How are Partnerships Promoted in Schools?

1. The 4 A’s: Creating the Conditions for Enhancing Family-SchoolPartnershipsThe Future of School Psychology Task Force on Family-School PartnershipsAndy Garbacz, Katie Black, Katie Magee, Laura Mullaney, Susan SheridanUniversity of Nebraska-Lincoln

2. How are Partnerships Promoted in Schools? • Christenson & Sheridan (2001) provide a heuristic for the process variables necessary to “develop constructive, productive family-school relationships to enhance the academic, social, and behavioral growth of children and adolescents” (p. 15). • The process variables included in this heuristic are Approach, Attitude, Atmosphere, and Actions (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001).

3. Developing Pathways to Partnerships Prerequisite Conditions: These “3 A’s” must be in place for Actions to be accepted and effective Approach Actions Communicating a tone of partnership through bidirectional home-school communication and fostering family involvement in learning at home Successful learning opportunities and outcomes for children Atmosphere Attitude (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001; Sheridan & Kratochwill, in press) See PV Handout 1

4. The Four A’s: Approach • Approach refers to the framework for interaction with families. • Rimm-Kaufmann and Pianta (1999) have argued that greater consideration should be given to the development of family-school relationships early and over time because parents are very helpful in the educational process. • Their work has demonstrated that the quality of the parent’s relationship with the teacher and school personnel is as valid an indicator of a successful transition to schooling as the child’s competence in kindergarten.

5. The Four A’s: Approach • The quality of the family-school relationship predicts later school success, particularly for situations where discontinuity between the systems is present (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). • Support for children’s development is represented by “connections that occur whenever individuals (e.g., parents, teachers) or systems (schools, churches, families) have ongoing contact with each other that is organized around concern for the welfare of the child” (Garbarino, 1982). • An approach that takes these important connections into consideration, meaningful roleswill be established between families and educators.

6. The Four A’s: Approach • Joyce Epstein (1995) has outlined six types of family-school involvement, underscoring that families and schools can connect in many ways and that families can and do participate both at school and at home. • Parenting: schools assisting families with parenting skills • Communication: developing effective home-school communication procedures • Volunteering: allowing families to be involved in supporting the school and their children • Enhance learning at home: educators are encouraged to work with families to build on current learning opportunities at home • Decision-making: involving families in school and district decisions • Collaborating with the community: allowing community organizations to work with the family and school systems in meaningful ways

7. The Four A’s: Approach • The national Parent Teacher Association (PTA) has underscored the importance of Epstein’s six types of involvement. • They have also created four keys roles families can play in comprehensive and inclusive family-school partnership programs. • teachers/nurturers • communicators/advisors • supporters/learners • collaborators/decision makers • See Approach Folder for additional information, handouts, and discussion questions.

8. Approach

9. The Four A’s: Attitudes • Whatever beliefs families and schools hold about each other, they influence the kind of relationship they develop. • An attitude can be loosely defined as a value and/or perception related to some person, place, structure, or idea. • As it relates to families and schools, an attitude reflects the belief one holds about the other, or the way one thinks about the other (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). • Viewing families in a light that fosters partnerships and collaboration is one of the first steps in ensuring those partnerships will develop.

10. The Four A’s: Attitudes • A critical belief that must be held by educators is that home and school can accomplish more than either home or school can accomplish alone (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). • Pianta and Walsh (1996) described a necessary belief system for educators: • one where educators understand that children develop and learn in the context of the family, and • that system (i.e., child/family) must interface in a positive way with schooling issues for children’s educational performance to be optimal.

11. The Four A’s: Attitudes • Perspective taking and win-win attitudes stand out as important for connecting with parents. • Constructive family-school partnerships are fostered when educators accommodate parents by beginning where they are, not where educators think parents should or could be. • As family members and school personnel work together to identify shared goals, school personnel must be “willing to learn about a family’s uniqueness but also learn with and from them” (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001).

