FAMILY & COMMUNITY

PARTNERSHIPS
Lincoln
Elementary

& THE POWERFUL INFLUENCE ON

CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT

MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE
Physical Development. In middle childhood, this domain includes biological and neurophysiological
development, the refinement of perceptual and motor skills, and physical health, including nutrition and
exercise. School-age children undergo rapid spurts in height and weight as well as improvement in
athletic abilities. They begin the onset of puberty at varied ages, with 11 years the average age for girls
and 13 years for boys, marked first by hormonal changes, followed by observable changes in physical
appearance and behavior.
Cognitive Development. This domain includes intellectual and language development, reasoning
abilities, and memory capacities. The middle years of childhood are characterized by a gradual increase
in logical reasoning using concrete examples, increased awareness of memory and learning strategies,
and the achievement and consolidation of important academic skills, such as reading, writing, and
computing.
Affective Development. This domain includes personality, emotional development, motivation, and selfesteem. School-age children acquire personal competencies through participation in academic, athletic,
or artistic activities; emotional attachments to family members and others; and a deepening sense of
who they are and what they can achieve through serious effort and commitment.

http://www.education.com/reference/article/developmental-milestones-middle-childhood/

Social Development. This domain includes social skills and interpersonal understanding, moral and
ethical development, and maintaining close relationships. Youth develop reciprocal understandings of
others through family and peer interactions, deepening same-sex friendships, and seeking fairness in
their family, school, and peer groups.

ROLE AS A TEACHER

Provider of Knowledge
Supporter
Mentor/Advisor
Communicator
Resource Provider

COLLABORATIONS INFLUENCE
ON CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Collaborations between the school, parents, and the community is
extremely important and have been linked to positive influences in child
development.
Previous research has focused on examining the effects of parental involvement on
childrens academic achievement.The strongest, most consistent effects on parental
involvement were linked to the parents perceived opportunity-to-participate that schools make
available to them. Parents who perceived their childs school as having proactive programs to
bring parents into the schools had an expected positive effect on their involvement in school,
but also in the home and in the community. ( Stacer & Perrucci, 2013).

When children and adults have a network of friends, family, and peers they are less likely to
be depressed and more likely to have positive relationships with others. They will be more
outgoing and interactive with others. Research was conducted in the United States with youth
that participated in civic activities and those that did not. The results showed that the
adolescents that participated in the community services " tend to have an increased sense of
their own competencies, be more internally driven to get involved in pro-social activities, and
have higher self-esteem." (Balsano, 2005)

URIE BROFENBRENNERS
ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY
MESOSYSTEM
Theorist Brofenbrenner believed
that there children positively
develop from the connections
between home, school, and the
neighborhood. Each relationship
is more likely to support
development when there are links
between home and child care, in
the form of visits and cooperative
exchanges of information. (Berk,
2013, pg.27)

EPSTEINS FRAMEWORK OF SIX TYPES OF

INVOLVEMENT
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Parenting
Communicating
Volunteering
Learning at Home
Decision Making
Collaborating with
Community

TYPE 1--PARENTING: Assist families with parenting and

child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent
development, and setting home conditions that support
children as students at each age and grade level. Assist
schools in understanding families.
TYPE 2--COMMUNICATING: Communicate with families
about school programs and student progress through effective
school-to-home and home-to-school communications.
TYPE 3--VOLUNTEERING: Improve recruitment, training,
work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and
audiences at the school or in other locations to support
students and school programs.
TYPE 4--LEARNING AT HOME: Involve families with their
children in learning activities at home, including homework and
other curriculum-linked activities and decisions.
TYPE 5--DECISION MAKING: Include families as participants
in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through
PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and other parent
organizations.
TYPE 6--COLLABORATING WITH THE
COMMUNITY: Coordinate resources and services for families,
students, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other
groups, and provide services to the community.
(Epstein, 1997)

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 1-PARENTING
Help all families establish home environments to support children as students.
Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Good or improved attendance
b. Positive personal qualities, habits, beliefs, and values
Results for Parents:
c. Understanding of and confidence about parenting, child and adolescent
development, and changes in home conditions for learning as children
proceed through school
d. Awareness of own and others challenges in parents

School Could Implement:

School could implement a support program where agencies and organizations can
come to parent meetings with information regarding immigration, health, nutrition,
and other services

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 2-COMMUNICATING
Design effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications
about school programs and childrens progress
Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Awareness of own progress and of actions needed to maintain or improve
grades
b. Informed decisions about courses and programs
Results for Parents:
c. Understanding school programs and policies
d. Monitoring and awareness of childs progress

School Could Implement:

Create a parent/student newsletter per class to be sent home weekly to the families.

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 3-VOLUNTEERING

Recruit and organize parent help and support.

Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Skill in communicating with adults
b. Increase learning of skills that receive tutoring or target
attention from volunteers
Results for Parents:
c. Self confidence about ability to work in school and with
children or to take steps to improve on education
d. Games in specific skills of volunteer work

School Could Implement:

Create a calling log for parent information, teacher send out emails to
get information, and input into school wide system for volunteers. Send
home a chart that includes what volunteer activities are available.

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 4 -LEARNING AT HOME
Provide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home
with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning.
Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Homework completion
b. Positive attitude towards schoolwork
Results for Parents:
c. Appreciation of teaching skills
d. Awareness of child as a learner

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School Could Implement:

Incorporate activities to be given at the end of
the school year that will provide activities for
the children during the summer. Have
organizations come to parent committee
meetings that provide free or reduced cost
summer tutorials and summer activities.

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 5-DECISION MAKING

Includes parents and school decisions, developing parent leaders and

representatives.
Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Understanding that students rights are
protected
b. Awareness of representations of families
in the school decisions

School Could Implement:

e. Develop a parent committee that
educates parents on the local legislative
concerns that affect the school and
community. Empower the parents with
information and confidence to participate
in community events to express
community and education concerns.

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Results for Parents:

c. Input into policies that affect childrens
education
d. Feeling of ownership of school

EPSTEINS INVOLVEMENT
TYPE 6-COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY

Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen
the school programs, family practices, and student learning and development.
Results for Students-Influences the Child:
a. Increase skills and talents through enriched curricular and extra curricular
experiences
b. Awareness of career and of options for future education and work
Results for Parents:
c. Interactions with other families in community activities
d. Awareness of schools role in the community and of communitys contribution to the
school

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School Could Implement:

e. Implement a study committee that focuses on community opportunities to beautify
and enhance the community.

REFERENCES
Balsano, A. B. (2005). Youth Civic Engagement in the United States: Understanding and
Addressing the Impact of Social Impediments on Positive Youth and Community
Development. Applied Developmental Science, 9(4), 188-201.
doi:10.1207/s1532480xads0904_2
Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. Boston: Pearson Education. Chapter 1, pg. 27
Epstein, J.L., Coates, L., Salinas, K.C., Sanders, M.G., & Simon, B.S. (1997). School,
Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin Press. Retrieved from http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/sixtypes.htm

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Stacer, M. J., & Perrucci, R. (2013). Parental Involvement with Children at School, Home,
and Community. Journal Of Family And Economic Issues, 34(3), 340-354.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1007/s10834-012-9335-y