Transcript Enhanced Family-School Partnerships in Schools

The 4 A’s: Creating the
Conditions for Enhancing
Family-School Partnerships
The Future of School Psychology Task Force on
Family-School Partnerships
Andy Garbacz, Katie Black, Katie Magee, Laura Mullaney,
Susan Sheridan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
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).
Developing Pathways to
Partnerships
Prerequisite Conditions:
These “3 A’s” must be in place for Actions
to be accepted and effective
Approach
Actions
Atmosphere
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
Attitude
(Christenson & Sheridan, 2001; Sheridan & Kratochwill, in press)
See PV Handout 1
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.
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 roles will be established between
families and educators.
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.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
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
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.
1)
2)
3)
4)
teachers/nurturers
communicators/advisors
supporters/learners
collaborators/decision makers
 See Approach Folder for additional information, handouts, and
discussion questions.
Approach
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 familyschool relationships is the first step in beginning to partner across
home and school.

See Attitudes Folder for additional information, handouts, and
discussion questions.
Attitude
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.
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.
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.
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

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)

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).
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
The Four A’s: Atmosphere

Atmosphere is a necessary condition for promoting familyschool 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.
Atmosphere
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).
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).
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
Examples of
Evidence-Based Interventions

Within the Family-School Interventions with
Preschool Children domain the following have
been identified as strong or promising evidencebased 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 (WebsterStratton, 1998) See PV Handout 6
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
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)
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
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
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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