32 Family Engagement

Family engagement is a critical and legally mandated component of special education. Studies of family engagement in children’s education reveal large associations between family engagement and success for students. Family engagement improves classroom dynamics and increases teacher expectations, student-teacher relationships, and cultural competence, regardless of students’ age groups (Boberiene, 2013). Below are resources to facilitate family engagement within special education service delivery.

Family engagement: Collaborating with families of students with disabilities – This is an IRIS module in which family engagement in special education is described and discussed. The module begins with a posed challenge and walks through practical strategies, voices from the field via video, and reflection questions as the content is covered. The module ends with an assessment for participants to determine learning mastery.

Communication for Collaboration – This is a CONNECT module that presents effective communication to promote collaboration among professionals and families.

Family Professional Partnerships – This is a CONNECT module that presents effective ways to partner with families. It includes content, videos, handouts, and activities.

resources

Making Meaningful Connections: Facilitating Schoolwide Family Engagement With Culturally Diverse Families This article is a resource to support educators in engaging with families who are culturally diverse. There are specific practical strategies that schools and educators can consider for adoption.

Family Engagement: Developing Relationship-Rich Partnerships With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families to Improve Students’ Long-Term Life Outcomes. – This article presents the importance of partnership and its influence on student outcomes. This resource provides specific strategies to form partnerships with culturally and linguistically diverse families.

Better Together: Using MTSS as a Structure for Building School–Family Partnerships -This article uses a multi-tiered systems of support framework to promote family-school partnerships. It describes multi-tiered systems of support and the ways in which families and educators can partner together for successful implementation.

activities

Family Engagement: Involving All Families – This activity gives background on family engagement and provides a number of activities to consider family involvement in schools.

Family Engagement: Opportunities for Involvement – This activity gives background on family engagement and provides a number of activities in regards to involving families in schools.