1. Objectifs

Intentions :
In this article, the author «attempts to highlight the advances in knowledge and promising practices that have been developed [on the subject of school-family collaboration].» (p. 2)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The analysis is based on «two literature reviews that analyzed over 150 publications each: [the] first one addressed elements of the family, school and community context that influence the health and well-being, including success, of young people (Deslandes, 2001a); [the] second one dealt with school-family, school-community relations with two sub-themes: extracurricular programs and the integration of services offered to students and their families (Deslandes & Bertrand, 2001). [Moreover, the] 56 empirical studies that were analyzed [for the meta-analysis project] were grouped as follows: studies of programs related to academic achievement, small-scale and large-scale studies, studies conducted in Quebec and Canada, studies conducted outside Canada, and studies involving immigrant students.» (p. 2)

Type de traitement des données :
Réflexion critique

3. Résumé

«The first part of the paper focuses on some definitions and theoretical models. The second part looks at family processes and the benefits associated with them. Two subsections are discussed: [the] role of the parent educator, the contextual characteristics and the social cognitions, [and] school-family relations in primary and secondary schools. The third section examines the role of the school in school-family relations while the fourth discusses the training of educators with regard to collaborative school-family relations. The fifth section covers the thorny issue of evaluating partnership programs, while the sixth and seventh sections present examples of initiatives based on Epstein’s work in Quebec, as well as examples of research-intervention aimed at alleviating tensions that inexorably develop in relationships. Finally, the last section provides a summary of each section and some recommendations.» (p. 2-3) Overall, the results show «that progress has been made in Quebec in the area of school-family collaboration, but perhaps not as much, perhaps not as quickly as was initially hoped […]. [There] has been a certain evolution [with] regard to the term school-family collaboration. In fact, it is increasingly common to use the term collaborative school-family relationships. And with good reason, because over the years we have come to understand that the collaboration or partnership we are talking about is essentially about relationships.» (p. 42)