ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a good understanding of the early, basic research on school, family, and community partnerships and the results of initial studies of teachers, parents, and students. Data from teachers and reports from parents in the same schools document changes in the practices of partnerships that typically occur from the elementary to the middle grades in schools that have not started to organize partnership programs. The chapter explores how homework creates three-way connections among student, teacher, and family. It uses data from a survey of fifth-grade students to better understand their views about homework and parent involvement and their attitudes toward school. Data from teachers, parents, and students can be gathered with various research methods, including surveys, experimental and quasi-experimental studies, interviews, focus or discussion groups, and other strategies. The studies and the comments, discussion topics, and activities in the chapter suggest many new questions that can be studied with rigorous methods to advance the field.
