Selected Parent Involvement Research
“From Periphery to Center: A New Vision for Family, School, and Community Partnerships"
Written by Harvard Family Research Project’s Heather Weiss and Naomi Stephen is a chapter from the School-Family Partnerships edited by Sandy Christenson, Ph.D. and Amy Reschley, Ph.D
“—presents a comprehensive, integrated family, school, and community partnership framework that can help level the playing field for disadvantaged children and ensure that they have access to the parental involvement and community engagement practices of their more advantaged peers in order to enhance their learning.”
Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) Newsletter, 1(2). Retrieved June 29, 2009, from http://www.hfrp.org/family-involvement/publications-resources/from-periphery-to-center-a-new-vision-for-family-school-and-community-partnerships
“Research confirms what common sense suggests: parents are central to the education success of their children.”
(John M. Bridgeland, John J. DiIulio, Ryan T. Streeter, and James R. Mason, One Dream, Two Realities: Perspectives of Parents on America's High Schools, Civic Enterprises in association with Peter D. Hart Research Associates for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, October 2008.)
“Students with involved parents, ‘no matter what their income or background,’ were more likely to succeed in school—attending school regularly, earning higher grades, passing their classes, and graduating and going on to postsecondary education.”
(Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp, A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement—a review of 51 studies published between 1995 and 2002 for the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, Annual Synthesis 2002.)
“The studies identified several ways that schools can assist families in developing their capacity to support their children’s education:
- Engage them at school so they understand what their children are learning.
- Give them a voice in what happens to their children. • Provide information about how to help their children at home, what their children need to learn, and how to plan for college, postsecondary education, and a career.
- Foster social connections among families and with teachers.
- Build families’ understanding of the education system and how to guide their children through it successfully
- Offer access to social services and community agencies
- Identify and build on strengths in the community and among families.”
(Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp, A New Wave of Evidence, The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement for the National Center for Family Community Connections with Schools at the Southwest Education Development Laboratory, Annual Synthesis 2002. )
Parents want to know what their child should know and be able to do—this was the response by the majority of parents in a survey of over 20,000 parents.
(New York City Board of Education Survey with KPMG Consulting, 2001.)
Involving parents with students at home has more effect on achievement than school-level involvement.
(Desimone, L., “Linking Parent Involvement With Student Achievement: Do Race and Income Matter? The Journal of Educational Research, 93 (2), 11–30, 1998.)
“Involving parent’s as educators at home . . . is one of the most effective ways to improve students’ attitudes toward school and their achievement. This involvement does not require that parents come to the school, which makes it more accessible for many parents.
(U.S. Department of Education, Reaching All Families—Creating Family-Friendly Schools, 1996.)
“How to help their children at home . . . most parents, regardless of their background, want guidance from the schools on ways to help their children learn better.”
(Chavkin & Williams, 1989; Epstein, 1986, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Reaching All Families: Creating Family-Friendly Schools, August 1996.)
“The evidence is now beyond dispute. . .” “When schools work together with families to support learning, children tend to succeed not just in school, but throughout life.”
(Henderson, A. T., & Berla, N. Ed., A New Generation of Evidence: The Family is Critical to Student Achievement. Washington, D.C: Center for Law and Education, 1994.)
“. . . when parents are involved in their children’s learning, children earn higher grades and test scores, and they stay in school longer."
(U.S. Department of Education, Strong Families, Strong Schools, 1994.)
“Schools can communicate with confidence that parents want to be informed and they read what comes home.”
(Hanson & Henry, Parent Perceptions and Expectations of School-Community Communications 1994.)