Research & Recognition
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 calls for the use of "scientifically based research" (SBR) as the foundation for many education programs and for classroom instruction. Yet standards of "evidence-based" programs vary considerably. The best approach is to select a program that addresses your needs and is both based on well-researched science and has been rigorously tested under controlled conditions. Evidence must do more than just correlate to outcomes. it must demonstrate effectiveness.
Families and Schools Together is committed to providing only programs that meet the highest standards of evidence for efficacy in theory and in practice. We develop all of our program components on well accepted cognitive and behavioral science. Our widely disseminated FAST program was our first model, distributed in 1988. It is natively built on a foundation of a number of highly respected theoretical models. FAST founder, Dr. Lynn McDonald's challenge was to be the first to take the research and put it to work in clinical settings. This is how we are certain that delivered properly, FAST works very well to accomplish its stated goals. FAST is based on the following social, behavioral and physiological science:
- Social Ecological Theory of Child Development: (Bronfenbrenner, Genf, Kogan & Barkeley, Minuchin; Satir; Patterson; Alexander, Wahler, Belle, Egeland, Werner & Smith, Gilligan, Freier, Furland)
- Family Stress Theory: (Hill, McCubbin, Garbarino & Abramowitz, 1982; Belle, 1980; Cyrnic, Greenberg, Robinson and Ragozin, 1984; Egeland, Breitenbucher and Rosenberg, 1980; Ell, 1984; Lindblad-Goldberg, 1987; Marks and McLanahan, 1993; Simons, Beaman, Conger and Chao, 1993; Tracy, 1990; Wahler, 1983)
- Family Systems Theory (Minuchin, Alexander, Satir, Patterson, Wolin, Boyd-Franklin )
FAST components are also derived from a number of conceptual approaches and theories. Each activity and process is designed to both respect the families who apply to participate and to adhere to the core research-based structure. The conceptual framework derives from the following:
- Parent Empowerment (McDonald)
- Community Development (Walzer, Putnam, Coleman)
- Brain Development Research (Piaget, Erickson, Freud, ongoing)
- Social Capital (Bronfenbrenner, Bourdieu, Coleman & Hoffer, Loury, Portes, Carbonaro, Furstenberg & Hughes, Kahne & Bailey, McNeal, Morgan & Sorensen, Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, Teachman, Paasch & Carver, Runyan, McKay, Atkins, Hawkins, Brown, Lynn, Belsky & Vondra, Xu, Tung, & Dunaway, Belsky & Vondra, Creasy & Jarvis, Garbarino, Kozlowska & Hanney, Mash & Johnston, Webster-Stratton, Sampson, Caughy, O'Campo, & Muntaner, Waterson, Alperstein, & Brown, Kunitz, Lynch, Due, Muntaner, & Davey Smith, Kawachi, Kennedy, Lochner, and Prothrow-Stith, Epstein & Becker, Henderson & Mapp, Ho Sui-Chu & Willms, Schneider & Coleman, Stevenson & Baker, Bryk and Schneider, Starkey & Klein, Hanf & Kling, Kogan)
- Risk & Resiliency (Kogan, Gordon, Wimberger, Hetherington, Belle, Lewis, Beavers, Gossett, & Phillips, Sayger, Alexander, Minuchin, Lewis, Piercy, Sprenkle, & Trepper, Alexander & Parsons, Elkin, Kumpfer, Crnic, Greenberg, Robinson, & Ragozin, McDonald, Friesen, Johnson, Gaudin, Febrarro, Dunst, Trivette, & Deal)
Penelope Fitzgerald, author