Family-School Connections

Strong family-school connections is an important predictor of children’s academic success. Families encourage children's learning and support academic learning in multiple ways. At CDF, we investigate the diverse ways Latine families' are engaged with their children’s early school-based learning. We ask questions such as: 

• What constellation of parenting behaviors comprise family engagement? 

• What is the relation between these different dimensions of family engagement and young children's school-based skills? 

• How can educators support and enhance the family engagement practices of immigrant families in culturally responsive ways?

We also investigate ways in which schools can use culturally informed practices to support children's school-based learning. Children's everyday experiences in their communities, their cultural funds of knowledge, are key to how they learn and can be leveraged to enrich their school-based experiences and support their academic success. As an example of this work, R-SUCCESS is a program that uses culturally grounded oral storytelling to support children's narrative and early literacy skills.

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