Title: Parent Involvement in Early Childhood Education and its Impact on the Development of Early Language and Literacy Skills: An Exploration of One Head Start Program's Parent Involvement Model
Abstract: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine parent involvement practices of the Early Beginnings Head Start program and to determine the impact that parent involvement has on the early language and literacy development of preschool children. Although parent involvement practices are evident throughout Head Start programs, the specific practices and the effectiveness of early language and literacy acquisition from one preschool site to another may differ. The specific research questions examined in this study were: 1. How does the Early Beginnings Head Start program support families in understanding early childhood development in the areas of language and literacy development? 2. What family support models does the Early Beginnings Head Start program use to assist families in early childhood development, specifically in language and literacy skills? 3. How are parents and families utilizing these strategies at home? Data sources utilized for this research study include: (a) semi-structured interviews with a Head Start program administrator, preschool teachers and home visitors, and a small subset of parents; (b) surveys given to all parents and families in the part-time preschool program; (c) researcher field notes and observations, and (d) artifacts collected that represent parent-school interaction. Content analysis procedures were used to analyze the data, collect and identify patterns and trends from both the survey and interview data, and to determine to what extent (if any) the parent involvement practices at Early Beginnings Head Start contribute to the development of early language and literacy skills in preschool children. This research study revealed that the Early Beginnings program utilizes several different methods of involving and educating parents including the use of workshops, home visits, conferences, and newsletters. The data demonstrated that workshops were the most valuable method of parent involvement used by the program to educate parents regarding early language and literacy skills. The use of multilingual facilitators, hands-on learning, and discussions at the workshop proved to benefit parents greatly. The parent involvement methods used by Early Beginnings that occurred during this research study had varying degrees of impact on parents and the ways they facilitate learning in the home.%%%%Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management – Drexel University, 2018
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Date: 2018-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
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Cited By Count: 3
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