The Power of Partnerships: Research Evidence and Strategies for Success

Photo of Susan M. Sheridan, Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Thursday, November 1, 2018 - 4:00pm to 5:30pm
160E, Commonwealth Honors College | UMass Amherst

Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series

The Center for Research on Families welcomes Susan M. Sheridan, PhD, who will present "The Power of Partnerships: Research Evidence and Strategies for Success"

There is overwhelming research support pointing to the important role of parents in supporting their child’s behavior and academic performance. Family-school partnership interventions engage families and educators as partners in collaborative and mutual planning and problem solving. Partnership approaches have a dual focus on coordinating effective interventions across home and school, and strengthening relationships between families and educators. Teachers and Parents as Partners (TAPP; previously known as Conjoint Behavioral Consultation) is an efficacious family-school intervention that brings parents and teachers together as partners to support children who experience challenges with behavioral, social-emotional or academic difficulties. This presentation will define partnerships between families and schools; describe what is necessary for partnerships to be effective; explore benefits for students, parents and teachers; and discuss best practice recommendations.

Susan M. Sheridan, PhD, is the George Holmes University Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.  She is the founding Director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.  Her research interests acknowledge the significance of families in children’s education.  She studies the important role of families and family engagement in children’s social-behavioral adjustment and academic success, and the far-reaching benefits of partnerships between families and schools. Her research career has focused on developing and testing the effectiveness of family–school partnership interventions, identifying methods to enhance parent engagement, early childhood education and intervention, and rural education. Since her career began, she has received more than $53 million in grant funding to support her research.  She has authored more than 200 books, chapters, and journal articles, including papers that have received awards by the Journal of School Psychology and School Psychology Review. She is a Fellow of Division 16 of the American Psychological Association (APA) and past president of the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP).  Dr. Sheridan was bestowed the 1993 Lightner Witmer award by APA’s Division of School Psychology for early career accomplishments; the 1995 University of Wisconsin School of Education’s Outstanding Young Alumnus award; the 2005 Presidential Award from the National Association of School Psychologists; the 2014 University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Award; and, most recently, the 2015 Senior Scientist Award for lifetime career accomplishments from APA’s Division of School Psychology.


This lecture is sponsored by the Center for Research on Families’ Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series. The Center for Research on Families (CRF) is an endowed interdisciplinary research center in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series brings internationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus each year. The lecture series began in 1999 through an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson.