Evaluating Family-School Collaboration: A Preliminary Examination of the Family-School Collaboration Inventory

• DOI: 10.1007/s40688-019-00227-2
• Publication Date: 2019-01-24T19:22:39Z
• Authors: Samantha E. Malchar; Sarah E. Praytor; Aston C. Wallin; Steven L. Bistricky; G. Thomas Schanding
• Keywords: Educational Psychology

Family-school collaboration is a key component of practice within the field of School Psychology. Promoting an effective partnership between parents and educators can be difficult, as a variety of factors influence the quality of the relationship. Currently, no scale exists to measure constructs related to family-school collaboration in a practical manner. The current study sought to create a reliable measure to assess parents’ perceptions about the practice of family-school collaboration by their child’s school that could provide actionable steps to increase family-school collaboration. The Family-School Collaboration Inventory (FSCI) was created from a review of best practices in the field of school psychology. The survey was completed online by 304 participants (parents/caregivers of school-aged children) recruited through social media websites. A principal component analysis was completed and identified three factors comprising family-school collaboration: (1) Collaborative Communication of Standards and Services (CCSS), (2) Inclusive Partnership (IP), and (3) Disconnected Experience (DE). Limitations and future directions are discussed.