Family Factors and the Educational Success of Children addresses a wide range of family variables and a diverse array of family situations in order to understand the dynamics of the multifaceted relationship between family realities and educational outcomes of children. It provides research on building effective partnerships between parents and teaches the importance of parental style, parental involvement as a means of improving family life, the influence of family factors on children of color, and the role of religion in influencing family and educational dynamics. This book is a valuable resource for academics, family scientists, social workers, psychologists, parents, and students. The book contains research on a full variety of issues, which will provide insight into a wide range of practical matters regarding the influence of the family. The research methodology included in this book includes examining large data sets, case studies, research syntheses and other student surveys. As a result of reading this book, individuals will have greater insight into how a multitudinous number of family factors ultimately influence the educational success of children, whether that is experienced directly or indirectly. This book was published as a double special issue of Marriage and Family Review.

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.

Why it is that success, deprivation or disadvantage are so often passed down intergenerationally? What part does education play? The educational achievement of parents is often reflected in that of their children and there are many underlying causes for such a relationship. Education and the Family argues that government policy has an important role to play in addressing this inequality even though many of the causes lie within the home. Although each child should be supported to achieve his or her objectives, differences in the willingness or capabilities of families to take advantage of educational opportunities exacerbate social class differences and limit actual equality of opportunity for many. Understanding the causes of this transmission is key to tackling both social class inequality and to expanding the skill base of the economy. By providing an overview of academic and policy thinking in relation to the role of the family, this book explores the educational success of children. It focuses on the education of the parents but also considers how the family - compared to wider, external influences such as schools - is a driver of differences in educational outcomes. It concludes with a consideration of what policy-makers are attempting to do about this key issue and why, and how this will impact on schools and teachers. This book will interest researchers and academics in education and social policy, as well as teachers and other education and social policy practitioners.

Decades of research have demonstrated that the parent-child dyad and the environment of the familyâ€"which includes all primary caregiversâ€"are at the foundation of children's well- being and healthy development. From birth, children are learning and rely on parents and the other caregivers in their lives to protect and care for them. The impact of parents may never be greater than during the earliest years of life, when a child's brain is rapidly developing and when nearly all of her or his experiences are created and shaped by parents and the family environment. Parents help children build and refine their knowledge and skills, charting a trajectory for their health and well-being during childhood and beyond. The experience of parenting also impacts parents themselves. For instance, parenting can enrich and give focus to parents' lives; generate stress or calm; and create any number of emotions, including feelings of happiness, sadness, fulfillment, and anger. Parenting of young children today takes place in the context of significant ongoing developments. These include: a rapidly growing body of science on early childhood, increases in funding for programs and services for families, changing demographics of the U.S. population, and greater diversity of family structure. Additionally, parenting is increasingly being shaped by technology and increased access to information about parenting. Parenting Matters identifies parenting knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with positive developmental outcomes in children ages 0-8; universal/preventive and targeted strategies used in a variety of settings that have been effective with parents of young children and that support the identified knowledge, attitudes, and practices; and barriers to and facilitators for parents' use of practices that lead to healthy child outcomes as well as their participation in effective programs and services. This report makes recommendations directed at an array of stakeholders, for promoting the wide-scale adoption of effective programs and services for parents and on areas that warrant further research to inform policy and practice. It is meant to serve as a roadmap for the future of parenting policy, research, and practice in the United States.

Educating dual language learners (DLLs) and English learners (ELs) effectively is a national challenge with consequences both for individuals and for American society. Despite their linguistic, cognitive, and social potential, many ELsâ€"who account for more than 9 percent of enrollment in grades K-12 in U.S. schoolsâ€"are struggling to meet the requirements for academic success, and their prospects for success in postsecondary education and in the workforce are jeopardized as a result. Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures examines how evidence based on research relevant to the development of DLLs/ELs from birth to age 21 can inform education and health policies and related practices that can result in better educational outcomes. This report makes recommendations for policy, practice, and research and data collection focused on addressing the challenges in caring for and educating DLLs/ELs from birth to grade 12.