Six Global Lessons on How Family, School, and Community Engagement Can Transform Education

This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of conversations on six continents. While there were unique findings in each school, district, and country, six powerful lessons stand out across geographies and contexts. This research report delves into these lessons and how to build greater family, school, and community partnerships as seen through the eyes of families, educators, and students who shared their beliefs on, experiences with, and trust in schools. After venturing into government schools across rural and urban districts in Sierra Leone to facilitate conversations with families and communities, one of the lead researchers noted that there is a crucial and symbiotic relationship between schools, families, and communities that are often overlook.