Improving Educational Outcomes through Family Engagement
Professional Certificate
Foster transformative family-school partnerships that improve student outcomes through research-based strategies, collaboration frameworks, and a focus on equity, trust, and shared accountability.

What You'll Learn
In this program, leading expert and Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Karen L. Mapp guides you from the foundations of cultivating partnerships between schools and families to the advanced frameworks that continue to drive positive outcomes for students, schools, and the broader communities.
Building on nearly 30 years of research, Mapp introduces the concept of family engagement, focused primarily on the student outcomes achieved through increased student support both at home and in the community. In Introduction to Family Engagement, you will gain key insights and explore strategies related to fostering shared goals and partnerships between students, families, and educators.
In course two, Family Engagement in Education: The Dual Capacity-Building Framework, you will dive deeper into the strategic model and framework to establish deeper connections with schools and communities – fostering collaboration, building trust, and encouraging shared accountability. You will also explore today’s most pressing issues in education, highlighting inequities in education related to race, access, and other socioeconomic themes.
By combining these two courses, the Improving Educational Outcomes through Family Engagement Program provides deep insight into the critical role family engagement and collaboration plays in improving students’ academic, social, and emotional outcomes. These courses focus on the transformative impact of strong home-school partnerships, equipping educators and community leaders with the knowledge and skills to drive positive change in their educational environments.
After completing this Certificate Program, you will learn:
- Gain expertise in creating meaningful and collaborative relationships between schools, families, and communities.
- Understand how to address the challenges and inequities faced by marginalized students and families, ensuring all students have the support they need to succeed.
- Develop strategies to incorporate the dual capacity framework into your own educational environment, driving improved academic, social, and behavioral outcomes.