Family Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education

By Margaret Caspe, M. Elena Lopez, and Cassandra Wolos, Harvard Family Research Project

© 2007 President and Fellows of Harvard College, reprinted with permission from Harvard Family Research Project (www.hfrp.org).

This article is excerpted from "Family Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education," part of the series, "Family Involvement Makes a Difference" and can be found online at:
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/elementary.html

Introduction

During their elementary school years, children undergo important
developmental changes. Their reasoning becomes more logical, their
attention gets more adaptable, their perspective taking grows more
sophisticated, and their reading and math skills blossom. With entry into
formal schooling, children spend more time away from their families. Often,
this time includes many hours spent in schools and out-of-school time
programs.1 Throughout elementary school, children begin to integrate
knowledge from their interactions with teachers, peers, and families in
order to construct identities based on their understanding of what they are
good at and capable of doing.

As in the period of early childhood, family involvement processes are
critical for elementary-school-age children's learning and development.
However, in elementary school, the specific activities and nature of these
processes change. For the first time in a child's development, the federal
government affords the child and family specific rights and
responsibilities—and holds the school accountable for providing them. The
No Child Left Behind Act mandates that elementary schools give parents the
tools they need to support their children's learning in the home,
communicate regularly with families about children's academic progress,
provide opportunities for family workshops, and offer parents chances to
engage in parent leadership activities at the school site.2

In carrying out these mandates, both policymakers and elementary schools
need to be aware of and encourage the family involvement processes that
research has shown to be effective in advancing school-age children's
learning and socio-emotional development. Schools must also distinguish the
different child outcomes to which family involvement processes relate and
understand the needs and assets of the diverse communities that make up
their student populations.

This research brief, the second in a series of papers highlighting the
importance of family involvement for children's outcomes, addresses these
issues. The brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective
involvement for elementary school children—that is, the studies that link
family involvement in elementary schools to children's outcomes. It also
profiles programs that have been evaluated to show what works to promote
family involvement in the elementary school years. The brief concludes with
implications for policy, practice, and research.

To read the rest of this article please visit the Harvard Family research Project:
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/elementary.html

References

1 Eccles, J. S. (1999). The development of children ages 6 to 14. The
Future of Children, 9(2), 30–44.

2 No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Public Law No. 107-110, 115 Stat. 1425
(2002).