1.

Barriers to Home, School and Community

 Issue 1 — Clarifying the Concept of Family and Community Connections with

Schools
The field of family and community connections with schools does not have consistent
agreement on what is meant by the terms “connections,” “parent involvement,” and “community
involvement.” The need to clarify these concepts comes not from a desire for universally acceptable,
all-encompassing definitions, but from a need to be clear in our language so that researchers and
practitioners can more effectively implement and measure the impacts of these connections.

 Issue 2 — Measuring the Outcomes of Family and Community Connections

with Schools
Parent and community connections have been measured inconsistently across studies and
research has not yet captured the full picture of these connections and their results. There is a need
to be precise in how we are measuring outcomes, in order to avoid faulty generalizations and
conclusions and to clarify the sometimes conflicting evidence about the impact of connections.

 Issue 3 — Advancing the Research Base for Family and Community

Connections with Schools

Research about the process and effects of family and community connections with schools
is evolving and does not yet provide clear directions for practitioners. There is a critical need to take
the body of research we have and build theory that can propel us into the next stage of research.
Family and community connections frameworks can help research test the relationship between
different components of the concept of family and community connections with schools, address the
problem of unclear and overlapping definitions of the concept, and gain greater understanding of
the predictors and impacts of these connections.

 Issue 4 — Critical Areas for Research in Family and Community Connections

with Schools

Our review of the literature revealed a number of critical research areas that surfaced
repeatedly. Within each of the critical areas listed here, both promising directions and research
needs are discussed. These areas are:

 Forging connections with families from culturally diverse backgrounds

 Connecting families with schools in homework help
 Connecting school, family, and community for effective school reform
 Connecting school, family, and community through developmental approaches and integrated
service delivery
 Connecting school, family, and community to support student transitions throughout the education
system
 Developing process-based approaches to make connections
 Preparing educators and other school personnel to make connections between schools, families, and
communities

https://sedl.org/pubs/fam32/2.html
 2. Success Factors in Home, School, Community Collaboration
Researchers have found that the key to making the family-community-school relationship
a success is by considering it a partnership of equals. In other words, educators and families from
all backgrounds are seen and valued as experts in a child’s education. And community members
are viewed as helpful contributors and supporters of school. This partnership is built on shared
values and emphasizes the strengths that all stakeholders bring to the table. The trust and respect
that is fostered helps to cultivate a sense of belonging in the school community among students
and their families, which in turn creates a caring school climate.

 Positive school-family partnerships can also help cultivate students’ social and emotional
well-being through methods that build relationships and through practical hands-on ways
for families to become involved in their child’s education.
 Relationally, schools can build strong partnerships with parents through two-way
communication, by collaborating on what’s best for each student, and cultivating positive
relationships between teachers and parents.
 Practically, offering families methods for reinforcing social and emotional skills at home
and suggesting ways for caregivers to partner with teachers can improve students’ well-
being.
 Schools can also engage community-based organizations such as businesses, colleges,
religious organizations, libraries, and social agencies, to offer programs that develop
students’ strengths and social-emotional skills.

https://ggie.berkeley.edu/school-relationships/positive-family-community-
relationships/?
fbclid=IwAR2eOn6GmrezHFCXzxBALK3VDsgXCYXHvFgULLZGikJu3-
bIpxiyy8MHU_4

3. Some indicators of success

 Research on interventions designed to promote parental involvement identifies a
perceived need and increased demand; high levels of creativity and commitment by
providers; and a range of approaches; and appreciation by families.
 The research literature does, however, suggest that successful home–school
partnerships display many of the following features: Relationships in successful home–
school partnerships are collaborative and mutually respectful.
 Successful partnerships are multi-dimensional, and responsive to community needs.
 Successful home–school partnerships are planned for; embedded within whole school
development plans; well-resourced and regularly reviewed.
  Successful partnerships are goal oriented and focused on learning. Effective parental
engagement happens largely at home.
 In this project, therefore, we extended the definition of “successful” home–school
partnerships to include those where the partners had a commitment to education being
a joint endeavor between school and family; a shared understanding of the purpose of
the partnership and their respective roles; and, where the partners were positive about
the perceived benefits of the partnership for children’s learning.

https://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/884_Successful_Home-School_Partnership-v2.pdf