Preparing Educators to Engage Families: Case Studies Using an Ecological Systems Framework
... The term family engagement is often used in conjunction or interchangeably with parent involvement, and family-school partnership. Family engagement is defined as the "beliefs, attitudes, and activities of families to support their children's learning, whether at home, at school, or in the community" (Weiss et al., 2014;p. xviii). ...
... Though broad, this definition highlights the critical roles families play in their children's education. These roles include confirming their children's learning, campaigning on their children's behalf, directing their children through complex school systems, and advocating for effective schools (Weiss et al., 2014). ...
... Family engagement involves multiple systems and settings that contribute to children's academic, social, and behavioral development (Sheridan & Kratochwill, 2008;Weiss et al., 2014). Ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1977) posits that children are influenced by the multiple proximal and distal environments in which they develop. ...
Despite decades of research supporting family engagement’s benefits on children’s social, emotional, behavioral, and academic development (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Jeynes, 2012; Patall et al., 2010; Sheridan et al., 2010), teachers are not always adequately prepared to work with families (Chavkin & Williams, 1988; Epstein & Sanders, 2006; Weiss, Lopez, Kreider, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014) . Additionally, many teachers, researchers, and governmental mandates have called for increased training in this area. The number of college courses, teacher in-service, and professional development programs has continuously increased in conjunction with this recognized need. Mixed results exist regarding the effectiveness of teacher training on teachers’ family engagement practices, attitudes, and knowledge. Many training programs have showcased benefits related to teacher’s abilities to communicate and work with families, while other programs have revealed inconsistencies. Although training programs continue to increase, teachers are still reporting feeling unprepared and overwhelmed when it comes to working with families (De Bruïne, Willemse, D’Haem, Griswold, Vloeberghs, & van Eynde, 2014).^ The current study is the first of its kind to systematically analyze the effects of training programs on teachers’ family engagement practices, attitudes, and knowledge by conducting a much needed meta-analysis. Study procedures, coding, and data analyses were adapted from a previously conducted meta-analysis focused on family-school partnership and parent involvement interventions (i.e., Sheridan, Kim, & Beretvas, 2012). A comprehensive literature search of over 3,500 abstracts ultimately resulted in 39 empirical journal articles and dissertations/theses that were coded by trained research assistants. Studies were coded for key sample and setting characteristics, and were primarily moderate to low quality. Robust Variance Estimation (RVE) was utilized to quantitatively assess the impact of training programs on teacher’s family engagement practices, attitudes, and knowledge. Teacher training interventions had a significant positive effect on teacher family engagement outcomes. Additional moderation analyses found that results were not related to gender, ethnicity or study quality. However, results were significantly lower for high school teachers when compared to early childhood elementary, middle school, and special education teachers. Although results are very promising, future teacher training intervention studies should aim to improve methodological rigor and study quality.
... Many Title I districts continue to experience challenges in parent engagement 2 (Epstein, 2011;Sanders, 2006;Weiss, Lopez, Kreider & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). Exploring how district leaders strategically built positive relations that served as a conduit to positive family engagement provided information and actionable strategies that may be useful to other districts experiencing similar challenges. ...
... In addition to PERMA(H), analysis included coding for positive relationships and engagement : Weiss et. al. (2014) family engagement framework and the work of Sanders (2006) and Epstein (2011). Epstein's (2009) District Leadership Action Plan for Partnerships (DLAPP) 3 served as template for the PERMA(H) Model DLAPP, an action plan for school and community engagement. The interdisciplinary questions (encompassing educational leadership, positive psy ...
... Positive effects of family-school engagement on academic outcomes have also been noted for urban children (Jeynes, 2005), rural children (Holmes et al., 2013;Sheridan et al., 2014;, adolescents (Hill & Tyson, 2009), and racially diverse students (Jeynes, 2003). Family-school engagement also has cumulative effects over time (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). Children who are supported by their families throughout early childhood and elementary school are much more likely to graduate from high school (Weiss et al., 2014). ...
... Family-school engagement also has cumulative effects over time (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). Children who are supported by their families throughout early childhood and elementary school are much more likely to graduate from high school (Weiss et al., 2014). Further, increased parent participation in education during childhood leads to positive parent-child relationships during adolescence, and increased academic achievement in high school (Englund, Egeland, & Collins, 2008). ...
Although family–school engagement is important across child and adolescent development, most research, programs, and policies have focused primarily on elementary students and contexts. The current
study extends beyond elementary settings by exploring the unique and shared contributions of developmental context on family–school engagement (i.e., across and within elementary- and middle-school
settings). Data were drawn from two randomized controlled trials that evaluated the efficacy of teacher training in universal classroom-management practices. Participants included 3,174 students and 207
teachers across 21 elementary and middle schools in the Midwest. Using hierarchical linear modeling, results revealed that family–school engagement was significantly higher in elementary than in middle
schools. Student-level characteristics (i.e., identifying as White, participation in the free/reduced-price lunch program, and having lower levels of disruptive behavior) were also associated with higher levels of family–school engagement. In addition, student characteristics (i.e., race/ethnicity and level of disruptive behavior) moderated the relations between family–school engagement and developmental context. Regardless of developmental context, family–school engagement predicted positive end-of-year behavioral outcomes (i.e., increases in youth prosocial skills and decreases in youth concentration problems, disruptive behaviors, and emotional dysregulation). Last, moderation analyses revealed that these effects of family–school engagement were especially pronounced in middle school for concentration problems and emotional dysregulation. Overall, findings provide further support for the value of family–school engagement across development in fostering positive youth outcomes. However, it is evident that more steps must be taken to ensure family–school engagement practices are developed to
support the unique needs of middle-school students and contexts.
