Encourage family support to improve outcomes

A new review from MDRC analyzes the evidence on how families' involvement in children's learning and development affects literacy, mathematics, and social-emotional skills at ages 3 to 8. A total of 95 studies, primarily from the last 10 years, were included. Four categories were considered: learning activities at home, family involvement at school, school outreach to engage families, and supportive parenting activities.

The review found that overall family involvement had small to moderate effects on children's outcomes. Numerous studies confirmed a link between family involvement and children's literacy skills. A number of studies also demonstrated positive associations with children's mathematics skills, and a few with children's social-emotional skills. The weakest association was between family involvement at school and children's outcomes. 

The review concludes that family involvement is potentially important in terms of efforts to improve children's early learning and development, particularly as all parents, when given direction, can increase their involvement with their children's learning. The authors dismiss the idea that certain groups of parents do not care or will not become involved in their children's education.

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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