It was the major purpose of this study to determine whether changes in the thinking and behavior of Head Start mothers would occur if they received training to teach cognitive concepts to their children. The sample consisted of three groups of Head Start mothers. One experimental group received training in the use of the child-centered approach to teach cognitive concepts to their children. The other experimental group received training in the use of the task-centered approach in teaching cognitive concepts to their children. The control group received no training to teach cognitive concept to their children. PopulationThe subjects were forty-one Head Start mothers who volunteeredto participate in the study. Mothers in the two experimental groups were assigned to treatment groups according to their proximity to a treatment center. Mothers were assigned to the control group because they were unable to attend treatment sessions.InstrumentThe Parent As A Teacher Inventory (PAAT) was used to measure the feelings and behavior of the Head Start mothers about their role as teachers to their own children.Treatment SessionsThere were two experimental treatment groups in the study. Group I received training to teach cognitive concepts to their children with a child-centered approach. The child-centered approach refers to teaching with focus on the feelings of the child, the attitude of acceptance, and the use of positive feedback. Group II received training to teach cognitive concepts to their children with a task-centered approach. The task-centered approach refers to teaching with primary focus on the activity and the manipulation of materials.Both experimental groups received training to teach the concepts of the classification of colors, the classification of geometrical shapes, and the classification of size. There were four training sessions for each experimental treatment group. The meetings were held bi-weekly and each were one hour and a half in length. The training sessions were conducted by the researcher. The materials to be used by the mothers to teach the cognitive concepts were provided by the researcher. Statistical AnalysisThe posttest means were adjusted on the basis of the pretest scores. The adjusted posttest means on the Parent As A Teacher Inventory (PAAT) were then compared using analysis of covariance. The analysis of covariance is a statistical technique which permits one to test a null hypothesis of no difference among the groups' criterion means (posttest means) after a potentially confounding variable, the covariate (pretest means), has been controlled. The hypotheses were tested using a t statistic.It must be oncluded that no statistically significant changes in the thinking and behavior of Head Start mothers were produced by providing only four training sessions. Neither the child-centered nor the task-centered approach to teaching changed the thinking and behavior of the mothers to produce statistically significant differences.However, parents indicated in their interviews that they believed the training was beneficial to their children and to themselves. In the interviews, mothers stated that they became interested in teaching their children and will continue to teach them. Many stated that the workshops gave them new ideas about teaching materials and new ways to teach their children. Many mothers also expressed that the time which they spent with their children teaching and playing the games was valuable for the learning which took place and for the positive interaction between the mother and the child.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/176253 |
| Date | January 1976 |
| Creators | Frazier, Suzanne |
| Contributors | Williams, R. Ann |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | v, 109 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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