... Although there are vehement arguments regarding unauthorized individuals living and being educated in the US and on all sides of the immigration debate, it is clear that anti-Latino immigrant rhetoric and policies adversely impact children, youth, and their families and often separate undocumented and mixed status families (Passel & Cohn, 2011). It is also apparent that anti-Latino discriminatory laws harm children's and youths' capacities for successful academic, health, and social outcomes (Brabeck & Xu, 2010;Suárez-Orozco, Yoskikawa, et al., 2011;Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). I maintain that it is against the professional philosophy of educators to serve as ICE agents and participate in discriminatory practices against any students and families (regardless of immigration status). ...
... Family engagement: Deep personal beliefs and teaching philosophies express the values and beliefs that motivate teachers to engage beyond the classroom. Research suggests that when educators engage students and families, particularly those who have been economically and socially disenfranchised, there are positive outcomes in science and math, and less behavioral issues and less absences (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). Family engagement is the beliefs, attitudes, and activities for families to support children's learning, whether at home, at school or in the community. ...
The aim of this article is to provide indispensable background information about the significance of how anti-Latino immigration policies impact unauthorized 2 2. The dehumanizing terms alien, illegal, and criminal are often used interchangeably to perpetuate xenophobic ideologies. In this article, I use unauthorized and undocumented interchangeably to challenge the dehumanization and criminalization of individuals based on their immigration status. View all notes and mixed status students and families, particularly from Mexico and Central America. Throughout this article, I maintain that understanding issues of anti-Latino immigration are essential for the prospect of education and for the future of the profession in the United States. I argue that teacher education students and professional educators should be trained and provided professional development to be zealously knowledgeable and recognize how anti-Latino immigration discourses spill into the education profession and how these are interconnected with local and school politics. I advocate that professional educators associate themselves with local and national social justice movements that attempt to divert anti-Latino discriminatory social and educational policies that limit educational access and ultimately belittle the philosophy and practices of the profession. Last, the article concludes with a call to action.
... Another worthwhile activity is for preservice teachers to interview a parent they know about their communication with teacher(s) and school(s) and these findings may then be used as the basis of class discussions comparing actual school-based practices with recommended practices for family, school and community partnerships. Finally, case studies, such as those developed by Weiss et al. (2014), may be adapted for each specific international context to provide the basis for interactive discussions and problem-solving among preservice teachers. ...
This study describes a field-based experience in parent engagement with preservice teachers, children, parents, and teachers in three Irish elementary schools, focused on a STEM education program, Science for Fun. Preservice teachers were enrolled in a parent engagement college course. The Science for Fun program provided space and time for preservice teachers, parents and children to explore basic scientific concepts in a supportive and inclusive context and involved the co-delivery of two hands-on science workshops between preservice teachers and parents in the school environment. The science activities were designed to enhance children’s investigatory, problem solving, and critical thinking skills aligned with the curriculum for their age group. Participating schools had high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and large numbers of families from the Irish Travelling community Therefore, the program aimed to inspire children and their parents to engage in science and to contribute, in some way, to the development of their science capital. Data were gathered from preservice teachers through structured reflective questionnaires after each Science for Fun workshop. They reported positive experiences in changing attitudes, overcoming fears, learning about challenges and developing communication skills for working with parents. They also reinforced their overall awareness and openness to their role as teachers of engaging parents in their future careers, as well as the central role that parents play in their children’s learning and valuable insights that parents contribute. Participants reported learning how to organize and structure parent engagement in the classroom and that parents are a diverse group who have varying strengths and fears about partnership with schools.
... Furthermore, it focuses on the dynamic interactions between the individual and environmental factors over time and is commonly applied in education settings. According to this model, ASD should be understood as a developmental process involving the individual and the environment, rather than being seen as an internal condition causing deficits (Weiss et al., 2013). In this model, the individual is always at the center, and their characteristics, such as age, gender, health, skills, knowledge, previous experiences, motivation, and temperament, are shaped through interactions with the environment (Bronfenbrenner and Ceci, 1994). ...
The inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex issue for schools. This study investigates the impact of the inclusivity of Slovenian primary schools on the inclusion of their students with ASD. We postulated that each pedagogical dimension of inclusion (i.e., academic, social, and emotional inclusion) of students with ASD would demonstrate a positive correlation with each dimension of inclusiveness of primary schools (i.e., inclusive culture, policy, and practice). Forty regular Slovenian elementary schools participated in the research. The Perceptions of Inclusion Questionnaire was completed by 200 respondents (40 students with ASD, 40 parents, 120 teachers), and the Index for inclusion by 240 respondents (40 parents, 200 school professionals). The analysis revealed one significant correlation, a weak positive correlation between inclusive practice and academic inclusion. Multiple regression analyses also identified one conditionally substantial pair. When we excluded the inclusive culture and policy and only considered the control of demographic variables, the results showed that the increase in inclusive practices corresponds to the increase in academic inclusion. The absence of correlations between the dimensions of school inclusivity and the pedagogical dimensions of including students with ASD can be attributed to the lack of systemic solutions for accommodating a diverse student population and the failure to conduct a thorough analysis of the inclusion and implementation of whole-school approaches. However, the Slovenian adaptation of the Index for Inclusion, a promising tool, offers hope in addressing these challenges.
... There is a history of theoretical value placed on what happens within the interface between home and school, yet in actual practice, it continues to be a contested site of tension (Epstein, 2011;Pushor & Murphy, 2004;Stefanski et al., 2016;Weiss et al., 2014). The home-school interface has traditionally been hierarchically constructed, with the best of intentions that often do not translate into meaningful relationships between families 1 and teachers (Allen, 2007;Harris et al., 2010;Kelty & Wakabayashi, 2020;Pushor, 2007). ...
