Previous research indicates that many children have difficulty transitioning from preschool to kindergarten, which may be attributed to differences between the two settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate preschool and elementary school educators' perceptions of the similarities of and differences between the two types of settings…

Family engagement is considered to be a cornerstone of successful universal prekindergarten (PreK) implementation. Using data from interviews with mothers, this study investigates the different ways families are engaged in their child's PreK experience. Multiple themes emerged from the interviews, including: family engagement, parents' knowledge…

Early intervention (EI) for infants and toddlers with disabilities relies on family-centered practices. Caregiver coaching, one family-centered practice used in EI, can lead to improved supports by caregivers and improved outcomes for children with disabilities. However, within the research literature, little is understood about the experiences,…

School-based mentoring (SBM) programs have emerged in response to the chronic academic failure of many at-risk youth. Students encountering poverty, familial instability, poor health, and/or exposure to violence and mental health issues are at greater risk of academic failure. The pressures bearing down upon the most vulnerable students foster…

Family engagement is pivotal to student development and academic achievement, particularly for students of color with disabilities and those from historically underserved culturally and linguistically diverse communities (Delale-O'Connor et al., 2020; Fehrer & Tognozzi, 2018; Impact of Family Engagement, n.d.). Unfortunately, the…

This narrative inquiry study presents the stories of five urban public school principals who continually enact and engage in praxis around school/family engagement as their social justice and equitable practices. The findings focus on how participants conceived and engaged in parent interaction: (1) the power of relationships, (2) resistance…

"Parent involvement", valued by the field of early childhood education, is shown to contribute to the growth and development of children. However, what has in fact, been "valued" are engagement practices based on normalized white middle class cultural patterns. The current understandings of and expectations for "parent…

"Parrhesia," as shown in this article, is about speaking the truth. William Faulkner (1951) said, "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world . . . would do this, it would change the earth." In this article, the authors rethink the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Family Involvement Questionnaire--Elementary Version with families in Belize. Participants were 185 primary caregivers of children in primary education settings in Belize. Caregivers were given the Family Involvement Questionnaire--Elementary Version to measure their educational…

Responsive school mental health services require proactive family engagement at the outset of prevention and early intervention, particularly across key transition periods such as kindergarten. Universal screening for mental health is one important process within a school mental health framework to proactively engage families in a collaborative…

Meeting the unique educational and social needs of newcomer students (students who were born outside of the United States and have arrived in the country within the past three years) is an ongoing challenge for educators and community stakeholders across the country. This resource toolkit is intended to help educators and other stakeholders…

"Continuous Improvement in High Schools" gives educators and policymakers an accessible, actionable framework to address one of the nation's most important educational priorities: improving high school graduation and postsecondary preparedness rates. Martha Abele Mac Iver and Robert Balfanz, national experts in dropout prevention, apply…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Family Engagement." Contents include: (1) Solving the Digital Divide Requires…

Background/Context: The literature review by Phelps in this special issue highlights the challenges of research-practice partnerships and other forms of insider-outsider collaboration in education. In addition to addressing well-known challenges, this case study article focuses on the full-service community school model as a strategy to address…

Family involvement is an important feature of any quality practice in early years. In multicultural democratic societies may work as a first step for civic participation. The research presented in this article focuses on the involvement of families in educational everyday life in an urban context. This investigation uses praxeological research to…