Description:
Parent involvement (PI) during preschool has been linked with strong pre-literacy skills, acquisition of mathematical skills, well-developed social skills, and positive attitudes toward school. Parents' active involvement in their children's learning is a recommended strategy in engaging families in children's education experiences. The purpose of the current study was to estimate the impact of a parent-directed early literacy intervention on three dimensions of PI--home-based, school-based, and home-school conferencing (HSC)--among Head Start parents and their preschool-aged children. Twenty-four preschool children (and their parents) were randomly assigned to an intervention or active control group. PI was assessed at the beginning and end of the intervention. Results of a series of two-way repeated measures analyses of variance indicated significant improvements in home-based PI among parents in the intervention group, but no differences in school-based or HSC types of PI. Parents' prior experience with their children's preschool education did not moderate the impact of the intervention on PI. These findings provide support for the effectiveness of this parent-directed early literacy intervention as a strategy to increase home-based PI activities among families in Head Start. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
United States