HarvardX: Family Engagement in Education: The Dual Capacity-Building Framework

The Covid-19 pandemic changed the education landscape quickly and permanently. Once bustling school yards and extracurricular activities were shut down and schools abruptly shifted to an online- or hybrid-learning format. This impacted students, teachers, and families, and allowed important new research to be conducted on these core groups. In the years since the launch of Introduction to Family Engagement in Education, Harvard University faculty Karen L. Mapp has used her expertise in the field alongside new research conducted during the pandemic to inform fundamental changes to the Dual Capacity-Building Framework, which was previously developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education.

In this course, Mapp will lead you through the framework, providing real-world scenarios and case studies from experts in the field—helping you not only understand how the framework is structured, but also how to apply it directly in your engagements with partners like parents, guardians, educators, community leaders, and policymakers.

With the Dual Capacity-Building Framework as your guide, you will explore each component of the framework in-depth—identifying key personas and conditions that impact outcomes, and learning how to influence change to drive better educational environments and student learning successes. The course and framework emphasize accountability and respect, providing the skills and resources to develop meaningful, authentic, and trusting relationships between families and schools. By creating a shared language and knowledge of the pillars to effective partnerships, both students and schools will benefit in the long-term.

Additionally, the course explores inequalities in education, such as income, race, and access, bringing to light the importance of developing deeper connections and growing the confidence of educators and family members to support students in marginalized populations and areas where education is key to student’s social development and success.

Join your peers to share stories and cases that reflect your own communities—building a toolkit that helps foster student success, encourages unity and harmony across communities, and creates more inclusive and supportive educational policies and programs.