Fires of Change
Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Systematic Parent Engagement
by Debbie Pushor and Parent Engagement Collaborative V

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The research is clear: Family engagement enhances student outcomes. Why, then, is it still a standard approach to centre schools and teachers as the most significant place of teaching and learning for children and youth? What might a different approach look like—one that places the unique knowledge parents and families hold alongside that of teachers and welcomes everyone equally into the circle? Fires of Change offers just such an approach to educators. This practitioner-focused book follows the course of one year, with each chapter attending to key parent engagement concepts particular to that time in the cycle of the school year. To evoke transformative change, chapters cover the what and the why of core principles and concepts. They include reflective questions and activities that promote action planning to effect shifts in readers’ teaching practice. Finally, chapter authors include narratives and illustrations drawn from their lived experiences as educators and parents. Beginning in August and ending in July, this is an ideal book for teacher book clubs, professional learning communities, and the independent or collaborative directed study of school staff, parent councils, and stakeholders in the educational sector. Together, we can stoke the flames that enable new possibilities for schooling and education.

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Dr. Debbie Pushor and 11 educators have authored Fires of Change. Since 2010, Debbie has mentored seven cohorts of the Walk Alongside Parent Engagement Collaborative, practicing teachers who have enhanced their knowledge and skill in engaging meaningfully with parents and families. These cohorts have published two books, hosted two sold-out conferences, produced a seven-part video series for elementary educators, and produced a 10-part podcast series for educators, parents, and the general public. Fires of Change is the product of the learning, and application of that learning, by the fifth cohort. Dr. Debbie Pushor has a 30-year career as an academic, researcher, and teacher educator in the field of parent and family engagement. As a lead scholar in Canada, she is the author of many publications in this field and has been invited to make hundreds of presentations to academic, educational, and parent audiences around the globe.

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Contributors

Author

Debbie Pushor

Author

Parent Engagement Collaborative V

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