A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Studies of Education Reform: Parent and Community Involvement in Education - 1995

Preface

Overview. In April 1991 the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) issued a Request for Proposals for twelve studies that focus on nationally significant recent education reform and restructuring efforts across the country. The fundamental purpose of each of these studies is to document and analyze promising and successful models and practices that others can learn from or emulate as they seek to reform American education. Based on existing data, the studies examine the impact of the reforms, particularly the impact on students, and especially the impact on student learning. What was expected of the reform? What has it accomplished?

In September 1991 RMC Research Corporation was awarded the contract to study parent and community involvement in education, emphasizing programs at the middle grades (grades 6-8), as one of the twelve studies of educational reform. Three aspects of parent and community involvement in education were the focus of this study: comprehensive districtwide efforts to involve parents, families, and community members in the education of all children; parent and community involvement in the restructuring of middle grade education; and the involvement of parents and families through interactive activities at home that support learning in school.

Scope of the work. This volume of the Final Technical Report represents a synthesis of two major tasks undertaken during the study. First, a summary review of the research and practice literature on parent and community involvement related to the middle grades is presented. The literature review (see Rutherford, Billig & Kettering, 1992) assisted us as we refined our research plan. It also provided the basis for the second task -- fieldwork -- that was carried out in nine sites across the United States.

During the spring and summer of 1994, researchers conducted a total of 18 site visits (two visits to each of nine sites). Three sites were chosen for each of the three research focus areas. Comprehensive districtwide program sites included Ft. Worth, Texas; Louisville, Kentucky; and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sites for the school restructuring focus area were Beck Middle School, Georgetown, South Carolina; Lamoni Middle School, Lamoni, Iowa; and Shelburne Middle School, Shelburne, Vermont. Adult-child learning experiences were studied in Community School District Number 3, New York City; the Natchez-Adams Parent Center, Natchez, Mississippi; and in Rochester Public Schools, Rochester, New York.

After the site visits, researchers analyzed and synthesized the data gathered during the visit into case study narratives. Each case study includes data on context; program planning, design, and implementation; challenges faced by each site; supports necessary to undertake the reforms; outcomes; and within-site analyses, presented as "lessons" that we learned from each site. (For the full text of the case studies, see Volume II: Final Technical Report). Case study summaries are included in this volume.

After all case studies were written, a cross-case narrative was prepared. The cross-case narrative details our analysis of findings across all nine sites, presented as eight issues of middle grade parent, family, and community involvement. Key approaches used by schools and school districts are discussed, and examples from the fieldwork are cited.

The remainder of Volume I is dedicated to an assessment of the impact of reform efforts on outcomes for schools, practitioners, parents, and students; and an assessment of the resources needed to accomplish reform. Volume I concludes with sections on implications for policy and practice, and future research directions.

Other key tasks for this contract, reported elsewhere, included: conducting a national conference (Rutherford, et al., 1992); a review of the current state-of-the-art and five commissioned papers (Rutherford, 1995); two initial practical products (Bernick, Rutherford and Elliott, 1993; Bernick and Rutherford, 1994), and a final practical product drawn from the cross-case narrative (RMC Research, 1995); and dissemination of information from the study (Rutherford, et al., 1993; Rutherford and Billig, 1995).

Conclusion. The reform of American education is a major undertaking. From those involved in this effort we already have learned valuable lessons. Each of the sites we visited have experienced success, to varying degrees. None, however, felt that the job of reform was finished. Time and again we heard that there was more to be learned, and that more time was needed to accomplish their goals. From the experiences of those involved in the process of reform reported here, it is our hope that others can learn and be successful.
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[Executive Summary] [Table of Contents] [Acknowledgments]