This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

A common problem for new homeschoolers is understanding how to choose and implement specific educational approaches. In response, I conducted a qualitative content analysis on key texts representative of popular homeschooling approaches, including The Well-Trained Mind (classical), Home Education (Charlotte Mason), and Teach Your Own…

As community schools grow in numbers, this article argues that the model needs to be interrogated in order to address the power imbalances that exist between non-dominant families and schools. This paper draws on a citywide study of parent interviews as well as public documents and interviews with key community school leaders in Baltimore to…

High-quality partnerships between families and schools can bring enormous benefits to the development, learning, and wellbeing of children. Decades of research has identified parenting self-efficacy as a key factor influencing parents' contributions toward effective home-school partnerships. However, the strength of this association has varied…

Excessive rationalization in educational governance leads to a lack of emotion and a range of problems. Family and school are natural allies in emotional education, and collaboration between the two will realize the holistic life development of students, the school's goal of comprehensive education, and the family's valuable function of providing…

Thomas J. Capretta, Jingyang (Max) Zhang, Eric M. Anderman, and Barbara J. Boone revisit Joyce Epstein's 1995 Kappan article on overlapping spheres of influence and family-school partnerships. They highlight one idea from the article that has been largely overlooked -- the role of student voice and leadership. To refocus researchers' and…

The American family is changing (Brown, 2017; Pew Research Center, 2015; Seltzer, 2019). While grandfamily formations are becoming more common throughout the United States, they are particularly prevalent in specific counties of north-central Pennsylvania. Data obtained from the American Community Surveys between 2012 and 2021 suggest that…

The German school system is known for its stratified secondary school system following the four-year elementary school. While access to grammar schools was strictly regulated in German school history, most federal states have now strengthened the will of parents and abolished the tradition of binding elementary school recommendations. New in the…

This article uses figured worlds to explore the limit-situations imposed by dominant narratives of home-school relationships. Through a semiotic analysis of a wall hanging in a preschool classroom, we explore what figured worlds are imagined as possible for home-school relationships. The dominant narratives implicit in these figured worlds ossify…

The purpose of this study was to understand educators' perspectives of the state of teacher-family relationships with refugee-background families resettled in the U.S. as well as factors that facilitated and impeded the formation of collaborative relationships. Drawing on data from interviews with 42 teachers across three school districts in a…

All children in the United States have a right to effective education. While an optimal learning environment is important for all students, children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to barriers to accessing high-quality learning environments. Many parents of children receiving special education services want to be strong advocates for…

The benefits of high-quality family-school partnerships are numerous in terms of academic, behavioral, and social-emotional student outcomes. Therefore, discovering paths to improving the relationship is essential. Finding ways to strengthen the family-school partnership is particularly critical for families with students in special education.…

The transition to five-year-old kindergarten is a pivotal time in children's development, setting the tone for the children's and their families' subsequent formal education experiences. Establishing connections between home and school is a key to creating a supportive learning environment for every child. This dissertation examines how home…