FAMILIES ARE EVERYTHING…

Students are most successful when surrounded by engaged and caring adults

In the broadest possible sense, families are key factors in students’ success. Families are the ‘first teachers’ for children. And families must be seen as all individuals in a position to have a positive impact on the lives of children.

Join us in a review of research and stories from the field to build Our Neighborhood with families at the center of all we do together to build awareness and capacity in STEM.

RESEARCH

TIPS & STORIES

Research

Below is an on-going compilation of research that highlights the importance of empowering and engaging families to encourage learning no matter the location. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we welcome additions to this collection (see submission information here).

Global Parents Survey

By the Varkey Foundation.

In a comprehensive study of more than 27,000 parents from across the globe, the Varkey Foundation set out to discover the hopes, fears and aspirations of parents in 29 countries.
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D.C. Middle School Lauded for Family Engagement

By Sarafina Wright.

Teachers and other school staff visit homes in Washington, D.C.
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Families in the Driver’s Seat: Parent-driven Lessons and Guidelines for Collective Engagement.

By The Equitable Parent-School Collaboration Research Project at the University of Washington.

This comprehensive report and ready-to-use curriculum for family engagement was created by the Equitable Parent–School Collaboration Research Project at the University of Washington. With a train the trainer model, the curriculum works to build authentic parent and family engagement to improve student outcomes and success.
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A Parent’s Perspective on Engagement

By Socorro Fernandez.

A parent is working hard to involve herself in her children’s education -- something that was impossible for her own parents.
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From Traditional Campaigns to Building a Movement: The Evolution of Family and Community Engagement-Based Advocacy

By Sandy Boyd and Michael Gilligan.

Family engagement efforts will be successful when the reliance on issue-focused campaigns shifts to utilizing design thinking and elevating family and community engagement.
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Parental Engagement: A Promise, Not a Program

By Michael J. Pitrelli.

Traditional reporting methods to parents, including report cards and parent-teacher conferences, need to be re-examined.
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National Standards for Family-School Partnerships: An Implementation Guide.

By The National PTA.

This guide walks through six standards to build successful family-school-community partnerships. A review of each standard and its relevance, tips to support implementation and success stories are included for each standard.
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Data Inquiry for Equitable Collaboration: The Case of Neighborhood House’s Data Carousel

By The Equitable Parent-School Collaboration Research Project at the University of Washington.

This study acknowledges the traditional role that data collection has played as a vehicle for demonstrating compliance, in addition it a new, meaningful role that it can play when collection efforts are approached collaboratively with families.
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Building Relationships, Bridging Cultures: Cultural Brokering in Family Engagement

By The Equitable Parent-School Collaboration Research Project at the University of Washington.

Research around the important role of “cultural brokers” play between families and schools. Cultural brokers serve as bridges and translators between family and schools and can adopt strategies for building parent and family capacity.
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Breaking Down Barriers Between Educators and Families Through Technology

By Heejae Lim.

Technology can play a powerful role in connecting families, students and educators and thought and effort must be placed into developing accessible communications vehicles and strategies. Technology can be especially useful at breaking down barriers for immigrant families as the author recounts their own education experience.
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Joining Together to Create a Bold Vision for Next Generation Family Engagement Engaging Families to Transform Education

by Global Family Research Project for the Carnegie Corporation of America.

This paper is intended to stimulate work that can result in “next generation family engagement” that involves aligned, strategic and systemic approaches to family and community engagement from a child’s birth to young adulthood.
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The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children’s Education

Author Unknown.

Parental involvement is one of the most important predictors of students’ success. This report reviews the importance of family engagement from the early years all the way up to age 16.
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STEM Perceptions: Student & Parent Study: Parents and Students Weigh in on How to Inspire the Next Generation of Doctors, Scientists, Software Developers and Engineers

By Harris Interactive.

