References

If the item is indexed in the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database, we include the ERIC identification number in the reference. ERIC numbers are the unique identifiers assigned to each ERIC entry and they can be used to access the resource in the ERIC database at http://www.eric.ed.gov. ERIC numbers that begin with "EJ," for example EJ674533, refer to journal articles, while ERIC numbers that begin with "ED," such as ED435484, refer to documents indexed in ERIC, which can be ordered from the ERIC document reproduction service at http://www.edrs.com.

If the item is available in full text on the Internet, we include the URL also.

Labels

Each entry is labeled with three classifications: the type of connection addressed, the level of the school system discussed or studied, and the type of literature. Labels are used to help the reader quickly find the annotations that may contain the most useful or relevant information for their needs.

Type of connection refers to whether the item addresses family connections with schools (School-Family) community connections with schools (School-Community) or both family and community connections with schools (School-Family-Community).

For the level of the school system discussed or studied, we selected the following categories: Early Childhood/Pre-K, Elementary, Middle, High, and Post-Secondary. Research and evaluation studies are classified with a school system level based on what population was used in the sample or where the study was conducted. Other literature is classified with a level only when the author specifically mentions a level as a target audience for the article or as a focus of work. If the level is blank, the author did not make specific reference to a level of the school system.

The categories used to classify the literature were adopted by the Center for purposes of this annotated bibliography only. They are as follows: Research and Evaluation; Conceptual and Theoretical; Practice; Policy; and Literature Review. Research and evaluation literature reports on the method and results of an experiment or non-experimental study about the process or impact of family and community connections with schools. Conceptual and theoretical literature presents the author's ideas about an issue or topic based on a grounded framework or a theory for thinking about family and community connections with schools. Practice-based literature presents implications for practice in the field by describing new programs or practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for practitioners, based on experience and practice. Policy-oriented literature presents implications for policy research and the creation of policies in the field of family and community connections with schools. Finally, literature reviews usually provide an overview of the field or a particular topic within the field by reviewing and summarizing relevant literature. Some literature reviews include research literature only; these are called research reviews.