Abstract
Opportunities exist at the intersection of research and policy to advance evidence-based practices that have been identified by family–school partnership scholars to promote healthy well-being in children and families. Policy makers and researchers can work collaboratively to incorporate existing research evidence into large-scale, population-based policy efforts intended to support child and family well-being. Using an iterative approach, they can also work jointly to inform a policy-relevant research agenda related to family–school partnerships. The purpose of this chapter is to describe how researchers might interface with various individuals in the policy arena to affect change at a broad population level. This chapter (a) describes knowledge utilization by decision makers; (b) suggests an approach for developing a research agenda; (c) identifies elements of research that are relevant for influencing and informing policy; and (d) suggests mechanisms for sharing research results and engaging with the policy community. Additionally, the multiple roles available to family–school partnership researchers should they wish to engage in the policy arena are described.
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Notes
- 1.
Public policy is generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures, and funding priorities concerning a given topic put in place by governmental entities to cause action in an effort to achieve some social goal (Smith & Larimer, 2009). Policy makers work in a variety of settings, and include government representatives at all levels of local, state and federal government. Policy makers include individuals such as school board members, city council representatives, administrative leaders within state or federal organizations, and legislators at all levels of government.
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Knoche, L.L. (2016). Research Issues to Forward a Policy Agenda in Support of Family–School Partnerships. In: Sheridan, S., Moorman Kim, E. (eds) Family-School Partnerships in Context. Research on Family-School Partnerships, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19228-4_4
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