Two nationally commissioned surveys from Microsoft Corporation among college students pursuing STEM majors help us gain insight into the types of preparation and inspiration needed to get students there.
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Parents 2017: Unleashing their Power and Potential

By Learning Heros.

A national study reports that parents are far more optimistic about their children’s academic successes than data indicates they should be. The study also includes recommendations for helping parents with such areas as learning goals, financing college, life skills, parent-teacher communication, and learning tools.
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Children and Parents Learning Side-by-Side to Acquire STEM Knowledge: A Case Study of the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program

By Kenneth Goodman, Dana Keener Mast, Shefali Pai-Samant, and Caitlin Howley.

Case study on the Chi S&E program, recruiting parents and families on Saturdays to learn and apply science, technology, engineering and math side by side with their student. The program demonstrates a family engagement model that leads to improved student achievement, and the building of institutional / systems capacity among all key stakeholders.
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National Network of Partnership Schools at Johns Hopkins University

By Joyce L. Epstein and Steven B. Sheldon.

The National Network of Partnership Schools offers six types of parental engagement, and a written action plan for family engagement that links to the school improvement plan.
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Parental Engagement: A Promise, Not a Program

By Michael J. Pitrelli.

Traditional reporting methods to parents, including report cards and parent-teacher conferences, need to be re-examined.
Read More

What Parents Talk About When They Talk About Learning

By Megan Silander, Todd Grindal, Naomi Hupert, Elisa Garcia, Kea Anderson, Philip Vahey, and Shelley Pasnik.

Children need adults to provide them with meaningful STEM learning experiences early in life in order to facilitate their natural inclinations for STEM. In particular, parental involvement at home correlates directly with children’s development of literacy and math knowledge.
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Principles of Effective Family Engagement

By NAEYC.

There are six principles for effective family engagement, including co-design, two-way communication, reciprocal relationships and systemic family engagement.
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Stories from the Field & Practical Tips

We hope you enjoy a few stories from the field about families talking and learning about STEM at home. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we welcome additions to this collection (see submission information here).

Advocating for STEM Education

Meeting families where they are, listening to their needs and baking in engagement strategies from the start - three ecosystems give practical tips to successful family engagement in this workshop summary.
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Parent Institute for Quality Education – A Workshop for Ecosystem Leaders

Vice President of Program Develop for PIQE walks an audience through the fundamentals of PIQE’s programs to build family capacity and trust to advocate for their children.
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PIQE Empowers Families With Strict Adherence to Treating Families as Equals

Driven by a philosophy based in Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, PIQE, the Parent Institute for Quality Education, shares tips for providers to keep families as equals at the table in their child’s education.
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The National Parent Teacher Association, PTA Reviews Scaling Programs – A Workshop

A National PTA expert walks convening attendees through best practices in scaling programs.
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A Workshop with Family Engagement Experts from the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program

This workshop identifies what keeps families coming back to the Saturday hosted program Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program, ChiS&E.
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Why Family Engagement Matters for STEM Ecosystems – A Panel of Family Engagement Professionals, Working in Communities

A panel discusses family engagement from a provider perspective, including a broader vision for the work as well as biggest lessons learned from failure.
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Getting grown-ups excited – Walter Isaacson, former Time magazine editor, takes questions from the audience after a keynote address

Former CEO of the Aspen Institute, Walter Isaacson, answers a student’s question about how to get excited about STEM. His response isn’t about the students getting excited, however he does have a message for grown-ups.
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Family Stakeholder | STEM Ecosystems

FAMILIES ARE EVERYTHING…

Students are most successful when surrounded by engaged and caring adults

In the broadest possible sense, families are key factors in students’ success. Families are the ‘first teachers’ for children. And families must be seen as all individuals in a position to have a positive impact on the lives of children.

Join us in a review of research and stories from the field to build Our Neighborhood with families at the center of all we do together to build awareness and capacity in STEM.

Research

Stories from the Field & Practical Tips

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