In Canada and internationally, policy makers are moving towards more comprehensive and integrated service delivery models for early learning that include parent involvement and support as integral to their design. The current study was part of an ongoing evaluation of the Best Start project in Peel Region, a municipality in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Best Start aims to integrate preschool, junior/senior kindergarten, child care, public health and parenting programs into a seamless, easily accessible early child development system. This study examined whether parents with kindergarten children enrolled in Best Start schools, where kindergarten and child care were co-located and service integration was underway, would report lower levels of parenting daily hassles compared to parents of children in demographically similar schools where there was no service integration. Parental perceptions about hassles specific to child care and early learning settings were measured using the Early Childhood-Parenting Daily Hassles Scale (EC-PDH) (Arimura, 2008). Three areas of parenting stress that could potentially be reduced through service integration were explored: (1) seamless day – seamless access to care, education and family support; (2) connectedness – parents feeling involved and connected to their child’s school; and (3) parenting capacity – parents feeling confident in their parenting role. The study also combined hassles scores from Best Start and comparison schools to examine all parents’ involvement in the early learning and care system and the hassles they may or may not face on a daily basis as a function of parent demographics and program usage. Parents from 369 families in 10 schools were included in this study. Although Best Start parents did not report lower levels of parenting daily hassles compared to comparison parents, qualitative analyses at Best Start sites where parents used child care suggested that parents were feeling supported and they were forging positive relationships with staff. The positive relationships reported among parents and ECEs or other staff were not as frequent between parents and kindergarten teachers. Combined data indicated that all parents seemed to be experiencing the greatest hassles in the parenting capacity domain. Results are discussed in terms of policy implications for parent involvement in integrated full-day early learning programs such as full-day kindergarten.

This longitudinal study uses a cultural ecological-transactional perspective (Garcia-Coll, et. al., 1996; Kuperminc, et al., in press) to examine whether relational factors (familism and parental involvement) predict processes of motivation and achievement one year later among 199 Latino adolescents from immigrant families. Parent involvement predicted higher present-oriented and future-oriented motivation, and familism predicted higher present-oriented motivation. Future-oriented motivation predicted higher perceived school competence, while present-oriented motivation predicted lower perceived school competence. Both future and present-oriented motivation increased over time for recent immigrants significantly more than for US-reared youth. Findings suggest that 1) familism and parent involvement relate significantly to processes of achievement motivation among Latino youth 2) future-oriented and present-oriented motivation are distinct from one another and are linked to perceived school competence in unique, and inverse ways among Latino youth and 3) immigration age plays an important role in the motivational processes of Latino youth over time.

Previous research suggests that parents can benefit from youth participation in after-school programs. However, little research has explored parent involvement in after-school programs as an important program characteristic leading to youth development. Bioecological Systems Theory suggests that individuals are influenced by the interactions of others within their environment. Building from this theory, it was posited that parent benefits resulting from involvement in after-school programs can facilitate positive youth development. Surveys were completed by 117 parents whose daughters participated in the Cool Girls, Inc. after-school program, a program serving primarily low-income, African American, urban youth. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a three factor structure of parent benefits was identified. Parent benefits include increased (1) parent-child communication, (2) parent social capital, and (3) parent-school involvement. A fourth parent benefit of help for working parents was identified in subsequent analyses using a smaller sample of only working parents (n = 86). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that more parent after-school program involvement was associated with increases in each of the four parent benefits. As predicted, each of the four parent benefits mediated the association between parent involvement in after-school programs and parent reported changes in positive youth development outcomes due to participation in Cool Girls, Inc. These results suggest the importance of further research into ways parents benefit from their child’s participation in after-school programs and how those benefits can influence youth developmental trajectories. These findings also demonstrate the importance of involving parents in after-school programs.

<p>This study examined the effect of the Kindergarten Home Visit Project, a novel universal intervention program designed to enhance the transition to kindergarten for children and families by providing teachers with the training and support they need to conduct a home visit for each of their students at the beginning of the school year. Forty-four kindergarten teachers from 19 schools and 928 children and their families participated in the project. Teachers were blocked within schools and randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Intervention teachers successfully completed home visits for 98% of their students. After controlling for child and teacher demographic factors, multilevel modeling with children nested within classrooms and schools revealed that random assignment to receive a home visit had a significant positive impact on classroom work habits by students and teacher-child relationship warmth at the end of kindergarten. Assignment to home visiting was also associated with positive child outcomes for girls, specifically including: higher academic achievement, academic motivation, work habits, social skills, and better conduct. Impact on boys was non-significant. The effect of home visiting on child outcomes was mediated by an intervening effect on academic motivation for girls during the fall. Positive effects of assignment to intervention were also demonstrated for children from non-English speaking homes. These children demonstrated higher academic motivation and better work habits. In addition, both non-English speaking parents and their teachers reported reduced adverse effects of language barriers on home-school collaboration. The intervention was also found to have a positive effect on teacher attitudes and beliefs. Teachers who conducted home visits reported an increased understanding of the diverse needs and cultural differences of families, a greater willingness to reach out to parents, and a more positive connection to students and their families. These findings suggest that home visiting is beneficial to teachers, students and families and should be continued and expanded as a kindergarten transition practice in the schools.</p> / Dissertation