Critical participatory action researchers (CPAR) (Kemmis et al., 2014; Ledwith & Springett, 2014) created conditions for 25 parents and teachers to join as co-researchers in this research study. Together, they co-created a hybrid discursive third space (Gee, 1996; Gutierrez, 2008) that invited alignment of their respective funds of knowledge (Gonzalez et al., 2005). Participants engaged in iterative processes of conscientization (Freire, 1976) through story, dialogue, and reflections that led to a convergence of teaching and parenting through relational connectivity and metaphoric bridges of togetherness and trust disrupting previously held institutionalized and unquestioned hegemonic borders, rules, and roles.
... The teacher-family partnership in ECEC implies a collaborative process in which frequent and bidirectional communication, opportunities for families' involvement in ECEC activities and a shared decision-making process are pivotal (Owen et al., 2000;Weiss et al., 2014). Our results highlight that teacher-family partnership practices considered in infant centre-based care are especially those related to informational communication, pointing to the need to further expand these practices to other dimensions. ...
Teacher-family partnership are elements of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC). Nevertheless, the need for better understanding such partnerships and factors influencing it particularly for children under three is underlined. This study compares teachers’ and mothers’ reports regarding real and ideal partnership practices, exploring child, ECEC and family level predictors of partnership. Mothers and teachers of 90 infants answered the Real-Ideal Teacher-parents Partnership Scale (Gaspar, 1996). Classroom quality was observed with CLASS-Infants (Hamre et al., 2014); home environment with HOME (Caldwell & Bradley, 1984); child temperament with IBQ (Rothbart, 1981). Results show that both mothers and teachers report a medium-high number of implemented practices. Ideally, they would like a significantly higher number of practices to be implemented. Mothers and teachers report of real and ideal practices were significantly associated. Teachers tend to report more practices than mothers. Teacher qualification was uniquely and positively associated with real partnership practices reported both by teachers and mothers. Teacher qualification was the only statistically significant predictor of ideal practices reported by teachers; mothers’ education predicted mothers’ report on ideal partnerships. Results point to the relevance of teacher qualification for better partnerships, particularly considering the variability of legal requirements regarding teacher qualification in infant classrooms across Europe.
... Although one of the activities is the involvement of parents in children's learning at home and assumes parental initiative, this type of activity is also led by teachers. Teachers have expectations from parents about the tasks that parents should perform, and in this way, they organize the way in which parents will encourage children's learning (Weiss et al., 2013). The Joyce Epstein model is based on cooperation as a means of achieving educational goals, therefore it is more appropriate to the context of school education than to an early childhood education institution. ...
The chapter discusses the discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe (Hegemony and socialist strategy: towards a radical democratic politics. Verso, 1985) and relates it to conceptualisations of ECEC quality as a process of meaning-making (Dahlberg et al., Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: languages of evaluation. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203371114 , 2013) and narrative inquiry that theorises human experience as a story. Such a conceptualisation allows us to look at more-than-parental involvement as a never-ending process of meaning-making that manoeuvres between reproducing and challenging the established hegemonies of meaning and communication channels. The included empirical example comes from a quality development project run by an ECEC setting in a multicultural neighbourhood in Norway.
... Although one of the activities is the involvement of parents in children's learning at home and assumes parental initiative, this type of activity is also led by teachers. Teachers have expectations from parents about the tasks that parents should perform, and in this way, they organize the way in which parents will encourage children's learning (Weiss et al., 2013). The Joyce Epstein model is based on cooperation as a means of achieving educational goals, therefore it is more appropriate to the context of school education than to an early childhood education institution. ...
This chapter gathers collaboration theories together into a discussion of how a partnership between ECEC and families is possible. It starts with a description of such a partnership, followed by the presentation of the collaboration theory. The emerging question of what constitutes a leader and a follower in the partnership between ECEC and families is answered with the help of the concept of pedagogical leadership and an empirical example of ECEC’s work with migrant and refugee children in the United States. The chapter concludes with an outline of ECEC’s responsibility for guiding parents to become leaders of the ECEC-home collaboration.
... Bronfenbrenner also specified another dimension of context, the chronosystem, which refers to time both within a person's lifetime and the historical context [23][24][25]. Through the lens of the Bioecological Model of Development, autism needs to be understood as a developmental process between a person and the environment rather than an inner condition that causes deficits [26]. ...
Strengths-based approaches leveraging the strengths and interests of autistic students are increasingly recognised as important to meeting their school-related needs. A scoping review exploring elements contributing to strengths-based approaches for autistic students in schools was undertaken. Eighteen articles were identified, with results conceptualised according to the Bioecological Model of Development. One personal (strengths and interests), six microsystem (specialised instructions, curriculum integration, curriculum differentiation, common interests with peers, reciprocal roles and adult involvement), three mesosystem (matching resources and activities, real-life learning experiences and benefiting all students), and three exosystem (cost-effective and timesaving, collaboration with colleagues and parents and teachers’ attitude and knowledge) elements were identified. Findings highlight the interrelatedness of the elements contributing to strengths-based approaches for autistic students, which can be used to aid in the development of more inclusive school environments.
... We know that families have a strong influence in their children? s education (Smith & Sheridan, 2019) and we know that educators should include and engage families in the education of children (Weiss et al., 2013). Yet, education scholars report to one another and HDFS scholars speak to one another and a framework has not been offered to understand the link between family theory and educational theory. ...
Culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) considers the impacts of schools on communities, explicitly calling upon schools to sustain instead of overlook the cultural modalities of communities of color (Paris, 2012). In this paper, we argue that one important influence schools should have on families is the awareness and knowledge that families’ culture are sustained and viewed as “official knowledge” (Ladson-Billings, 1995) in the education system. We do so by including a perspective found in the disciplines of developmental science, family science, and education, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory. Specifically, we examine the principles of CSP from the Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT) model within bioecological theory. Furthermore, we problematize the traditional practice of assigning homework and offer an implication for reimagining homework from a CSP lens.
... Even though there are numerous communication practices in preschools, existing research literature considers especially the meeting points during transition times to be highly relevant, for the following reasons: First, in contrast to school contexts, they offer parents and professionals the opportunity to share current and individual information on a daily basis (e.g., Murray et al., 2015). Details can be collected and an impression can develop as to how the day in the family began (e. g., Swartz & Easterbrooks, 2014;Weiss et al., 2014). Second, regardless of whether there is a real conversation between parents and professionals, a welcoming atmosphere can be established by greeting the parent during child drop-off by name and by establishing eye contact (Dahlberg & Moss, 2004). ...
Due to a lack of adequate measures, little is known about the quality of parent-preschool communication. The present study presents a new observational tool for measuring interaction quality between parents and professionals during child drop-off. The sample consists of 912 parent-professional dyads in 107 preschools. Results from confirmatory factor analyses provided evidence of construct validity, and results for reliability were good. Regression analyses indicate that professional-child ratio, the qualification of professionals, and the way pedagogical work is organised in the preschool are related to the interaction quality between parents and professionals. The implications of our findings will be discussed in the light of the theoretical background as well as the conceptual framework of the instrument.
... In light of the following arguments, we assume that interaction and communication during drop-off and pick-up times are highly relevant for establishing trustful PPP. First, drop-off and pick-up times offer the opportunity to share current and individual child-related information on a daily basis for both parents and professionals (e.g., Brooker, 2010;Perlman & Fletcher, 2012;Swartz & Easterbrooks, 2014;Weiss et al., 2014). Second, a welcoming atmosphere can be established by greeting the parent during child drop-off by name and with eye contact (e.g., Dahlberg & Moss, 2004). ...
Research Findings: Trust is considered to be a crucial element of effective parent-preschool partnerships and an important prerequisite of parental involvement in their children’s educational processes. The present study examines the role of child and family characteristics and aspects of parent-preschool communication in parents’ trust. 735 families at 169 preschools participated in the study. All data were obtained in the context of the evaluation of a governmental preschool initiative in Germany. As well as trust, child and family characteristics were assessed using questionnaires. Aspects of parent-preschool communication were assessed with questionnaires and standardized observations. Structural equation modeling analyses indicate that a child’s behavioral disorder and their family’s language predict parents’ trust in their child’s preschool. In addition, the results highlight that the quality of informal communication during transition times is crucial in trusting relationships. Thus, all aspects of parent-preschool communication (parents’ perceived quality of communication, parents’ satisfaction with communication, and observed interaction quality between parents and professionals) are positively related to parental trust. Practice or Policy: Consequently, training programs should make use of these results to enhance professionals’ communication strategies and thereby to establish a trustful relationship with all parents.
... Each level is interconnected, as in the environmental system -visually represented, as a set of concentric circles surrounding a child -and interactions exist between stages and systems (Manzon et al., 2015). Ecological systems theory Weiss et al., 2010) recognizes that humans, like all other living things, can only be understood in the context of the systems in which they live. A holistic view of humans is a central thing for ecological theory (perspective). ...
This article describes children at risk in the context of a pedagogical problem, analyzes various interpretations of the “rehabilitation” concept in scientific literature and explains the need for rehabilitation work with children in teachers’ practice. On the basis of an empirical review (a questionnaire survey) a spectrum of ideas and opinions of teachers and psychologists from different educational institutions on the goals and objectives of rehabilitation work with children at risk and the main directions for this work in their practical activities have been revealed. In order to analyze the interpretations of specialists’ opinions regarding the nature and assessment of the effectiveness of rehabilitation, a method of collecting qualitative data (questionnaire survey, conversation) with open-ended questions was used. The author summarized the answers of the specialists on the problem under study by the method of content analysis using an open-coding procedure.
According to the results of the research, six rehabilitation contexts have been identified, most specialists consider rehabilitation as comprehensive assistance to children with the aim of successfully returning them to a full social life; involving them into the system of social relations in the course of specially organized education; vocational training; developing healthy lifestyle and law-abiding behavior.
... For instance, in a predominantly White gifed program or AP class, Black students may limit or avoid completely any contact with their White peers inside and outside of school, and they may deliberately exert little efort in school because it is associated with the mainstream White culture. Many Black students hide their academic abilities by becoming class clowns, dropping out, and suppressing efort (Ford, 1996(Ford, , 2011Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). As Davis (2010) noted, it is essential for parents of Black gifed students to teach their children about race. ...
... Welldesigned training during teacher preparation programs positively correlates with improved family engagement practices and knowledge (Smith & Sheridan, 2019). However, programme implementation (dedicated courses and field experiences) continues to vary by institution (Miller et al., 2013;Weiss et al., 2014) and programs may be more school-centric than focused on families and communities (Epstein, 2018). Challenges in preparing teachers to engage with families are not limited to the U.S., but rather are consistent with challenges experienced in other countries (Willemse et al., 2018). ...
