The relationship of schools to diverse communities demands attention by administrators, teachers, staff members, and volunteers. How well the three constructs mesh depends on the abilities and sensitivities of all constituencies involved. Three components are essential to successful programs that involve families in an educational setting:…

It is no secret that strong parental involvement is essential for school success. Yet, it is still a challenge to get parents more involved in their children's education. According to the most recent MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, teachers and principals agree on the importance of parental involvement--71% of principals and 59% of…

This "Handbook" offers a broad definition of family and community engagement, seen through the lens of scholars and practitioners with a wide-ranging set of perspectives on why and how families, communities, and schools collaborate with one another. Taken together, the chapters in this "Handbook" sketch out the components of a…

The purpose of the study was to examine if there was a relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and parental/community involvement in elementary schools, and if there is a significantly significant difference between low SES schools and high SES schools with regard to parental/community involvement. Socio-economic status was measured by…

Presents advice from researches and practitioners on how schools can cultivate parent involvement that improves student achievement: Redefine parent involvement, train teachers to work with parents, reach out to parents, stay in touch, encourage parents to advocate for their children, and invest in family involvement. (Contains 10 online…

Quasi-experimental study of the use of TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) interactive homework assignments in middle-school science instruction found that interactive assignments promoted greater family involvement and better grades than did noninteractive assignments. (Contains 26 references.) (PKP)

This research brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective family involvement in middle and high school. As the third and final report in a series on how family involvement matters across the developmental continuum, this brief synthesizes research studies that link family involvement in middle and high school to youth's academic and…

The Boston Public Schools (BPS) Department of Early Childhood commissioned a needs assessment of current kindergarten (K2) and preschool (K1) programs (1) to inform the BPS Department of Early Childhood about professional development needs to improve the quality of existing K1 and K2 programs; and (2) to inform the Department of additional…

The effect of family involvement in mathematics homework on student achievement was studied (N=74). Different levels of prompting for family involvement were used with three sixth-grade classes of the same instructor. Involvement and achievement were measured. Findings indicate that the prompted groups were more involved; this level did not…

Past studies linking schooling and career attainment to sibling position (family size, birth order, and spacing) are vulnerable to suspicions about omitted variables. Since they were based on cross sections of individuals from different families, they may have attributed to sibling position an influence belonging to unobserved parental attributes.…

Presents an overview of research about family and school linkages and offers a new model, The School and Family Intervention Model, for school counselors. The model provides strategies for better cooperation with marginalized families and explores this work within the context of systems change to improve academic success, reduce at-risk behaviors,…

Investigates the effects of manipulating the periodicity and quantity of information on student progress that teachers send to families on a student's achievement. Indicates that increases in both frequency and detail of individual student progress reporting to the family are positively related to student achievement. (ASK)

To raise the achievement of every student, Maryland designed "Achievement Matters Most," a plan for public schools that sets goals in the areas of achievement, teaching, testing, safety, and family involvement in schools. Achievement Matters Most supports Maryland schools' efforts to meet the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind…

This report analyzes data from the parent and student components of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 to investigate family educational involvement in secondary education. It examines whether parental involvement influences the educational achievements of high school seniors. By utilizing multiple involvement indicators for the…

This strategy brief offers a synthesis of recent research into the concept of encouraging family involvement in secondary education, and gives recommendations that may enhance the school's ability to engage families in their children's education. Family-based processes that have been shown to successfully support teenage academic achievement…