The Impact of After-School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills

The first of several reports to come from CASEL's major meta-analysisproject. Conducted in collaboration with Joseph Durlak of Loyola Universityand funded by the W.T. Grant Foundation, this first report describes thestrong positive effects after-school programs can have, and the conditionsneeded to realize these benefits

Parents\u27 Perceptions of Teacher Outreach and Parent Involvement in Children\u27s Education

The present study investigated associations between parents\u27 perceptions of various teacher outreach practices and self-reported parent involvement both at home and at school. A survey was administered to 246 parents whose children attended one of three inner-city schools in a Midwestern city. Overall, large percentages of parents reported helping their children with schoolwork at home, whereas smaller percentages reported engaging in ongoing school communication with classroom teachers. Results also indicated that, even after controlling for diverse sociodemographic variables (e.g., the educational and employment levels of both parents, child\u27s grade, gender, and race) the strongest predictor of parent involvement was the parents\u27 perceptions of teacher outreach. Specifically, the more parents perceived their child\u27s teacher as valuing their contribution to their child\u27s education, trying to keep them informed about their child\u27s strengths and weaknesses, and providing them with specific suggestions to help their child, the higher the parents\u27 involvement was both at home and at school. Implications for school-family partnership interventions are discussed

The Seven P\u27s of School-Family Partnerships

Encouraging parents\u27 involvement in their children\u27s education is as American as apple pie. In fact, there is widespread support for the national education goal that states: By the year 2000, every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. Research can play an important role in developing effective school-family-partnership programs. Two informative findings from our own research, for example, have practical implications for intervention. First, the quality of parent-teacher relationships, rather than the quantity of contacts, relates to improved student achievement and behavior. And second, teacher outreach to parents and parent perceptions of how welcome their involvement is are far more important than demographic factors such as race or socioeconomic status in determining parent involvement. These findings emphasize that improving the constructiveness of parent-teacher relationships and increasing the ways in which teachers can influence parents\u27 perceptions and practices are the keys to establishing effective partnerships between schools and families. Yet national surveys of parents and teachers show that several obstacles impede the implementation of parent-involvement activities. Two barriers are the most frequently cited: lack of training and lack of time. Only a small percentage of teachers, for example, report that they received any specific preservice training on parent involvement. Few colleges of education offer such a course. Beyond that, the teachers note that they already have multiple tasks to complete within a restricted time frame and with limited resources. Given these realities, priority must be given to assisting teachers in overcoming these barriers to establish effective partnerships with parents

Social Problem-Solving Training with Children: A Guide to Effective Practice

School-based, social problem-solving (SPS) training with children offers promise both for the prevention and remediation of social maladjustment. This article describes the SPS approach and offers rationales for its integration into the school curriculum. Illustrative SPS programs are next reviewed and compared in terms of relative strengths and application potential. Practical guidelines are offered for conducting of effective SPS interventions jointly by school mental health and teaching staffs. The article concludes with a brief consideration of future applied SPS research directions

A Competence-Based Framework for Parent—School—Community Partnerships in Secondary Schools

Among the many transitions and passages students face during their school years, the entry into middle school is one of the most difficult. During this period, it is crucial for schools and families to work together in order to establish a constructive framework that can foster positive development. This article discusses the important academic, social and emotional competencies on which schools and families should focus during this critical transition period. Promoting these competencies will help adolescents develop positive bonds to home and school, a greater sense of personal possibilities and a constructive view of themselves in their social contexts. A competence-based framework, based on providing adolescents with opportunities for appreciation, belonging, social-emotional competence development, confidence and contributions is presented to guide home—school collaboration. The article concludes with examples of collaborative activities that have been successfully implemented

Promoting social and emotional learning : guidelines for educators /

Comprend des références bibliographiques (pages 127-132) et un inde