Communities of practice

Peer learning: Networks and working groups

The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings fosters collaboration and peer learning across jurisdictions and borders. Working closely with a range of partners across government, civil society, academia, and the private sector, CUE facilitates multiple networks, communities of practice, and peer-learning exchanges. CUE hosts and participates in many convenings and workshops to disseminate research and contribute to conversations around practices for family, school, and community engagement (FSCE).

Global Family Engagement in Education Network

The Global Family Engagement in Education Network (FEEN) is made up of representatives from civil society and community organizations, governments, and education institutions from six continents. Convening virtually every quarter, the FEEN engages with ongoing research and topics on FSCE and collectively elevates strategies to advance family-school partnerships.

Brazil Family Engagement in Education Network

The Brazil Family Engagement in Education Network (Rede de Engajamento Famílias e Comunidades na Educação) is a regional network in Brazil led by civil society partners in the Brazilian education landscape. The network is implementing collective research, strategies, convenings, and peer learning on family, school, and community engagement.

Working groups

Working groups are made up of representatives from organizations and education institutions that convene around a common interest and topical area in family, school, and community engagement.

• Family Voices in Generative AI in Education. Creating resources to empower families to have conversations on AI use in homes and schools. See Tips for Parents: Raising Resilient Learners in an AI World.
• Family-Centered Solutions on Absenteeism. Investigating root causes and solutions to chronic absenteeism with students and families in schools and communities around the world.
• Family Engagement of Children with Disabilities. Developing a process to guide schools in building stronger partnerships with families of children with disabilities in collaboration with the Special Olympics International Global Research Collaborative.
• Global School Rubrics Development. Produced a planning tool to map and measure family engagement practices in schools. See Global Family, School, and Community Engagement Rubrics.
• Conversation Starter Tools Development. Advanced collaborative research on family, school, and community engagement in schools around the world. See Six Global Lessons and Conversation Starter Tools.

Systems change milestones

• Annual Global Symposia on Family, School, and Community Engagement. An annual global convening on family, school, and community engagement started by CUE that has brought education leaders together to share research, promising practices, and efforts to transform family-centered education systems.
• Civil society and government partnerships to advance family-centered education systems. Systems transformation efforts that use collaborative research on how to strengthen family-school partnerships to ensure policies and practice in Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Sierra Leone, and South Africa are responsive and accountable to diverse families.
• Relational trust scale and approach. An internationally validated scale to measure and strengthen relational trust in schools and districts in the U.S. and worldwide.
• Intergenerational research with youth. An approach to designing and implementing youth-led research to inform school policies and practices on areas such as chronic absenteeism and trust.