School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools / Edition 2

by Joyce L Epstein

Overview

School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools addresses a fundamental question in education today: How will colleges and universities prepare future teachers, administrators, counselors, and other education professionals to conduct effective programs of family and community involvement that contribute to students'success in school?

The work of Joyce L. Epstein has advanced theories, research, policies, and practices of family and community involvement in elementary, middle, and high schools, districts, and states nationwide. In this second edition, she shows that there are new and better ways to organize programs of family and community involvement as essential components of district leadership and school improvement.

THE SECOND EDITION OFFERS EDUCATORS AND RESEARCHERS:

• A framework for helping rising educators to develop comprehensive, goal-linked programs of school, family, andcommunity partnerships.
• A clear discussion of the theory of overlapping spheres of influence, which asserts that schools, families, and communitiesshare responsibility for student success in school.
• A historic overview and exploration of research on the nature and effects of parent involvement.
• Methods for applying the theory, framework, and research on partnerships in college course assignments, classdiscussions, projects and activities, and field experiences.
• Examples that show how research-based approaches improve policies on partnerships, district leadership, andschool programs of family and community involvement.

Definitive and engaging, School, Family, and Community Partnerships can be used as a main or supplementary text in courses on foundations of education methods of teaching, educational administration, family and community relations, contemporary issues in education, sociology of education, sociology of the family, school psychology, social work, education policy, and other courses that prepare professionals to work in schools and with families and students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813344478
Publisher:	Westview Press
Publication date:	11/02/2010
Edition description:	Second Edition, Second Edition
Pages:	656
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.40(d)
Lexile:	1440L (what's this?)

About the Author

Joyce Epstein (Johns Hopkins University, USA)

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures xi

Preface and Acknowledgments xv

Part 1 Understanding School, Family, and Community Partnerships

1 Introduction 3

Matching Rhetoric with Practice 3

The Need 4

The Gap 5

Evidence of Change 7

Policies Encourage Preparation on Partnerships 9

More Is Needed 10

The Goals 11

Achieving the Goals 12

Using This Volume 12

Setting a Course 16

Featured Topics for Discussion 18

Activities and Exercises 19

Summary 20

References 21

2 Theory and Overview 25

Reading 2.1 Toward a Theory of Family-School Connections: Teacher Practices and Parent Involvement Joyce L. Epstein 26

Reading 2.2 Moving Forward: Ideas for Research on School, Family, and Community Partnerships Joyce L. Epstein Steven B. Sheldon 42

Discussion and Activities 67

3 Research 91

Reading 3.1 Parent Involvement: A Survey of Teacher Practices Henry Jay Becker Joyce L. Epstein 95

Reading 3.2 Teachers' Reported Practices of Parent Involvement: Problems and Possibilities Joyce L. Epstein Henry Jay Becker 115

Reading 3.3 School Programs and Teacher Practices of Parent Involvement in Inner-City Elementary and Middle School Joyce L. Epstein Susan L. Dauber 129

Reading 3.4 Parents' Reactions to Teacher Practices of Parent Involvement Joyce L. Epstein 150

Reading 3.5 Single Parents and the Schools: Effects of Marital Status of Parent and Teacher Interactions Joyce L. Epstein 171

Reading 3.6 Parents' Attitudes and Practices of Involvement in Inner-City Elementary and Middle Schools Susan L. Dauber Joyce L. Epstein 200

Reading 3.7 Effects on Student Achievement of Teachers' Practices of Parent Involvement Joyce L. Epstein 216

Reading 3.8 Homework Practices, Achievements, and Behaviors of Elementary School Students Joyce L. Epstein 231

Reading 3.9 Student Reactions to Teachers' Practices of Parent Involvement Joyce L. Epstein 247

Discussion and Activities 257

Part 2 Applying Research on School, Family, and Community Partnerships

4 Policy Implications 299

Reading 4.1 Parent Involvement: State Education Agencies Should Lead the Way Joyce L. Epstein 304

Reading 4.2 Sample State and District Policies on School, Family, and Community Partnerships 312

Reading 4.3 Research Meets Policy and Practice: How Are School Districts Addressing NCLB Requirements for Parental Involvement" Joyce L. Epstein 331

Discussion and Activities 347

5 A Practical Framework for Developing Comprehensive Partnership Programs 387

Reading 5.1 School, Family, and Community Partnerships-Caring for the Children We Share Joyce L. Epstein 389

Discussion and Activities 415

6 Practical Applications: Linking Family and Community Involvement to Student Learning 493

Reading 6.1 More Than Minutes: Teachers' Roles in Designing Homework Joyce L. Epstein Frances L. Van Voorhis 496

Reading 6.2 Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS): Interactive Homework in Math, Science, and Language Arts Joyce L. Epstein 521

Reading 6.3 Organizing Productive Volunteers in the Middle Grades Joyce L. Epstein 555

Discussion and Activities 562

7 Strategies for Action in Practice, Policy, and Research 573

Discussion and Activities 576

Index 617

Editorial Reviews

“This book should be required reading in any course on school improvement or school leadership, and for anyone seeking to look beyond quick fixes towards more durable supports for student learning.”
—Carolyn Riehl, Ph.D., Teachers College, Columbia University

“Provides a firm foundation for the challenge inherent in implementing the complex process of school, family, and community interaction.”
—Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk

”Offers educators a framework for thinking about, talking about, and actually building comprehensive programs for school and family partnerships.”
—Hispanic Outlook

”The strengths of this book are: 1) its extensive research on parents and their perceptions of school involvement; teacher perception and understanding of parent involvement; and students' thinking about family involvement, 2) its combination of research and application, and policy initiatives in one text, 3) the clear, matter-of-fact writing style, which draws the reader into the work, and 4) the detailed history of the theories and practices of the family-school relationship in children's learning.”
—Teachers College Record
”Well-organized and contains activities based on theory and research that all school leaders can really put into practice.”
—NASSP Bulletin

From the Publisher