Given that the professional literature provides ample evidence of the importance of parental involvement and its effect on learners' academic outcomes and positive social/emotional states, the aim of this quantitative study was to understand and compare the perceptions of preservice teachers regarding parental involvement and family engagement in Israel and the U.S. Fisher's Perception of Parental Involvement Scale (PPIS; Fisher, 2011) was used to survey 469 education-college students: 269 American students and 200 Israeli students. Analysis indicated that the model was a better fit for Israeli students and an acceptable fit for U.S. students. However, in general, Israeli and US students in teaching colleges agreed on many of the components of parental involvement. Some results differed by gender, age, level of education, and prior teaching experience. These results may suggest
... In theory, successful family-school engagement involves multiple key stakeholders (e.g., families and schools) that contribute to child development within numerous proximal and distal environments (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). Bronfenbrenner's (1977) ecological model is useful for conceptualizing family-school engagement. ...
Given that consultation has consistently yielded benefits for clients and consultees, it is likely an effective method of promoting family-school engagement. Thus, this meta-analysis examined the effects of consultation-based family-school engagement on child and parent outcomes, and complementary intervention methods used in conjunction with consultation. This study also sought to advance consultation research via a contemporary meta-analytic technique, robust variance estimation (RVE). Analyses yielded significant effects of consultation-based family-school engagement on children's social-behavioral competence (δ = 0.34), mental health (δ = 0.37), and academic achievement (δ = 0.27). Significant effects for parent practices (δ = 0.53), parent attitudes (δ = 0.49), and relational outcomes (δ = 0.37) were also found. Complementary intervention methods revealed significant effects across various child, parent, and relational outcomes. Results indicate benefits of consultation-based family-school engagement for key outcomes and have implications for utilizing complementary methods to augment the net effects of consultation for valuable stakeholders. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Although family-school interventions are key at various school levels, many school personnel are unprepared and lack the skills necessary for successful collaboration (Epstein & Sanders, 2006;Weiss, Lopez, Kreider, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). When trained in family engagement, teachers are likely to have improved practices, knowledge, and attitudes toward working and collaborating with families (Smith & Sheridan, in press). ...
This meta-analysis examined the effects of family-school interventions on children’s social-behavioral competence and mental health. One hundred and seventeen group design studies yielding 592 effect sizes constituted the current sample. Random effects models were estimated when calculating each pooled effect size estimate, and mixed effects models were calculated for each moderator analysis. The analyses yielded significant effects of family-school interventions on children’s social-behavioral competence and mental health (δ¯.s = 0.332 and 0.391, respectively). Effects on children’s mental health were moderated by race/ethnicity (effects were larger for African American students) and locale (effects were smaller in urban settings relative to nonurban/rural settings). Components found to be significantly related to positive outcomes included both interpersonal, relational processes (i.e., communication, collaboration, and parent-teacher relationship) and tangible, structural elements (i.e., home-based involvement, behavioral supports). These findings indicate the benefits of family-school interventions and have implications for tailoring interventions to family characteristics and communities.
... Partnership between parents and teachers in general, and their communication in specific, have been shown to facilitate the transition into care and continuity between home and early childhood education and care (ECEC) for all children (e.g. McBride et al., 2002;Owen, Klausli, Mata-Otero, & Caughy, 2008;Swartz & Easterbrooks, 2014;Weiss, Lopez, Kreider, & Chatman-Nelson, 2014). However, most of the research on this has been conducted in the US, and mostly focused on preschool age children (3-6), with few studies addressing parent-teacher partnerships in infant/ toddler care (e.g. ...
Although literature reports associations between parent-teacher communication and childcare quality, little is known about how such communications are related to family, child and childcare characteristics. This study examines whether child, family and childcare experience characteristics predict the level of parent-teacher communication, and differences between parents’ and teachers’ reports of communication. Participants were mothers of 90 infants and their teachers in childcare in Portugal. Results show that both parents and teachers report higher levels of communication in higher-quality programmes. Teachers reported more frequent communication than parents. Teachers, but not parents, reported more frequent communication when children spent fewer hours in childcare. Discussion highlights the relevance of monitoring the quality of childcare contexts, especially in early ages, and to increase parent-teacher communication when children spend more time in childcare. The importance of promoting high-quality childcare and accounting for variables at the mesosystemic level of development in teacher training are also discussed.
... Continuity in family engagement is particularly important during transitions, such as from preschool to kindergarten or from elementary to middle school. These discontinuities may present particular challenges between home and school for children living in a non-Western culture or a minority indigenous or immigrant groups in a Western country (Kellaghan et al., 1993, Weiss et al., 2014. Research on PI during transitions would make a significant contribution, particularly for these populations. ...
Parental involvement (PI) in their children’s schools has been shown to have a positive influence on the children’s behaviours and academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of PI and relations of PI in schools to child externalizing and internalizing behaviours. Data were from the fifth-grade wave of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, with 1354 fifth grade low-income children and parents. Results revealed that family conflict predicted child internalizing and externalizing and negatively predicted PI in schools. However, PI in schools partially reduced the negative effect of family conflict on both internalizing and externalizing. Parental warmth negatively predicted child externalizing behaviours, and positively predicted PI in school. Additionally, PI in schools further enhanced the positive effect of parental warmth in reducing externalizing behaviours. The study highlights home and parent characteristics that relate to low-income fifth-grade parents’ involvement in their child’s education and demonstrates the mediating role of PI in reducing behavioural problems of low-income children.
... This is especially important as many practicing educators remain unfamiliar or uncomfortable with families from different cultural backgrounds and socioeconomic circumstances, rendering them incapable of positively impacting student engagement and achievement for all of their students. Weiss et al. (2014) determined, "family engagement must be understood as having cumulative effects over time. Students with supportive parents throughout childhood and adolescence are likely to graduate from high school" (p. ...