12. The Four A’s: Attitudes • Emphasizing a “win-win” orientation helps to circumvent blame and finger pointing when students’ are having learning and behavioral difficulties in school (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). • Educators portray a “win-win” attitude when they • state a desire to work toward resolution, avoid making attributions for problems (e.g., student is unmotivated or lacks home support) • discuss what can be done at home and school to achieve goals for the student.

13. The Four A’s: Attitudes • To ensure your attitude has the best chance of contributing to a healthy home-school relationship, begin by being honest with yourself in assessing your attitudes. • Once you are aware of your own beliefs and feelings towards families, decide how they might be helpful or harmful to developing a healthy family-school relationship • Discussions with other school personnel around these ideas may also be helpful to share with and encourage one another. • Developing attitudes that will aid in developing healthy family-school relationships is the first step in beginning to partner across home and school. • See Attitudes Folder for additional information, handouts, and discussion questions.

14. Attitude

15. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • Approach and attitude are not sufficient to ensure that positive relationships will develop between families and schools. • A school’s atmosphere must also be conducive to establishing effective partnerships between home and school. • A home’s environment must be conducive to learning. • At school: • An open, trusting, and inviting atmosphere can promote sharing attitudes and implementing actions, which are critical in forming partnerships.

16. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • At school: • Communication and feelings of trust and respect are significant characteristics of a school’s atmosphere (Haynes, Ben-Avie, Squires, Howley, Negron, & Corbin, 1996). • The school’s culture and climate must be welcoming for all families and their input. • Physical and structural aspects of schools must also be welcoming and inviting for all families regardless of their background.

17. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • At school: • Schools with high levels of parent involvement have: • Strong leadership and administrative support, and • They are responsive to families’ needs (e.g., provide transportation to school meetings and provide childcare for families). • Trust and communication are essential ingredients of atmosphere.

18. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • At home: • The most accurate predictor of student success is the family’s ability to: • Create a home learning environment • Communicate high and realistic expectations for children’s school performance and performance • Become involved in children’s schooling

19. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • At home: • Incorporate the “curriculum of the home,” or activities to create a home learning environment • Informed, everyday parent/child conversations about daily events • Encouragement and discussion of leisure reading • Deferral of immediate gratification to accomplish long-term goals • Expression of affection and interest in children’s academic and personal growth • Occasional caprice and serendipity (Walberg, 1984)

20. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • Trust and communication • “Bidirectional trust between families and schools is vital to a healthy atmosphere and an essential feature of productive home-school relationships” (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001, pp. 114). • All communication from educators should strive to convey at least three consistent themes to families: • the desire to develop a working partnership with families; • the crucial nature of family input for children’s educational progress; and • the importance of working together to identify a mutually advantageous solution in light of problems (Weiss & Edwards, 1992).

21. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • Trust and communication • Miscommunication commonly occurs when blaming is involved in the interaction, during emotionally charged situations, and when effective communication strategies are not used. • Parents prefer trust, open-communication, mutual respect, active listening, and honesty in partnerships (Dunst, Johanson, Rounds, Trivette, & Hanby, 1992). • The use of effective communication strategies is essential when schools are communicating with families. See PV Handout 2

22. The Four A’s: Atmosphere • Atmosphere is a necessary condition for promoting family-school partnerships and students’ educational outcomes, but it is not sufficient in and of itself. • Atmosphere, combined with Approach and Attitudes lay the foundation for schools to engage in Actions. When all four A’s are present in schools, partnerships can be built and student outcomes can be enhanced. • See Atmosphere Folder for additional information, handouts, and discussion questions.

23. Atmosphere

24. The Four A’s: Actions • Approach, Attitudes, and Atmosphere serve as the prerequisite conditions for schools to engage in Actions. • Actions refer to what schools do to build partnerships and shared responsibility for education between families and schools. • “The use of the word ‘actions’ implies that there is no one activity or even a best set of activities, but instead important process-related variables that together suggest unique pathways for the home-school interface” (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001, p. 2).

