Developing a Validated Family-School Partnership Assessment for Child Health and Well-Being: A Multidimensional...

Area of Science:

• Child Health Research
• Educational Psychology
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Family-school partnerships (FSPs) are crucial for supporting children's health and overall well-being.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the nuances of FSPs within the child health domain.
• Developing a validated instrument is essential for assessing and strengthening these vital connections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing family-school partnerships (FSPs) specifically within the context of child health.
• To create a reliable tool that can be used by researchers and practitioners to evaluate the quality of FSPs.
• To provide a framework for enhancing school health initiatives through improved partnership strategies.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods, three-phased approach was employed for instrument development.
• Pilot testing involved 105 participants: 53 parents/caregivers and 52 school staff members.
• Statistical analyses included principal component analysis (PCA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using polychoric correlations.

Main Results:

• The instrument was refined to 24 items, forming two distinct factors: 'communication, engagement, and culture' (14 items) and 'opportunities and supports for family engagement' (10 items).
• Principal component analysis and exploratory factor analysis confirmed the proposed factor structure.
• The refined instrument demonstrated strong psychometric properties.

Conclusions:

• The Family-School Partnership Assessment (FSPA) is a feasible and psychometrically valid measure for assessing FSPs in child health.
• The FSPA provides a valuable framework for enhancing school health policies and practices.
• This validated tool promotes inclusive practices and structured approaches for effective family engagement in child health initiatives.