A novice principal’s decision not to intervene on an ill-conceived policy prompts a parent to pursue a line of questioning administrators are not prepared for. In this case, a young man working through a high school transition while preparing for college is met with unexpected challenges in motivation. What the principal initially perceives as inconsequential becomes a Wicked Problem when the parent questions the ethics and legalities of the policy, teachers’ intent, and potential civil rights violations. Underscored are nuances in communication, decision making, motivation, and ethics. As the elements of the case unfold, matters pertaining to school and community relations, policy, law, race, and gender present themselves useful for discussing a variety of key issues related to school leadership.
... This kind of deficit approach (Valencia, 1997) can also be seen in claims that these parents lack proper knowledge and skills or proper values to be effective allies to schools for a common educational goal. Further, discourse about parental involvement has been shown to be critical of these families for both lack of involvement and over-involvement (Nakagawa, 2000), which is thought to impede the promotion of genuine and effective parental involvement in education (Brien & Stelmach, 2009;Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). ...
Youth mentoring has been conceptualized largely as a dyadic relationship between a mentor and mentee, with less attention paid to the role of parents. This study contributes to an emerging body of research on parent involvement by examining expectations for parents' roles in the mentoring process held by program staff, mentors, and parents themselves. In-depth interviews with mentoring program staff (n = 12), mentors (n = 30), and a parent or guardian of the youth being mentored (n = 30) were analyzed to identify these participants' views on the role of parents. Findings indicate that mentors and program staff were more aligned in their views and tended to be more focused on the ways that parents could potentially interfere with or otherwise disrupt the mentor–youth relationship. Parents' views were more varied and rooted in differences in both their individual values and beliefs about the role of a mentor in their child's life, their parenting styles and ways they expected adults outside of the family who were interacting with their child to engage with them. Implications for future research on parent involvement and for mentoring program practices are discussed.
... Efforts to formalize parental involvement in schools have been ineffective in increasing the involvement of these parents in large part because of "institutional barriers such as deeply rooted beliefs about professional expertise [that] prohibit parents from getting involved beyond non-intrusive ways" (Brien & Stelmach, 2009, p.7). The perspective that parents lack proper knowledge, skills or proper values to be effective allies to schools for a common educational goal is further propagated by deficit-thinking toward poor, low-income families and families of color, impeding the promotion of genuine and effective parental involvement in education (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). Jeynes (2011) argues that securing a genuine partnership requires that the teacher "humbly acknowledge" (p. ...
Background and Purpose: This qualitative interview study examined the role of parents in one-to-one youth mentoring relationships from the perspectives of mentors, parents of the youth and agency staff. Research on youth mentoring relationships has focused primarily on the youth participants and has had little to say about the role of parental involvement in the mentoring relationship. However, research on the efficacy of youth mentoring programs indicates that programs which engage and support parents tend to demonstrate more positive youth outcomes (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002). Given the paucity of attention to this aspect of the mentoring process, this study sought to examine the nature of parental involvement in formal youth mentoring relationships from multiple perspectives.
Methods: In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with parents of youth participating in a mentoring match, the volunteer mentors matched with the children of these parents and staff members from the mentoring programs from which the mentor and parent participants were drawn. Twenty-nine cases were selected from among 67 mentoring matches that were part of a larger longitudinal study of youth mentoring relationships. These cases were either Established (n=15) mentoring relationships that lasted a minimum of 12 months or Dissolved (n=14) matches that were matched for at least 6 months, but ended before reaching 12 months. Each mentoring case analyzed included at least 2 qualitative interviews with each mentor (n=29) and parent (n=29) at each time point of their participation during the first year of the mentoring match. In addition, for this study 12 agency staff members were interviewed one time each. Descriptive understandings of each participant's individual perspective were constructed through thematic coding (Boyatzis, 1998) and commonalities and differences in the themes were examined within and across the three groups of participants
Results Three themes emerged regarding parental roles from comparisons of the perspectives of the parents, mentors and agency staff: a) distinct and active roles that parents played to support their child's mentoring relationships, b) a mismatch of expectations or hopes among parents, mentors and agency staff regarding the roles parents should play in their child's mentoring relationship, and c) indirect patterns of communication between mentors, parents and agency staff.
Conclusions and Implications: In light of Dubois, et.al (2002) findings that parental involvement can serve to positively influence youth mentoring relationships, there is need to more fully understand the parental role in the mentoring process. This study offers insight into parental involvement as a more purposeful process than previously understood and highlights the many roles that parents are playing behind the scenes. Due to differences in expectations and lack of communication between parents and program staff, the findings here suggest that programs may be missing opportunities to tap into an important and undervalued resource for supporting and or strengthening youth-mentoring relationships. Further these finding can help to inform programs on the value of capilatlizing on parental involvement to maximize the potential benefit for youth in formal mentoring relationships that programs faciliatate and support.
... Efforts to formalize parental involvement in schools have been ineffective in increasing the involvement of these parents in large part because of "institutional barriers such as deeply rooted beliefs about professional expertise [that] prohibit parents from getting involved beyond non-intrusive ways" (Brien & Stelmach, 2009, p.7). The perspective that parents lack proper knowledge, skills or proper values to be effective allies to schools for a common educational goal is further propagated by deficit-thinking toward poor, low-income families and families of color, impeding the promotion of genuine and effective parental involvement in education (Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010). Jeynes (2011) argues that securing a genuine partnership requires that the teacher "humbly acknowledge" (p. ...