25. The Four A’s: Actions • There is no one-size fits all approach to engaging in Actions. • Rather, schools are encouraged to examine their current practices for partnering with families and their willingness to include families and their input when conceptualizing the Actions in which they will engage. • When conceptualizing Actions and promoting shared responsibility in partnerships, it is essential that families are included in the decision making process, have meaningful involvement throughout the process, and agree with and contribute to action plans that affect them (Osher, 1997).

26. Actions: Evidence-Based Interventions • Numerous evidence-based models have been identified which utilize and promote family-school partnerships. • These models have been separated into the following areas: 1. Family-School Interventions with Preschool Children 2. Parent Consultation 3. Parent Education, Training, and Intervention 4. Family-School Collaboration 5. Parent Involvement Interventions

27. Examples of Evidence-Based Interventions • Within the Family-School Interventions with Preschool Children domain the following have been identified as strong or promising evidence-based models: • Strong evidence-based models include • The Incredible Years Training Series (Webster-Stratton, Reid, & Hammond, 2001) See PV Handout 3 • Parent Child Interaction Therapy (Hembree-Kigin & McNeil, 1995) See PV Handout 4 • Dialogic Reading See PV Handout 5 • A promising evidence-based model includes • PARTNERS parent education program (Webster-Stratton, 1998) See PV Handout 6

28. Examples of Evidence-Based Interventions • Within the Parent Consultation domain the following have been identified as strong or promising evidence-based models: • Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Bergan, 1996) See PV Handout 7 • Parent Behavioral Consultation (Cavell & Hughes, 2000; Doll & Kratochwill, 1992; Loitz & Kratochwill, 1995; Rhoades & Kratochwill, 1998) See PV Handout 8

29. Examples of Evidence-Based Interventions • Within the Parent Education, Training, and Intervention domain the following have been identified as strong or promising evidence-based models: • Strong evidence-based models include • Problem-Solving Skills Training plus Parent Management Training (Kazdin, Esveldt-Dawson, French, & Unis, 1987; Kazdin, Siegel, & Bass, 1992) See PV Handout 9 • Promising evidence-based models include • Aware Parenting Model (Bronstein, Duncan, Clauson, Abrams, Yannett, Ginsburg, & Milne, 1998) See PV Handout 10 • Reading Made Easy (Harrison, 1981; Mehran & White, 1998) See PV Handout 11 • Family Behavioral Therapy (Azrin, Donahue, Teichner, Crum, Howell, & DeCato, 2001) • Multi-Systemic Therapy (Brown, Henggeler, Schoenwald, Brondino, & Pickrel, 1999; Henggeler et al., 1999; Scherer, Brandino, Henggeler, Melton, & Hanley, 1994)

30. Examples of Evidence-Based Interventions • Within the Family-School Collaboration domain the following have been identified as strong or promising evidence-based models: • Strong evidence-based models include • School-based Literacy Program/Family Literacy Program (Morrow & Young, 1997) See PV Handout 12 • Promising evidence-based models include • Parent-Teacher Action Research Teams plus Social Skills Instruction (Forest & Pearpoint, 1992; McConaughy, Kay, & Fitzgerald, 1999; O’Brian, Forest, Snow, & Hasbury, 1989) See PV Handout 13 • A home-school note program with home reinforcements and a family problem-solving board game (Blechman, Taylor, & Schrader, 1981) See PV Handout 14

31. Examples of Evidence-Based Interventions • Within the Parent Involvement Interventions domain the following have been identified as promising evidence-based models: • In the single-participant category • Parent Tutoring (Duvall, Delquadri, Elliot, & Hall, 1992; Hook & DuPaul, 1999) See PV Handout 15 • In the group-participant category • Parents Encourage Pupils (Shuck, Ulsh, & Platt, 1983) See PV Handout 16 • Reciprocal Peer Tutoring and Parent Involvement (Heller & Fantuzzo, 1993) See PV Handout 17

32. Key Points • The aforementioned strategies may not work equally for all students, families, and educators. • The development of effective atmosphere, approach, attitudes, and actions takes time. • As such, individual schools may want to discuss what type(s) of programs will best meet their needs. • Committing the time and resources while developing and implementing effective strategies will allow the process and outcomes to be most effective.

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