BEd Bachelor of Education Family and Community Engagement in Education 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law requires schools to provide parents with annual report cards on school and student performance?
- IDEA
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (Correct answer)
- FERPA
- Title I
Correct answer: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires states and districts to provide parents with annual reports on school performance, teacher qualifications, and student achievement.
Question 2: What does Epstein's model of school-family-community partnerships identify as the six types of involvement?
- Planning, communicating, teaching, assessing, collaborating, evaluating
- Parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, collaborating with community (Correct answer)
- Funding, staffing, curriculum, outreach, governance, evaluation
- Attendance, discipline, academics, social-emotional learning, health, arts
Correct answer: Parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, collaborating with community
Joyce Epstein's model identifies six types: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community.
Question 3: Which strategy is most effective for increasing family engagement among culturally and linguistically diverse families?
- Sending English-only written communication home
- Hosting school events during the school day only
- Providing translated materials and bilingual staff or interpreters (Correct answer)
- Relying solely on student-delivered messages
Correct answer: Providing translated materials and bilingual staff or interpreters
Providing communications in families' home languages and offering interpreters removes language barriers that often prevent meaningful engagement from diverse families.
Question 4: Which type of parent involvement is defined as families helping their children with learning activities at home?
- Volunteering
- Decision making
- Learning at home (Correct answer)
- Community collaborating
Correct answer: Learning at home
In Epstein's framework, 'learning at home' involves schools providing families with information and strategies to support curriculum-related activities outside school.
Question 5: A school holds parent-teacher conferences during morning hours only. This practice most likely negatively impacts:
- Teachers' professional development time
- Working parents' ability to participate (Correct answer)
- Student grades and performance
- School budget allocation
Correct answer: Working parents' ability to participate
Scheduling conferences only during work hours creates a structural barrier for working parents, limiting their ability to participate in their child's education.
Question 6: What is the primary goal of community school partnerships in a BEd context?
- Reducing the school's operating costs
- Outsourcing curriculum design to community organizations
- Connecting students and families with community resources and supports (Correct answer)
- Replacing in-school counselors with community volunteers
Correct answer: Connecting students and families with community resources and supports
Community school partnerships integrate educational, health, and social services to address barriers to learning and build a support network around students and families.
Which federal law requires schools to provide parents with annual report cards on school and student performance?