Because strong relationships with adults are crucial to healthy psychological development in adolescence, social work has long supported mentoring as an intervention for promoting youth development. Youth in closer, more enduring relationships are more likely to derive greater benefits, such as improvements in emotional and behavioral functioning and academic achievement (e.g., Grossman & Rhodes, 2002). We know little about what specific factors and processes facilitate the development of closer, more enduring mentoring relationships between youth and adults, leaving programs with little empirically-based guidance in their efforts to promote mentoring relationships that do indeed help the youth they serve.
The purpose of this study is to identify mentor and youth expectations of the mentoring relationships and mentor characteristics associated with relationship duration and closeness. We will present findings from analyses of both qualitative and quantitative data from a mixed-methods longitudinal study (n= 68 mentor-youth pairs) of mentor-youth relationships currently underway. Expectations of the mentors and youth are being gleaned from analyses of in-depth individual interviews conducted at multiple time points. Associations between mentor characteristics and relationship closeness (as perceived by the youth) garnered from surveys of mentors and youth are also being examined. Specifically the relationships between mentors' reasons for volunteering, attachment style, and empathy at the time of match and relationship closeness at 6 months into the relationships will be reported. The findings from this study will provide much needed insight into the mentoring process by identifying specific processes and factors that contribute to the formation of closer mentoring relationships.
... We then ask students, in small groups of three or four, to identify a group member's funds of knowledge and together develop a classroom activity that uses that knowledge. Later in the course, students further hone their skills in identifying and using student and family funds of knowledge via the Family Diversity Small Group Projects in which they are assigned a case study in which the multiple perspectives of family members and school staff are depicted (Weiss et al., 2010). In this assignment, students interpret the perspectives of the stakeholders involved, think critically not only of the challenges but also of the specific strengths and ''funds of knowledge'' necessary for these families to function within the confines of their situation, and formulate possible courses of action. ...
Systemically trained counselors have a distinctive set of skills that make them well suited to prepare teachers to work with students’ families. In this article, we discuss our experiences as family counselors in developing and teaching a required course in family–school collaboration to elementary teachers in training. We first describe the teacher dispositions that need to be developed to support such family–school relationships and the skills possessed by family systems counselors for promoting these dispositions. We then describe the course goals, instructional methods, and course activities, and report the impact of this course experience on our students and ourselves.
... The professional development field in early childhood education has used role plays, narratives or personal stories (Kidd, Sánchez, & Thorp, 2004Sánchez, 1999), and case studies (McWilliam, 2000;Weiss, Kreider, Lopez, & Chatman-Nelson, 2010) to portray family issues and teach cultural complexities. Multicultural education and the research related to culturally responsive teaching have also provided insights on the use of stories in preservice teacher preparation in order to assist students in entering and experiencing another person's reality (Goodwin & Genor, 2008;Long, Anderson, Clark, & McCraw, 2008). ...
The purpose of this article is to propose performance as a creative instructional strategy to convey complex competencies related to understanding and working effectively with families in early childhood education. Performance derives from performance ethnography, which is a qualitative research methodology. Its application to professional development enables students and in-service participants not only to hear the voices of families, but to experience them through performance. This article describes the advantages and disadvantages of performance as an approach to professional development and illustrates the development and application of an example performance. Authors discuss how faculty, researchers, and those responsible for professional development can use performance to bridge the gap between research and practice and to move early childhood educators towards greater family-centered competencies when serving diverse families and children.
... 15 9. Family engagement requires shifts in the mindsets of families, teachers, and others who work with children, changes in organizations' policies, and broader public understanding of the importance of family engagement and what it entails in their community. 16 average. From start to finish, parent leadership and advocacy played a key role in this success. ...
The policy forum brought to the center what is now on the periphery of education reform: family, school, and community engagement (FSCE) as a strategy to support student success. The forum sought to serve as a catalyst for reframing what FSCE should look like in the twenty--first century, and for repositioning this engagement as a major contributor to twenty--first century learning and school turnaround efforts. There is a substantial amount of innovation intentionally linking family engagement to learning, as well as a strong base of practice experience on which to build more systemic, integrated, and sustained approaches. This paper set the stage for the forum by presenting a research-based framing of family engagement. It examines the policy levers for change in promoting systemic FSCE, and focuses on data systems as a powerful tool to engage families for twenty-first century student learning. Because education reform will succeed only when all students are prepared for the demands of the twenty-first century, the forum also aimed to examine the role of families in transforming low-performing schools. This paper aims to start the conversation and to help shape what role federal policy will play in supporting FSCE efforts in schools across the country. (Contains 6 textboxes and 36 footnotes.)
Aim: The present study aimed to examine a causal model to investigate the relationship between parents' motivations for involvement and academic achievement with the mediating role of parental involvement in school affairs. Methods: The present study was descriptive and its statistical population consisted of all parents and sixth-grade students at public primary schools of Lorestan province in the academic year of 2019-2020. From the population, 768 individuals including 384 parents (69 males, 315 females), and 384 students (200 males, 184 females) were selected as target samples by multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using the Parental Involvement Tool by Strickland (2015), the School-Based Parental Involvement tool by Park & Holloway (2017), and the researcher-made academic achievement test, and they were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. Results: The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated a positive and significant role of parents' motivations for predicting parental involvement in school affairs and academic achievement (P= 0.01). Furthermore, parental involvement in school affairs directly and positively predicted academic achievement (P=0.01), The results of the indirect analysis indicated that parental involvement in school affairs played a positive mediating role in the relationship between parents' motivation for involvement and academic achievement (P=0.01). Conclusion: The results indicated that there was a mediating effect of parental involvement in school affairs in the relationship between parental motivation for involvement and academic achievement. The proposed model was suitable for predicting academic achievement among primary school students. The practical implications of the findings and potential suggestions for further research are also discussed.
