Engaging Parents In Education

Engaging Families in Schools is a practical resource that provides strategies and ideas that will contribute to the effective engagement of families and the involvement of parents in their child’s education. Parental engagement with school staff has a significant and very positive impact on children’s learning, and strategies presented have been extensively trialled in a variety of different settings. Nicola S. Morgan shows school staff how to understand the importance of family engagement and evidence the outcomes. This book has been split into ten easily accessible units: Understanding the importance of parent engagement Using whole-school strategies to engage parents The role of the family engagement officer Engaging all parents Engaging Dads Engaging multicultural parents Difficult to engage parents Working with parents to improve student attainment Working with parents to improve behaviour and attendance Working with parents of children with additional needs This is a must-read guide for teaching and non teaching staff who wishes to bridge the gap between their student’s school and family life and understand the effects of positive family engagement.

Schools that are most successful in engaging parents and other family members in support of their children's learning look beyond traditional definitions of parent involvement--parent teacher organizations or signing report cards--to a broader conception of supporting families in activities outside of school that can encourage their children's' learning. This idea book is intended to assist educators, parents, and policy makers as they develop school-family partnerships, identifying and describing successful strategies used by 20 local Title I programs. Following an executive summary, the book notes resources for involving families in education, includes research supporting such partnerships, and describes how Title I encourages partnerships. Next, the book describes successful local approaches to family involvement in education, organized around strategies for overcoming common barriers to family involvement, including: (1) overcoming time and resource constraints; (2) providing information and training to parents and school staff; (3) restructuring schools to support family involvement; (4) bridging school-family differences; and (5) tapping external supports for partnerships. Finally, the book presents conclusions about establishing and sustaining partnerships, noting that at the same time that successful partnerships share accountability, specific stakeholders must assume individual responsibility, and that those schools that succeed in involving large numbers of parents invest energy in finding solutions for problems, not excuses. Four appendices present profiles of 10 successful partnerships, descriptions in table format of 20 successful local approaches, contact information for profiled partnership programs, and resources for building successful partnerships. Contains 13 references. (HTH)

Parental participation has long been recognized as a positive factor in children’s education. Research consistently shows that parents’ contributions to their children’s education lead to improvements in their academic and behavioral outcomes, from elementary through middle and secondary school. Recognizing the critical role of school psychologists in this equation, Parental Involvement in Childhood Education clearly sets out an evidence-based rationale and blueprint for building parental involvement and faculty awareness. The author’s starting point is the gap between the ideals found in the literature and the reality of parental involvement in schools. An ecological analysis identifies professional, institutional, and societal factors that keep schools and parents distant. Methods for evaluating parental involvement are detailed, as is a model for developing and maintaining strong parental relationships at the instructor, school, and education system level, with an emphasis on flexible communication and greater understanding of parents’ needs. This empirically sound coverage offers readers: A detailed understanding of obstacles to parental involvement. An evidence-based model for parental participation. A three-nation study of parental involvement practices in schools. Guidelines for implementing parental involvement activities and initiatives. A review of effective communication strategies with parents. Analysis of key interpersonal skills for effective work with parents. Parental Involvement in Childhood Education is essential reading for practitioners and researchers in school psychology and counseling, social work, and educational psychology, whether they work directly with schools or in providing training for teachers and other professionals who work with children and their parents.

This leading text examines the meaning of multicultural education from historical and conceptual perspectives. It provides a thorough analysis of the theory and practice of five major approaches to dealing with race, language, social class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation in today's classrooms.

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

This work is a report on the positive impact of parental involvement on their child's academics and on the school at large. Building Parent Engagement in Schools is an introduction to educators, particularly in lower-income and urban schools, who want to promote increased parental engagement in both the classroom and at home—an effort required by provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is both an authoritative review of research that confirms the positive impact of parental involvement on student achievement and a guide for implementing proven strategies for increasing that involvement. With Building Parent Engagement in Schools, educators can start to develop a hybrid culture between home and school, so that school can serve as a cultural bridge for the students. Filled with the voices of real educators, students, and parents, the book documents a number of parent-involved efforts to improve low-income communities, gain greater resources for schools, and improve academic achievement. Coverage includes details of real initiatives in action, including programs for home visits, innovative uses of technology, joint enterprises like school/community gardens, and community organization efforts.

Addresses the importance of parental information and resource centers in engaging parents as partners in the implementation and sucess of the No hild Left Behind Act.

Just as populations change, ideas about how to encourage and work with parents also need to evovle. This practical resource by bestselling author Patricia Edwards provides school leaders and classroom teachers with new and creative ways in which to welcome, encourage and involve parents. Enacting these types of practices requires a special kind of commitment from teachers and school leaders, which often coincides with a particular kind of mindset about families and one's responsibility to engage them. Educators often develop this mindset as they depend their understanding of families, literacy/language, culture/race/class, and themselves. Edwards pulls these understandings together and presents them in a straightforward, concise, and easy-to-use guide that is perfect for professional learning communities and teacher preparation courses. New Ways to Engage Parents is essential reading for all educators who care deeply about engaging a wide range of parents in today's schools. The book features: a stark look at the changing community demographics and what that means for teachers and adminsitrators; strategies for communicating with parents; examples of how to bring parents together for meaningful activities; the importance of understanding parental constraints and the need to meet them halfway; and approaches for overcoming "school ghosts" as well as negative histories and perceptions in the community.