There is an achievement gap occurring between ethnic minority children, mostly from low-income homes, and European American children in the United States. The gap between these children is present at school entry. Many children are not prepared for the minimal standards needed to succeed in school and, as a result, the gap widens throughout schooling. School readiness is an important attribute for future success among all children. There are many efforts to close this school readiness gap through early intervention. Head Start is an example of an early intervention program offering educational and social services to low-income families in an effort to promote school readiness among children at-risk for school failure. Early intervention programs, policy, and research acknowledge that advocating parent involvement and empowerment is the foundation for improving children's ability to be successful in school. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between parent variables and school outcomes. Specifically, the focus was to study how parent expectations and parent involvement in home learning and enrichment activities affect the school readiness of children enrolled in Head Start. The study examined how these parent variables were related to children's school readiness, and differences between ethnic groups, gender groups, and level of risk. The study tested a model whereby the effect of parent expectations on school readiness is mediated by parent involvement. The sample consisted of 77 caregivers, primarily mothers or mother figures, and their children who were enrolled in a Head Start preschool program. The caregivers were given experimental measures in addition to questionnaires adapted from standardized measures to assess parent behaviors. Standardized measures were administered to children to assess school readiness. Demographic information and level of risk were gathered using existing data collected during the enrollment process. Results indicated that high parent expectations directly relate to increased school readiness scores. Parent expectations also had a positive direct relationship to parent involvement. However, results did not support that parent involvement in home learning activities served as a mediator of the relationship between parent expectations and school readiness variables. In addition, the analysis of ethnicity, gender, and risk level suggested these variables had no moderation effects on the parent expectations and school readiness relationship or the comprehensive model. Study implications for parent behaviors and school readiness are discussed.

Three purposes of this study are (1) to explore the general pattern of Turkish fathers&rsquo / and their own fathers&rsquo / involvement level, (2) to investigated the possible effect of perceived own father involvement level on fathers own involvement level to their 0-8 year-old children&rsquo / s lives (2) to examine the determinants of fathers&rsquo / involvement into their 0-8 year old children. The participants in this study were 528 biological-resident fathers, who live in different districts of Ankara, the central city of Turkey. All of these fathers have at least one child who is between the ages of 0 and 8. The data of this study were collected through three different scales, Fatherhood Scale ( Dick, 2000), Inventory of Father Involvement ( Hawkins et al.,2002) and Suppose Support Scale (Yildirim,2004). In addition to these scales a demographic information form was also sent to fathers. The data were examined through a statistical analysis program. The results of descriptive analysis illustrated that fathers of both generation mostly engage in activities related to their provider role and their least engagement occurs in activities related with availability. MANOVA results indicated that there is a mean differences among three groups of fathers in the IFI 1 (Mother support and teaching) and IFI 3 (Availability) variable. On the other hand, Multiple Linear Regression Analysis indicated that only fathers&rsquo / age, their age of being father and their perceptions about how their suppose support them are significant predictors of fathers&rsquo / involvement level in their 0-8 year-old children&rsquo / s lives. Results of this study suggest the following implications. First, fathers, mothers or even children should be educated about the importance of paternal involvement. Second, in the current study two scales related with father involvement were adapted to Turkish culture. These two scales can be used in further research. Third, since different factor structures have been yielded through EFA from original factor structure, this study supported the idea that father involvement and fatherhood is a cultural issue. Although cultural issues were considered during adaptation process, since scales about father involvement were developed in Western cultures, evaluations about fathers&rsquo / involvement were done according to Western criteria. This study can encourage researchers to develop a cultural conceptualization of fatherhood and father involvement.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships among preschool teachers&rsquo / and preschoolers&rsquo / parents&rsquo / developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) beliefs in relation to parental involvement attitudes and perceived parental involvement barriers. To reach to the purposes of the study, data were collected from 279 teachers and 589 parents via a demographic information questionnaire and two main data collection instruments. The demographic information questionnaire aimed to obtain information about the participant&rsquo / s gender, age and educational level. In order to collect information from teachers and parents regarding their beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice / Teachers&rsquo / Beliefs Scale (TBS) (Burts et al., 2000) and the parent adaptation of the scale, Parents&rsquo / Beliefs Scale (Yen, 2008) were used. To ascertain parents&rsquo / and teachers&rsquo / attitudes and the barriers on parental involvement, the School and Family Partnerships Questionnaire (Epstein &amp / Salinas, 1993) was used. The investigation of the relationship between the teachers&rsquo / and parents&rsquo / DAP and DIP beliefs in relation to their parent involvement attitudes (PIA), parent involvement barriers (PIB) revealed significant results. The findings of the study revealed that both the teachers&rsquo / and parents&rsquo / PIA and PIB made significant contributions to their DAP and DIP beliefs. As found in the current study, the interaction between the teachers and parents should be increased to help children develop in the most appropriate way. In order to increase this relationship, a detailed focus on the parental involvement paradigm should be undertaken.

