Evaluating the Effects of Family–School Engagement Interventions on Parent–Teacher Relationships: A Meta-analysis

Healthy relationships between parents and teachers are essential to addressing children’s emotional and behavioral concerns. The current meta-analysis examined the effects of family–school engagement interventions on parent–teacher relationships. Twenty-three group-design studies yielding 58 effects comprised the current sample. Random effect models were estimated to calculate pooled effect size estimates, and mixed effect models were conducted for moderation analyses. Overall, results revealed that family–school engagement interventions had a small, but significant effect on parent–teacher relationships (δ = 0.23, SE = 0.09, p < 0.05). This finding was consistent across mesosystemic characteristics of parent–teacher relationships including joining (δ = 0.25, SE = 0.09, p < 0.05) and parent–teacher communication (δ = 0.34, SE = 0.10, p < 0.01). However, no significant results were revealed for relational prerequisites (δ = 0.05, SE = 0.12, p = 0.67). Interventions were found to be significantly moderated by child behavior concerns (i.e., effects were higher for families of students with externalizing concerns) and community type (i.e., effects were more pronounced in rural areas). Results were not significantly moderated by child/family race or child age, indicating that interventions positively impacted parent–teacher relationships regardless of child/family race and child age. These findings demonstrate the benefits of family–school engagement interventions in promoting parent–teacher relationships and have key implications for school personnel.