Parents who are also educational researchers have access to a domain that is highly complex and not always available to other scholars. In this book, parent-researchers provide theoretical and practical insights into children’s learning in the home and at school. Readers are given a window into learning in the home context and how all family members organize or engage in that learning. Working on two levels, the book develops scholarly discussions about learning in the home (how is it organized, who the participants are, and what children are learning), and it illustrates the impacts that outside institutions, in particular schools, have on families It is unique in showcasing parent-research as a type of research paradigm with particular aspects and challenges. Both teachers and researchers can learn from these studies as they show the impact that schooling has on families and how institutional discourses and beliefs can both positively and negatively affect the dynamics of any family.

Public libraries can increase their impact on knowledge development, innovation, and social change by promoting parent and family engagement in children's learning. Libraries are increasingly focusing on families. Educational research confirms that family engagement in children's learning and development predicts school readiness, positive social behaviors, high school graduation, interest in STEM careers, and post-secondary education. A Librarian's Guide to Engaging Families in Learning will inspire libraries and librarians to innovate and promote family learning from a child's earliest years through adolescence. By bringing together research and practice, it will deepen librarians' understanding of families' role in education and help them to learn new ways to build positive and trusting family partnerships that honor diverse cultures and languages, as well as to develop leadership for community impact. Written by thought leaders in the fields of family engagement and library science, each of the three main sections of the book begins with a framework followed by case studies illustrating key concepts of the framework. Cases are followed by reflections from practicing librarians. All chapters focus on practical family engagement in the social infrastructure, lifelong learning, and diversity and social justice.

Countless studies demonstrate that students with parents actively involved in their education at home and school are more likely to earn higher grades and test scores, enroll in higher-level programs, graduate from high school, and go on to post-secondary education. Beyond the Bake Sale shows how to form these essential partnerships and how to make them work. Packed with tips from principals and teachers, checklists, and an invaluable resource section, Beyond the Bake Sale reveals how to build strong collaborative relationships and offers practical advice for improving interactions between parents and teachers, from insuring that PTA groups are constructive and inclusive to navigating the complex issues surrounding diversity in the classroom. Written with candor, clarity, and humor, Beyond the Bake Sale is essential reading for teachers, parents on the front lines in public schools, and administrators and policy makers at all levels.

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 is a resource for school-based practitioners, including psychologists, counselors, social workers, and special education consultants; clinical child psychologists; inservice and preservice teaches; and school administrators. It will serve as a text in courses on school consultation, building home-school partnerships, parent counseling, and parent education."--BOOK JACKET.

Families as Partners: The Essential Link in Children’s Education is a useful guide for families and a resource for education professionals who want to promote increased parental involvement at home and school. The book examines research and includes examples, illustrations, case studies, practices, policy issues, and successful projects that schools have accomplished with a community of families and students. These situations provide information to develop productive family-school partnerships with families, schools, and communities, to advance student achievement. Awards: 2020 Independent Publisher Book Award 2019 International Book Award

FAMILY LEARNING helps parents recognize the countless learning opportunities that exist all around them and helps them begin to see telephone books, newspapers, road maps, and dinner table conversations as valuable educational aids that can both stimulate and reinforce learning in the home. These learning activities can be shared in any family, no matter what its size or configuration, and they can be introduced whenever a parent chooses and whenever a need or opportunity arises.