The post-modern curriculum, drawing on chaos and complexity theory, recognises the realities of a world in flux and posits that the teacher and the class are always teetering "in the midst" of chaos, "not linked by chains of causality but [by] layers of meaning, recursive dynamics, non-linear effects and chance" (Osberg 2008,…

Differentiation of self, a cornerstone concept in Bowen theory, has a profound influence over time on the functioning of the individual and his or her family unit. This 5-year longitudinal study tested this hypothesis with 50 developing nuclear families. The dimensions of differentiation of self that were examined were goal direction and…

A daily diary method was used to examine the daily dynamics of adolescent conflict and perceived relationship satisfaction with mothers, fathers, and best friends among a sample of 72 Dutch adolescents (M = 15.59 years). Multilevel analyses revealed that perceived relationship satisfaction with mothers, fathers, and best friends was lower on days…

Although it is evident that advocacy for strong school and family relationships exists, many teachers and schools struggle to find ways to engage families in their classrooms. At the same time, research on families from diverse cultural and linguistic groups points to differences in perceptions of what it means to be involved, support children's…

This study examined the role that Ghanaian caregivers' values toward education play in shaping students' intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation for learning, and the ways these values and motivational orientations predict school attendance and achievement. Study participants included 88 students (M?=?11.63 years; 48% female) from two primary…

The problem researched in this study is that many African American secondary students are not reading as proficient as their peers. In addition, parental involvement in secondary education is significantly less than during their elementary school years. The purpose of this qualitative, narrative phenomenological study was to explore parents' or…

This guide offers educators, program managers, administrators, and researchers a resource for building capacity for monitoring program outcomes. It provides concise definitions of program monitoring components and a framework for assessing program progress. Examples demonstrate the relationships among program components: outcomes, indicators,…

The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore stakeholders' perceptions of the culturally responsive leadership practices of charter school leaders. The goals were: (a) to explore how the school leadership team perceived culturally responsive leadership in a K-12 charter school in North Carolina, (b) to explore how the teachers…

This brief explores some of the evidence supporting approaches to family engagement that are effective methods of improving academic achievement. It also includes an overview of different types of family engagement, including case study examples of promising practices and recommendations for parents, school personnel, program officials, and…

This year's report examines the critical role community plays in education. Integrating learning that takes place inside and outside of school has always been a powerful strategy to support student success, but it gained special relevance this year, as school closures made family and community members integral parts of students' daily learning.…

This "Conversation Currents" features JoBeth Allen and Valerie Kinloch discussing their thoughts and experiences working with families and communities. Allen bases her comments on the belief that programs have to be adaptable to many different constituencies and demographics, and so must be recreated every year with every teacher and…

Although treatment acceptability was originally proposed as a critical factor in determining the likelihood that a treatment will be used with integrity, more contemporary findings suggest that whether something is likely to be adopted into routine practice is dependent on the complex interplay among a number of different factors. The Usage Rating…

Previous research on home-school relationships and blame has concentrated on the experiences of parents with children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). This has led to the voices of educational practitioners, as well as parents of children with other special educational needs, being neglected. This article, by Karen…

Home-school collaboration is strongly related to educational outcomes of children. However, not all families feel equally welcome at their children's schools. Children of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) couples are often met with perceived hostility when they attempt to participate in discussions about family, and their parents…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the essence of parent, teacher, and student experiences when parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities diverge; of particular importance was the perceived influence of these divergent accounts on students and the establishment of effective family-school partnerships. This purpose…