Miller, P. (2012).  Community-Based Education and Social Capital in an Urban After-School Program. Education and Urban Society, (44)1, 35-60.

This qualitative case study examined how social capital development was facilitated in an urban after-school program. Specific attention was devoted to identifying structures and strategies that helped student participants develop social capital, the types of social networks that were developed through program participation, and the outcomes that were attributed to these networks. The findings suggest that the program’s purposeful design and skillful implementation presented students with opportunities to forge heterogeneous and bridging relationships that fundamentally shaped their learning experiences and their future social, educational, and professional aspirations.

Simons-Morton, B. & Chen, R. (2009). Peer and Parent Influences on School Engagement Among Early Adolescents. Youth & Society, (41)1, 3-25.

Students who are not motivated and do not try to do well are unlikely to achieve consistent with their abilities. This research assesses the relationships over time between school engagement and parenting practices and peer affiliation among sixth to ninth graders using latent growth models. Participants included 2,453 students recruited from seven public middle schools who were assessed five times between fall of sixth and ninth grades as part of a program evaluation study. School engagement and adjustment declined somewhat, whereas substance use, conduct problems, and problem-behaving friends increased and authoritative parenting practices declined. The significant, positive, over-time associations between school engagement and parent involvement, expectations, and monitoring were fully mediated by growth in problem-behaving friends. School adjustment mediated the relationship between school engagement and parent expectations. Findings suggest that authoritative parenting practices may foster school engagement directly and indirectly by discouraging affiliation with problem-behaving friends and facilitating school adjustment.

Mundt, K., Gregory, A., Melzi, G., & McWayne, C. M. (2015). The Influence of Ethnic Match on Latino School-Based Family Engagement. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, (0)0, 1-16.

Research has shown that the school-based engagement of Latino families is lower compared with other racial and ethnic groups. One possible barrier to school-based engagement of this heterogeneous group of families might be the lack of cultural match between families and schools. Addressing this under-researched area, the current study examined ethnic match between Latino caregivers and teachers at seven Head Start centers in a large urban area in the Northeast. Participants were 294 Latino caregivers with children enrolled in Head Start programs and 37 Head Start teachers. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), findings indicated that ethnic match (defined by whether a caregiver and the Head Start teacher both identified as Latino) was significantly associated with teacher-rated family engagement. Having a Latino teacher explained a significant amount of the variance in school-based family engagement, beyond that accounted for by caregiver and teacher education. Implications for Head Start’s recruitment and training of teachers are discussed.