Researcher focused on the phenomenon that how schools and society had made parents to contribute more efforts on their children¡¦s education to promote the education effects. From gender perspective, researcher discovered that the role of volunteering mothers had strengthened the traditional gender division of labor ideology. Researcher also found that the main reason for the volunteering mothers to join the services in elementary schools is to help their child and most of them came from middle class families. For those women who had left their career because of the conflict between family and work, to join the volunteer services can help them maintain the self-identity and sense of achievement. The main consideration among choosing volunteer works is whether the time will be mach up with family care and expertise their own interests. The school administrations think that the value of the volunteer women is not only increased school human sources, but also made a good example for the students. However, parts of the volunteering mothers in school with strong selfish motives had caused conflicts between mothers and teachers because of privileges and unfair attitude. Researcher concluded that the participation of volunteering mothers in elementary school campus is not only helpful to the child but also can increase the individual value and the social welfare. However, it may also deepen the inequality in sex distinction and education unfair.

The purposes of this research were to determine the rate at which school psychologists engage in parent training/education with the parents of children with chronic behavior problems and to determine the relationships between school psychologists’ demographic variables, professional practice, training, and perception of barriers and their engagement in such activities. These variables have been found to be related to types of service delivery practices and were hypothesized to also be related to the rate and type of engagement in parent training/education activities by school psychologists. Five hundred school psychologists were randomly sampled from the membership of the National Association of School Psychologists and mailed a survey. One-hundred-fifteen (23%) of the targeted school psychologists returned a usable survey. Five school psychologists indicated that they engaged in parent training/education at least weekly and volunteered to engage in a phone interview with the researcher. The phone interview was conducted in order to gather more specific information regarding facilitators of the school psychologists’ engagement in parent training/education with the parents of children with chronic behavior problems. Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlational, linear, and qualitative methods. Results indicated that school psychologists’ rate of engagement in parent training interventions with the parents of children with chronic behavior problems occurred on average less than once per semester. The data also suggested that intensity of training and perception of barriers were most strongly related to school psychologists’ engagement in parent training/education activities. Other variables including school psychologists’ perception of available time, problem solving skills, and ability to communicate with school-based administrators also were indicated as impactful on school psychologists’ engagement in parent training/education activities. These findings have important implications for school psychology training programs. Specifically, school psychology training programs may wish to examine the intensity of training provided to trainees in not only parent training/education but also in time management, problem solving, and consultation.

Literature suggests strong, positive and mutual relationships between home and school lead to higher levels of success and achievement for students. Schools should begin to focus on being more aware and sensitive to the cultural and social wealth that marginalized families carry. When institutions of learning begin to tap into and embrace the strengths of their families, it is likely to be of mutual benefit for the students, staff and families. Utilizing qualitative research methodology, this study sought to understand African American grandmothers' perspectives on parental involvement, and identify strategies that supported, maintained, and facilitated their involvement in the educational process of the grandsons in their care. In this research study, I specifically sought to address the following questions: * How do African American grandmothers see their involvement in their grandchildren's education? * How have the grandmothers shaped their involvement in the education of the grandchildren under their care? What influenced their involvement? * What are their perspectives on the level of involvement in the education of the grandchildren under their care? * What do African American grandmothers see as barriers and opportunities as they try to guide their grandchildren through formal schooling? The cultural capital theoretical framework helped to understand and interpret the experiences of the African American grandmothers in this study raising their grandsons. The framework also helped to understand how each grandmother constructed and perceived their roles as grandmothers. In terms of support for the theory, the findings collected through interviews revealed that despite past oppressive conditions, barriers and cultural incongruence associated with schools, the grandmothers stayed abreast of and connected to school norms and practices for the benefit of their grandsons. Although each grandmother displayed a combination of capitals and wealth, aspirational wealth, resonated across each capital. Major themes of the study included: Grandmothers: Mothering and Leading by Example; Family and Communal Support: "It Takes a Village;" Grandmothers Engaging in Traditional Parental Involvement Activities; Grandmothers-Grandsons as Co-learners; and Grandmothers' Critique and Advice for Schools. Implications for future research includes creating supportive and caring school environments, ensuring that school leaders and staff display welcoming behaviors and demonstrate support in parental involvement programs, and school leaders and teachers having and maintaining high expectations. Understanding how African American grandmothers and other family members, construct, perceive and enact certain cultural wealth and social capital should become more prevalent in scholarly work and research. Parents of different races and culture favor different forms of involvement. Implications from this research study suggest that educators and school leaders must begin to acknowledge, address, and value the cultural differences and social wealth that African American grandmothers and family members possess.