Partnerships between school and the home are critical for driving student achievement and school improvement. Yet for many educators, it can be difficult to cultivate and sustain effective family partnerships.
In this Learn with the Expert webinar, leading family engagement researcher Dr. Karen Mapp shares why school-home partnerships are so important and how educators can overcome common challenges to bring schools, educators, families, and students together around learning.
FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS DRIVE STUDENT AND SCHOOL SUCCESS
To hear Dr. Mapp’s recommendations, watch the full recording.
For over 20 years, Dr. Karen Mapp and her colleagues have focused their research on partnerships among families, community members, and educators and the impact that strong partnerships have on student achievement and school improvement.
They found that when effective, sustained partnerships are in place, everyone benefits.
| Students achieve | Educators achieve | Families achieve | Schools achieve | Districts and Communities achieve |
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COMMON CHALLENGES AROUND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
While many educators know how important family engagement can be, every school community is unique in their needs and challenges. In her research, Dr. Mapp identified common challenges that many educators and families can relate to.
Educators
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Have not seen strong examples of family engagement
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Have received minimal training and PD on effective family engagement strategies
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May not see family partnership as an essential teaching practice
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May have developed deficit mindsets with regards to family engagement
Families
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Have not seen strong examples of family engagement
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Have had negative past experiences with schools and educators
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May not feel invited to contribute to their children’s education
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May feel disrespected, unheard, and unvalued
In the face of these challenges, where do we go from here?
A PATH FORWARD: ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS
To get started, Dr. Mapp shared process and organizational conditions for educators and leaders to consider when starting this work.
Conditions for Family-School Partnerships (from https://www.dualcapacity.org/, 2023.)
Process conditions are actions or practices that educators can take to overcome some of the common challenges of foster effective school-home partnerships.
Organizational conditions are the systems and structures that need to be in place to support effective school-home partnerships. These start with school leadership. Promoting these conditions top-down helps the entire school community prioritize school-home partnerships is an integral part of student achievement.
In her Learn with the Expert session, Dr. Mapp highlights one key process condition: Building relational trust with family members. And she provides actionable steps to take.
When these essential conditions are in place, Dr. Mapp and her colleagues found that educators felt empowered and families felt engaged in driving student and school improvement.
During the webinar, Dr. Mapp mentioned “When we start doing this work well, we see positive outcomes. As educators and families develop the skills and knowledge to build strong partnerships, everyone’s capacity, connections, and confidence increase.”
Dr. Mapp goes on to share, “We see educators and families working together in meaningful ways. They’re working together to support school and student improvement.”
FOR MORE, WATCH LEARN WITH THE EXPERT WITH DR. KAREN MAPP
When We Partner, Everyone Wins: Family Engagement in Education
Dr. Karen Mapp shares what we know, given the extensive research on family engagement, about the powerful impact of effective family–school partnerships on students, parents, teachers, and schools.
