Family engagement is a major component in assisting student success and academic growth; however, within the inner city, it can be difficult to get families engaged due to many different factors. Schools can increase family engagement by giving families the knowledge to be successful. The purpose of this dissertation is to present how effective it…

The Home Connections program aims to induce ongoing, meaningful parent-adolescent dialogue at home and follow up on those discussions at school. Students are assigned provocative weekly questions to ask parents and requested to turn in written results, which are discussed and tabulated. Implementation steps are outlined. (MLH)

Describes a science program that encourages elementary students and their families to participate in hands-on science activities at home. The program was designed to strengthen links between home and school and to foster communication between parents and children. Currently 15 schools in Nova Scotia involving 30 classrooms participate in the…

This practicum was designed to improve communication between the mostly low-income, Hispanic parents and the non-Hispanic staff of a school-based preschool program. Parents of the program's 20 children were surveyed to determine what factors might encourage their participation in school functions. Parents were also interviewed by telephone and in…

This manual for a program to teach parents of handicapped children to participate in their children's career education consists of a facilitator's manual, a parent training program, and a parent information packet. The facilitator's manual contains an overview of the program with specific directions for conducting the lectures, discussions, and…

This practicum was designed to address declining parental participation in school functions and activities at a middle school, along with a low level of parental involvement or interest in their children's education. A year-long parental involvement program was developed that encouraged parents to: (1) interact with their children and their…

This handbook contains everything needed to prepare instructional materials for conducting a PLACES (Parents Learning to Assist Children in the Elementary School) workshop. The handbook contains three sections. The Participant Manual (composed of all left-facing pages) consists of materials needed for the four sessions (17 activities) of the…

A project is described that focused on parents' becoming more skilled in helping the schools do a better job of teaching basic skills in K-12 and on the problems of discipline and drug abuse. As background information on Pike County, demographic data are provided, and the development of community education is overviewed. Development of the support…