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…

This study investigated the impact of parental involvement on school readiness, focusing on the mediating role of preschoolers' self-efficacy. The research utilized a cross-sectional survey design with 1,000 preschool children from seven public kindergartens in Beijing, China. Structural equation modelling was employed for data analysis. The…

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…

Family-school partnerships are considered essential to the success of multiply marginalized children in urban contexts. These partnerships often, however, reinforce middle-class white normativity and subsequent oppression of families outside the dominant culture. Home visiting is one such practice spreading throughout urban centers. Is it possible…

Drawing on interview data with school staff and parents from seven primary schools across England, this paper explores how schools and homes worked together during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact this had on their relationships with one another. Given that research before the pandemic has indicated that much of the communication taking place…

While research has been conducted on the importance of creating safe environments where LGBTQ+ students feel seen and respected (Hermann-Wilmarth & Ryan, 2019), little research has been completed on these spaces' impact on LGBTQ+-headed families. Understanding the impact belonging has on a sense of mattering (Strayhorn, 2019), it is essential…

Families face challenging decisions about early care and education (ECE) for their children. Decisions about what is best for each child and family are constrained by family and contextual factors and are prone to disruptions. This study provides a descriptive look at patterns of ECE settings children were in the year prior to kindergarten,…

Dual language education programs have become increasingly popular among elementary schools across the country. These programs are touted to represent a promise of a more equitable education for children whose parents are immigrants or whose first languages are not English. Nonetheless, these programs are also known to have appeal to monolingual…

Children's early school experiences shape their learning in future years. The transition from pre-kindergarten, or pre-K, to kindergarten is particularly important. This critical time builds the foundation for children's academic, behavioral and social-emotional skills, as well as families' relationships with their child's teachers for years to…

This article reports on a narrative inquiry (NI) of two Norwegian polyamorous families regarding their encounters with their children's kindergartens. NI as a theory and method is employed, along with discourse theory, to understand the experiences of these polyfamilies in Norway. Norway has declared its institutions to be discrimination-free but…

Despite the fact that research shows that collaboration between families and schools contribute to academic achievement, social-emotional development and sense of well-being of students, many schools struggle to establish family-school partnerships. The current study explores keys to success and challenges in engaging families to the design and…

Effective transitions to kindergarten engage families and ease children into new environments. Countdown to Kindergarten (CTK), a program in a southeastern U.S. state that serves more than 1,000 children each year and is grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, partners kindergarten teachers and families to facilitate effective…

The study investigated school-to-family communication efforts to improve daily attendance among economically disadvantaged students at the R Elementary School (pseudonym). Research questions during this study included to what extent does a 6-week school-to-family communication initiative impact student attendance rates and what are the existing…

Question asked in a preschool/primary teacher PD session on read-alouds: "After our Family Night presentation on home read-alouds, we got so many questions from families and caretakers. How can we give follow-up support?" This teaching guide suggests three simple ideas for supporting parent home-read-alouds with preschool, kindergarten,…

This text introduces an original, scalable instructional framework called Telling Our Stories (TOS), an approach for supporting culturally informed literacy instruction in the elementary classroom. Connecting the theory to practice, the TOS framework centers the cultural heritage and experiences of students and offers a roadmap to scientifically…