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Engaging Families Through School/Family Partnerships

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Preventive Mental Health at School

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Abstract

Collaborating with families is a critical component of population-based or systems-based strategies to enhance positive social/emotional outcomes for students (Christenson, Whitehouse, & VanGetson, 2007). Family process variables predict student achievement better than family status (Christenson, 2002). Building trust with families, responding to parents’ need for information, and providing resources are essential for meeting the mental health needs of students. Student/family systems and school systems must interact together as partners to get the outcomes that everyone wants for the children they serve. Christenson and Sheridan (2001) coined the ideal as “partnering” with parents. The concept is also referred to as home–school collaboration or parent–school engagement. The goal is that schools will reach out to parents bringing them into a partnership with schools to work together for children. In the case of mental health, the mutual goals involve to support and facilitate social, emotional, and behavioral development of students.

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  1. Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Newton, MA, USA

    Gayle L. Macklem

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Macklem, G.L. (2014). Engaging Families Through School/Family Partnerships. In: Preventive Mental Health at School. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8609-1_4

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