Research on volunteer mentor programs has demonstrated mostly positive outcomes for mentees. As a result, many schools seek to attract and retain volunteers to assist children in need of support. The researchers interviewed 26 adult volunteers (from Australian companies) who help children with reading difficulties and examined intervention effects…

This study builds on existing research on school-community partnerships in middle and secondary schools by examining the roles of the students and the impact of social influences on their school-community liaising practices. Documents, observations, and 20 interviews with students, school leaders, teachers, and support staff from one urban,…

Teachers and administrators in schools with large, working-class Latino populations often complain of parents' indifference or lack of involvement in children's schooling because of their low visibility at school events and relatively little face-to-face communication with teachers and school administration. In a series of…

A community-based, multisite study using mixed methods examined the experiences and perspectives of Latino students and families in a low performing urban school district in New York State. This research project was spearheaded by a Latino Education Task Force which brought together multiple stakeholders in a collaborative effort to counteract…

The immigrant population is increasing steadily every year in Canada and in Quebec, in particular. The immigrant population is made up largely of families, most of whom have school-age children. However, we have little information on the practices these parents adopt when they become involved in their children's schooling. In this study, 28…

Family literacy studies have shown that the role of parental storybook reading has an impact on children's success in school-based literacy instruction. However, many children who are English language learners come from homes or cultures where storybook readings are not common practice. The purpose of this qualitative research study explored…

This qualitative study explored the perceptions and experiences of high school students from a diverse, low-income urban community in Toronto, Canada. Findings revealed a strong sense of community, reinforced by the interlocking racial and class oppression and stigmatization participants experienced within the broader society, including school.…

Interventions targeting parents of young children have shown effectiveness, but research is lacking about best practices for engaging parents of early adolescents. Low levels of enrollment and attendance in parenting interventions present major problems for researchers and clinicians. Effective and efficient ways to engage and collaborate with…

The new Québec curriculum is different from other curriculum reforms in that it is based on a competency approach, both cross-curricular and disciplinary. It thus means a move from knowledge-based to competency-based assessments which represents a real challenge to parents who may find it hard to understand learning assessments and their…

The significance of relationships between the parents and teachers of preschool and kindergarten children is well established. Teachers and schools are presumed to be responsible for lack of parent-teacher collaboration. Internationally, early childhood teacher education programs recognize this and offer courses related to parents and families.…

Adolescents present a unique collection of characteristics and challenges which middle school interdisciplinary teams were designed to address. This article describes a research study which explored parental involvement strategies employed by interdisciplinary teaching teams from three very different middle schools: an affluent suburban school, a…

With roots in community development and the work of Dewey, a compelling case has been made for universities to be involved in urban school reform. Further, with increasing demands placed on universities to become responsive to community needs, university partnerships with K-12 schools are one means by which institutions of higher education have…

Educators' expectations and understandings of parental involvement in our nation's schools are often disconnected from the reality of students' home lives. This qualitative study purports that educators often lose opportunities to more fully understand and serve students, particularly when perceptions of parental involvement and…

This article describes the development and evaluation of a classroom-based, low-cost intervention to increase parents' involvement in their children's education. In Phase 1 of the study, 17 parents of 8th grade students in a low-income, high immigrant and minority school district were interviewed to conduct a qualitative assessment of factors…

Three qualitative case studies of elementary school African American boys demonstrate differing perspectives of the school-related support that students experience. Three boys, their teachers, and their parents/guardians identified various individuals as supportive in the boys' schooling. These individuals included co-residential family members,…