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…

Current understandings of disability experience are centered around individuals who hold the disability identity and membership in the marginalized group. This perspective does not include the experiences of disability allies, such as parents, who act alongside their children to support their access and engagement in the education setting. This…

Families are critical partners in addressing chronic absenteeism. Drawing from research, authors Thomas J. Capretta, Jingyang (Max) Zhang, and Barbara J. Boone present four throughlines and six strategies for schools to improve attendance by building trust and partnering with families. In view of chronic absenteeism's association with negative…

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…

Over the first 18 years of life, students spend a large portion of their time in school and at home. Having a good relationship between the adults at home and school is vital for the success of children throughout their schooling. This relationship can often feel one sided, but what if there is another reason why the relationship between home and…

Preservice educators' attitudes and beliefs towards families can have a profound impact on family-centered practices (FCPs) and family-professional partnerships (FPPs); unfortunately, negative beliefs about families can surface during preservice early childhood preparation and can be a challenge for faculty in higher education to address. This…

National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) defines family leadership as strategies and services that improve and enhance the leadership skills of parenting adults and that are designed to support families in becoming advocates for themselves, their families, and their communities. This work is accomplished alongside the education and community…

Communication and relationship-building are vitally important to creating a school environment where everyone--families, staff, and students--feels like they truly belong. Having a plan and a process for communication can help support relationships with families when facing unpredicted events or uncertain times, leading to the entire school…

Purpose: This conceptual paper explores the relationship between school structure, organisation, and home-school collaboration. It argues that the traditional and dominant secondary school model based on same-age organisation acts in ways that constrain home-school collaboration while claiming to value it. The paper proposes an alternative model…

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,…

A plethora of services in early childhood care and education has not sufficiently resulted in equitable practice for families and, specifically, families of Color across the globe. Despite numerous programs geared toward alleviating literacy challenges, families of Color worldwide continue to experience Eurocentric approaches to addressing the…

This case study focuses on the preferred instructional approaches of integrative STEM education as students encounter authentic problems in their community, analyze data, and share their evidenced-based explanations and solutions with external audiences. As the case unfolds, school leaders encounter tensions among family and community members, and…

By intentionally implementing strategies to partner with caregivers before, during, and after the evaluation process, school psychologists can empower families and improve student outcomes. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP, 2019) has advocated for engaging families as active partners, emphasizing the importance of forming…

This paper demonstrates how the orientation of trainee teachers to messages relayed about an aspect of practice can be specified if a dialectic is kept between the theoretical and the empirical, in accordance with principles developed by Basil Bernstein. Bernstein's methodology has the capacity to establish subtle understandings of how practices…

Early childhood educators have a tremendous opportunity to foster inclusivity, respect, and a sense of belonging in young children and their families (Abacioglu et al., 2020). They can impact children's early experiences by creating caring and inclusive learning environments in schools and homes (Vidal-Hall et al., 2020). Facilitating diverse…