Philosophy is usually seen as a field that is dealt with only by experts, while it could be the activity in which everyone participates, regardless of age, culture, and socio-economic level, as it is a tool for critical thinking and reflection, a tool that reinforces foundational literacy skills. This chapter is directed toward explaining how an innovative model that enhances parents' engagement in home learning can empower their own and their children's thinking, learning, and communication skills. It is an invitation to parents to actively engage in an inclusive school community that enhances family's literacy skills. It is an attempt to enhance dialogic skills via “philosophic” Socratic dialogue with stories that prompt problematic questions of mutual interest. In the context of COVID-19 health crisis that greatly impacted parents' lives as co-educators of their children, the suggested parents' (and implicitly children) engagement model is suggested as a possible venue.
Communication between teachers and families in early childhood is a key aspect of successful teacher-family engagement. The goal of this exploratory study was to investigate how teachers communicated with families in early childhood classrooms and what they communicated about. This study of 31 teachers working with children birth to age five, primarily in the Midwestern U.S. examined how they described communication with families using semi-structured interviews. Findings indicated that teachers used multiple formats to communicate with families about children’s daily routines, developmental progress, and other relevant information. Teachers preferred in-person communication although challenges occurred due to classroom dynamics and the global COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Technology such as apps and messaging emerged as an efficient way to reach most families, however difficulties facilitating reciprocal communication with families were described. Further research is needed to identify successful communication strategies for both teachers and families, thus building higher quality teacher-family partnerships.
This qualitative case study explored administrators’ perceptions of family and community engagement activities that enhanced student well-being and ultimately impacted academic achievement in one urban district. Template analysis of 11 semistructured interviews and observation notes employed the positive psychology well-being theoretical construct, PERMA(H). Illuminated was the administrations’ focused attention to student attendance, engagement, and well-being preceded academic achievement gains. The narratives addressing identified non-academic barriers informed six key findings. The findings are supported by 19 specific administrator activities that could be useful for other urban administrators desiring to address non-academic barriers to improve academic achievement.
It is critical for educators to understand how the official educational policy of the United States, which reflects dominant language ideologies, renders a particular view of immigrant families and students. Educational policy explicitly emphasizes the need for linguistically diverse students to acquire standard English, implicitly problematizing and devaluing linguistic diversity. Immigrant parents are aware of the importance of learning the socially dominant language, but they also wish their children to maintain their heritage languages for familial unity and intergenerational communication. Despite their positive stance toward bilingualism, immigrant parents struggle with encouraging their children to continue developing skills in their heritage languages. Immigrant parents’ challenges in supporting their children’s bilingualism are deeply related to the deficit views implicitly generated by the educational policy. This article concludes with pedagogical implications for educators to honor linguistic and cultural resources that linguistically diverse immigrants and families can offer.
Educational leaders, looking to make a difference in an outcome era, build partnerships with families to strengthen student performance. In this case study, intentionally cultivating relationships and building capacity for stakeholders falls under the guidance of a parent involvement coordinator (PIC) working in a parent resource room in a school setting. This turn-around school features a PIC collaboratively focused with an elementary school principal. Capacity building practices result in success for parents, teachers, and students. State and Federal initiatives support parent involvement, yet questions remain on how to make parent involvement happen when barriers keep parents away from school. Transformative leadership practices influence positive outcomes for families in Title 1 environments, as leaders aware of pressures and challenges, use influence to help families. The PIC, a certified teacher, positioned to work with families, builds partnerships to address academic concerns, poverty issues, and a lack of equity. Involving parents in education begins with small steps, impacting families' lives. This case study showcases collaborative practice between a principal and parent involvement coordinator (PIC) in a turn-around school The impact on the leadership praxis rests squarely in decision-making meets facets of practice for principals.
This study reports the use of data mining tools in order to examine the influence of the methodology used in chemistry lab classes, on the weight attributed by the students to the lab work on learning and own motivation. The answer frequency analysis was unable to discriminate the opinions expressed by the respondents according to the type of the teaching methodology used in the lab classes. Conversely, the data mining approach using k-means clustering models, allowed a deeper analysis of the results, i.e., enabled one to identify the methodology to teach chemistry that, in students' opinion, is important for learning chemistry and increasing their motivation. The sample comprised 3447 students of Portuguese Secondary Schools (1736 in the 10th grade; 1711 in the 11th grade). The k-means Clustering Method was used, with k values ranging between 2 and 4. The main strengths of this study are the methodological approach for data analysis and the fact that the sample was formed by students with different school careers that enables the use of the individual as the unit of analysis.
Teacher-parent communication which is part of parents’ involvement in school activities is a particular topic in the field of education. I propose an analysis of this issue in the present research paper. Based on the answers offered by 60 teachers from preschool and primary school educational system in Romania, teachers who answered a questionnaire with open questions on the topic of teacher-parent communication, we made an inventory of the main problems that they signaled and the solutions they identified in practice (tools, communicative and discourse strategies successfully used), as a premise for proposing topics to be approached during teachers’ continuing education in pre-school and primary school educational system in Romania.
Rural educators in three states were surveyed regarding their perceptions of parental involvement in their schools. Significant indicators impacting student success were the expectation of parents and their attitudes toward education. Two methods used to incorporate varying cultures and languages into the school community included creating a welcoming and open climate for parents and using parents’ home languages to communicate key information. Parents’ work schedules and recruiting parents’ involvement in their children’s education were the greatest challenges. Educators participating in this study rated their schools’ level of success in engaging parents as somewhat successful.
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