(Re)Building Relationships: Family Engagement After a Pandemic

• In Event: Home-school engagement and partnerships

Abstract

Authentic and responsive forms of family engagement continue to elude many educators. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures posed new and challenging situations for family-school relationships. Research has documented the challenges educators faced engaging families during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, more scholarship is needed to understand how educators have built and rebuilt relationships with families in the wake of this disruption. To better understand family-school relationships in the post-pandemic context this paper draws on data gathered among 161 educators and 21 family members at seven schools in New York State. Our paper provides insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to engage families in diverse contexts and repairing relationships which may have been strained during the pandemic.

Authors

• Aaron Leo, University at Albany - SUNY

• Kristen C. Wilcox, University at Albany - SUNY