Main heading

Successful Home-School Partnerships

The purpose of this research project is to improve understanding of the key elements of successful home–school partnerships, and how these partnerships operate in different school settings. The project has two parts—a review of evidence, and an empirical research component. Both parts of the project are reported on here.

Author: Ally Bull, Keren Brooking & Renee Campbell
Date Published: June 2008



References

Anderson, K., & Minke, K. (2007). Parent involvement in education: Toward an understanding of parents’ decision
making. The Journal of Educational Research 100(5), 311–323.

Bailey, L. (2006). Interactive homework: A tool for fostering parent-child interactions and improving learning outcomes
for at-risk young children. Early Childhood Education Journal 34(2), 155–167.

Biddulph, F., Biddulph, J., & Biddulph, C. (2003). The complexity of community and family influences on children’s
achievement in New Zealand: Best Evidence Synthesis. Wellington: Ministry of Education

Carpentier, V. & Lall, M. (2005). Review of successful parental involvement practice for ‘hard to reach’ parents.
London: Institute of Education, University of London

Clinton, J., Hattie, J., & Dixon. (2007). Evaluation of the Flaxmere project: When families learn the language of
school. Wellington: Ministry of Education

Desforges, C. & Abouchaar, A. (2003). The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on
pupil achievement and adjustment: A literature review. (Research report No 433 Department for Education and Skills).
Down loaded from http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR433.doc

Epstein, J.L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan,
76(9), 701–712.

Epstein, J. L. (2001). School, family and community partnerships: Preparing educators and improving schools.
Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.

Epstein, J. L. (2005). Developing and sustaining research-based programs of school, family, and community
partnerships: Summary of five years of NNPS research. Downloaded from
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/pdf/Research%20Summary.pdf

Epstein, J., & Sheldon, S. (2006). Moving forward: Ideas for research on school, family, and community partnerships.
In C. Conrad & R. Serlin (Ed.) SAGE handbook for research in education: Engaging ideas and enriching inquiry
California: Sage Publications

Epstein, J., Sanders, M., & Sheldon, S. (2007) Family and community involvement achievement effects. Downloaded from: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/FamCommInv_AE.htm

Fisher, J. & Neill, A. (2006).Exploratory study of Home–school partnership: Numeracy. In Findings from the New
Zealand Numeracy Development Projects 2006 (pp.139–153). Wellington: Learning Media.

Hanafin, J., & Lynch, A. (2002). Peripheral voices: parental involvement, social class, and educational disadvantage.
British Journal of Sociology of Education, 23(1), 35–49.

Harris, A. & Goodall,J. (2007). Engaging parents in raising achievement. Do parents know they matter? Retrieved
3/10/07 from http://www.schoolsnetwork.org.uk/raisingachievement/engagingparents/default.aspa.

Hayes, D., & Chodkiewicz, A. (2006). School-community links: Supporting learning in the middle years. Research
Papers in Education 21(1), 3–18.

Hertz-Lazarowitz, & Horowitz, R. (2002). The impact of school family partnership (SFP) on parents’ attitudes and
children reading and writing in first grade. Eleventh International roundtable on school, family and parent community
partnership, New Orleans.
Janes, H., & Kermani, H. (2001). Caregivers’ story reading to young children in family literacy programs: Pleasure or
punishment? Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 44(5), 458–466.

Janiak, R. (2003). Empowering parents as reading tutors: An example of a family school partnership for children’s
literacy development. Retrieved 4/10/07, from
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_Search
Value_0=ED477861&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&accno=ED477861.

Jensen, D. (2007). Using classroom newsletters as a vehicle for examining home–school connections. Teaching
Education, 18(2), 167–178.

Katyal, K., & Evers, C. (2007). Parents—partners or clients? A reconceptualization of home–school interactions.
Teaching Education 18(1), 61–76.

Maclure, M. & Walker, B. (2000). Disenchanted evenings: The social organization of talk in parent-teacher
consultations in UK secondary schools. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 21(1), 5–25.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media

Pomerantz, E., Moorman, E., & Litwack, S. (2007) The how, whom, and why of parents’ involvement in children’s
academic lives: More is not always better Review of Educational Research, 77(3), 373–410.

Redding, S., Langdon, J., Meyer, J., & Sheley, P. (2004). The effects of comprehensive parent engagement on student
learning outcomes. Annual Convention of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego. Downloaded
from http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/content/projects/fine/resources/research/redding.pdf

Sheldon, S., & Epstein, J. (2005). Involvement counts: Family and community partnerships and mathematics
achievement. The Journal of Educational Research, 98(4), 196–206.

Sheldon, S., & Van Voorhis, F. (2004). Partnership programs in U.S. schools: Their development and relationship to
family involvement outcomes. School Effectiveness and School Improvement,15(2): 125–148.

Timperley, H., & Robinson, V. (2002). Partnership: Focusing the relationship on the task of school improvement.
Wellington:NZCER

Van Voorhis, F. (2003). Interactive Homework in Middle School: Effects on Family Involvement and Science
Achievement. Journal of Educational Research 96, 323–338.

Walker, B. (1998). Meetings without communication: a study of parents’ evenings in secondary schools. British
Educational Research Journal, 24(2), 163–178.

Walker, J., Wilkins, A., Dallaire, J., Sandler, H., & Hoover–Dempsey, K. (2005). Parental involvement: Model revision
through scale development. The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), 85–104.
Back to top of page.