling experience better academic outcomes. Yet some parents, especially those with few resources in low-income urban communities, face barriers to becoming engaged in school and community. This report from the field describes the "Neighboring Project Parent Empowerment and Volunteer Readiness Program" (Neighboring Project), which was a collaborative effort between a Project GRAD site and the local public housing authority. The Neighboring Project took engagement efforts to the neighborhoods of lower-income, urban parents. The primary aim was to help parents increase their engagement in their children's schooling and neighborhoods by providing them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to do so. To date, the Neighboring Project has been conducted at three housing sites. This paper describes the development of the Neighboring Project, including recruitment efforts and its format and curriculum. Findings from focus groups and anecdotal information reveal the Neighboring Project had lasting impact on participants and led to increased involvement in school and neighborhood. Implications for future practice and research are discussed, including the need for active outreach to parents focused on increasing their skills, knowledge, and sense of self-efficacy, as well as tapping their innate strengths and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of relationships between the parents and teachers of preschool and kindergarten children is well established. Teachers and schools are presumed to be responsible for lack of parent-teacher collaboration. Internationally, early childhood teacher education programs recognize this and offer courses related to parents and families. This study documented the views of preschool and kindergarten teachers in their first year of teaching, focusing on areas of concern about working with parents. This research utilizes the social exchange theory as its conceptual framework to examine if the absence of reciprocity from parents can result in problems for new teachers. Interviews conducted with 14 first-year teachers in New Zealand indicate that parental involvement remains challenging for early childhood teachers. The four constructs in the findings reflected the social exchange theory: lack of reciprocity, difficulties of building relationships, power-dependence, and social identity of early childhood teachers. The findings reveal that, despite the new teachers' efforts, some parents are not responsive. The successful functioning of this partnership requires active participation and willingness of not only the teachers but parents as well. Simply portraying the "ideal" image of a relationship that the new teacher should be establishing through preservice teacher education is inadequate. The rhetoric regarding parent-teacher relationships should reflect the reality of practice. To ensure the success of new teachers, the challenges of working with families should be part of the explicit discourse of teacher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two groups of teacher candidates completed a survey based on the Parent Teacher Association's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships at the start and end of the semester of a general methods course and corresponding fieldwork (practicum) experience. One group of participants (NS = 60) completed their clinical fieldwork in a suburban middle or high school; the second group (NU = 40) completed fieldwork in an urban school setting. Repeated measures t-tests were conducted for the entire sample and found significant increases from pre- to post-survey in the number of specific ideas shared for welcoming families into the school as well as for communicating with parents and families. A mixed between-within subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the impact of different semester-long field placements (suburban or urban), finding that urban-placed participants had significantly more ideas about communicating and welcoming families. Implications are addressed, including the role of family engagement in teacher education and the impact of fieldwork placement location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on systems theory, complexity theory, and the organizational sciences to engage boundary dynamics in the creation of parent-school partnerships. These partnerships help children succeed through an emergent process of dialogue and relationship building in the peripheral spaces where parents and schools interact on behalf of children. Historically, parental involvement and parent education programs evolved from mechanistic thinking. This review and interpretation of multidisciplinary research suggests reframing parent-school partnerships in the context of schools as learning communities that generate new knowledge and innovation as the experiences and competencies of teachers and parents interact to make tacit knowledge explicit. Knowledge society concepts including social capital, actionable knowledge, networked innovation, and communities of practice are applied to parent-school partnerships. Acknowledging vast contributions of research to current understanding of parental involvement, the article also explores the limitations of existing theoretical models and seeks to expand that understanding through the introduction of boundary dynamics and systems thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses the efficacy of teacher's relationship with their students' parents, perception of teachers regarding school community factors, and urban school-university partnership.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the issue on creating and sustaining healthy school communities, projects in the heartland of the U.S., and collaboration with potential to change the lives of students.