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Citation:

Epstein, J. L., & Sanders, M. G. (2000). Connecting home, school, and community: New directions for social research. In M. T. Hallinan (Ed.), Handbook of the sociology of education (pp. 285-306). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Annotation:
This chapter reviews the progress of a field of study that explores Epstein's (1995) "overlapping spheres of influence." It summarizes results from studies that have created a knowledge base on partnerships and presents some issues that need attention in basic and applied research. Findings indicated that teachers, parents, and students had little understanding of each other's interests in children and schools. Another finding confirmed in national and international studies that school and classroom practices influence family involvement. A third finding corroborated results in the research literature that teachers who involved parents rated parents more positively and stereotyped families less than other teachers. Fourth, specific outcomes were linked to different types of involvement. Studies have grown from focusing mainly on preschools to elementary, middle, and high schools, and from what parents do on their own to what schools, families, and communities do in partnership. Small, local samples have expanded to national samples of students and families with diverse racial and cultural backgrounds in urban, rural, and suburban locations. As research continues, researchers must ask deeper questions, employ better samples, collect useful data, create more fully specified measurement models, and conduct more elegant analyses to clearly identify the results of particular practices of partnership. An added challenge is to continue to conduct research that helps improve educational policies and school practices of partnership. Studies are needed at all grade levelsÑin differently organized schools, in varied locations, and with students and families with diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. Four new topics for research have emerged for new studies on partnerships: transitions, community connections, students' roles in partnerships, and the results of school, family, and community connections.