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As a result of the explosion of family involvement activity, state and local education agencies have been grappling with the issues of program development, implementation, and refinement, and some pioneering efforts worthy of examination have begun to emerge. This study was designed to take stock of what we know from more than twenty-five years of research and new initiatives in order to document and analyze useful practices from which others can learn or emulate as they seek to craft school reform efforts.
The original RFP discussed three cross-cutting research themes about the antecedents, stimuli, and context of reform that were addressed in this study:
Rather than trying to deal with the whole field of parent, family, and community involvement, this study focused on three different research strands: comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs, school restructuring, and school-initiated adult-child learning programs. The plan called for studying these focus areas within the context of the middle grades, defined as grades 4-8. Because grades 4 and 5 are typically found in the elementary grades, i.e.,grades Prekindergarten through 5, on the recommendation of the Advisory Group we focused our research primarily in schools that contained only grades 6-8.
For each research strand, we targeted the following areas for study:
For a detailed explanation of each of the research strands and focus areas, see Volume III of this final Technical Report (Rutherford, et al., 1995).[NOTE: Not available on-line]
The questions for each of the research strands is listed below. While each of the questions was considered important to the study, some questions received more emphasis than others. Those questions are denoted with an asterisk.
Context
*1. What is the larger environmental context for comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs?
1.1 What federal and/or state policies or practices have affected the development of comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs?
*2. What is the local environmental context for restructuring as it relates to comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs?
3. What was the influence of the larger environment on the local environment?
Planning and Design
*4. What were the basic features of the planning process for comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs?
4.1 What were the key decisions/events that occurred during planning?
4.2 What were the roles of the key players?
*5. What was the design of the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program?
5.1 What types of strategies/activities were included in the initial design; how did their conception evolve?
6. What was the effect of the local environment on planning and design?
Current Implementation
*7. What are the key characteristics of the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program that have been implemented by the district?
7.1 What initial districtwide activities were implemented? How similar were the activities to the original design? What accounts for any differences?
7.2 Who has been involved in the implementation of the program activities and what roles do they play?
*8. What have been major barriers to the implementation of comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement programs? What strategies have been used to respond to these barriers?
Support Systems
*9. What external or internal supports were required in the planning, design, and implementation of the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program? What supports were most important?
9.1 What were the effects of internal and external supports on the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program?
*10. What fiscal or other resources have been used to plan, design, implement, and sustain the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program?
10.1 If extra funds were required, how much extra was needed, what was the source of these funds, and how were they obtained?
Outcomes
*11. What are the effects of the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program on:
school-home communication?
new roles for parents in schools?
new roles for schools regarding parents?
new roles for the community in schools?
11.1 What are the unanticipated effects of the comprehensive districtwide parent and community involvement program on family and community involvement?
*1. What is the larger environmental context for restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
1.1 What federal or state policies or practices have facilitated or inhibited the development of restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
1.2 What funding, if any, was provided for the district/school toward restructuring? What was the source of these funds?
1.3 What key decisions/events in the larger environment have affected restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
*2. What is the local environmental context for restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
2.1 What administrative structures in the local environment exist or were created to facilitate the restructuring effort?
2.2 What school or district policies have facilitated or inhibited the planning and development of restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
2.3 What key decisions/events in the local environment have affected restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
2.4 What resources has the school, district, or community provided for the restructuring effort?
3. What was the influence of the larger environment on the local environment?
Planning and Design
*4. What were the basic features of the planning process for restructuring activities? What were the basic features of the planning process for family and community involvement as an aspect or outcome of restructuring?
4.1 Who participated in any planning activities and what was their perception of the problem or issues to be addressed?
4.2 What was the substance of any plan and subsequent revisions?
*5. What was the design of restructuring activities? What was the design of the parent and community involvement program as a strategy or intended outcome of school restructuring?
5.1 What types of strategies/activities were included in the initial design; how did their conception evolve?
5.2 What role, if any, was conceived for family and community involvement in the restructuring effort?
6. What was the effect of the local environment on planning and design?
Current Implementation
*7. What are the key characteristics of the restructuring effort? What are the key characteristics of restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
7.1 What initial restructuring activities were implemented? How similar were the activities to the original design? What accounts for any differences?
7.2 Who has been involved in the implementation of the restructuring and family/community involvement activities and what roles do they play?
*8. What have been major barriers to the implementation of restructuring programs as it relates to family and community involvement? What strategies have been used to respond to these barriers?
Support Systems
*9. What internal and external factors or conditions supported the planning, design, and implementation of restructuring and of family and community involvement?
9.1 How did supports for the overall restructuring activities affect the design and implementation of family and community involvement?
9.2 What were the effects of internal supports for family and community involvement?
9.3 What were the effects of external supports for family and community involvement?
*10. What fiscal or other resources have been used to plan, design, implement, and sustain the restructuring as it relates to family and community involvement?
10.1 If extra funds were required, how much extra was needed, what was the source of these funds, and how were they obtained?
Outcomes
*11. What are the effects of restructuring activities on:
school-home communication?
new roles for parents in schools?
new roles for schools regarding parents?
new roles for the community in schools?
11.1 What are the unanticipated effects of the restructuring activities on family and community involvement?
Context
*1. What is the larger environmental context for adult-child learning programs?
1.1 What demographic, economic, and historical factors were involved in shaping the design and implementation of these programs and activities?
*2. What is the local environmental context for adult-child learning programs?
2.1 What district, school policies or practices have facilitated or inhibited the development of school/teacher initiated programs and activities to promote student-family learning?
2.2 What district, school, and teacher resources were required to implement these programs and activities?
3. What was the influence of the larger environment on the local environment?
Planning and Design
*4. What were the basic features of the planning process for adult-child learning experiences?
4.1 Who participated in any planning activities and what was their perception of the problem or issues to be addressed?
4.2 What was the substance of any plan and subsequent revisions?
*5. What was the design of the adult-child learning program?
6. What was the effect of the local environment on planning and design?
Current Implementation
*7. What are the key characteristics of the program and activities that have been initiated by the school/teachers?
7.1 How similar are these key characteristics to the original design? How have the goals, key characteristics of the program and activities, resources, or anticipated outcomes changed since the program or activities were initiated?
7.2 Who has been involved in the implementation of the program activities and what roles do they play?
*8. What have been the major barriers to the implementation of the program and activities, and how have these been overcome?
Support Systems
*9. What internal or external supports were required in the planning, design, and implementation of these programs and activities?
*10. What resources have been used to plan, design, implement, and sustain these programs and activities?
10.1 If extra funds were required, how much extra was needed, what was the source of these funds, and how were they obtained?
Intermediate Outcomes
*11. What have been the perceived and actual benefits of the program/school-initiated activities on families and school staff?
11.1 How have these benefits been assessed?
11.2 Is it possible to separate the impact of this program/activities from other factors that might affect outcomes for the key players?
Ultimate Outcomes
12. What have been the ultimate outcomes for students in terms of increased skills/knowledge and/or positive attitudes about school and learning?
[Case Study Summaries]