Parent involvement in a statewide preschool program for children at-risk for academic failure

1. Parent involvement in a statewide preschool program for children at-risk for academic failure Investigators Yash Bhagwanji, Ph.D. Maria Vasquez, Ph.D. Elena Webb, B.S. College of Education

2. Importance of topic • Theoretical support • Identified as best practice • Endorsed through policy • Statement of problem • Anecdotal reports • Challenges in research • Top-down decisions

3. Research Questions Family demographics Direct / indirect relationships Main & interaction effects Parent involvement Academic readiness

4. Method • Subjects – all preschool children enrolled at a state program – all deemed “at risk” for academic failure – from FY 2003/04 through FY 2005/06 • Settings – public schools across a Midwest state

5. Method, continued • Instrument – Teacher completed student records • Procedures – archival data obtained with permission from state officials • Analysis – SPSS; various statistical analysis

6. Independent and dependent variables Independent variables Family income Family structure Family ethnicity Primary language at home Health of child Age of child Gender of child Dependent variables P-T conferences Enrichment activities at home Classroom activities Field trips Parent education Other activities Kindergarten readiness

7. Some preliminary findings – Significant main effects • Consistent findings • The higher the family income the higher the involvement in parent-teacher conferences, classroom activities, and field trips • Compared to two-parent families, single-parent families were less involved in all opportunities

8. Significant main effects, continued • Families who primarily spoke a non-English language at home were less involved in field trips • Families who primarily spoke Spanish at home were more involved in parent education activities

9. Significant main effects, continued • All non-White families were less involved in parent-teacher conferences and field trips compared to White families • Compared to boys, families of girls were less involved in P-T conferences, at an odds ratio between .840 and .918

10. Next steps • Continue with main effects • Investigate interaction effects • Examine relationship among family demographics, parent involvement, and kindergarten readiness

11. Interpretation of data • Differences and arbitrariness of parent involvement opportunities provided by schools • Multicultural, cross-cultural communication, and other perspectives • “What does this mean for needed changes?”

12. Implications • Policy • Schools • Communities • Future research

13. Thank you