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.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2009-08-7151 |
| Date | 2009 August 1900 |
| Creators | Cook, Krystal Tisha' |
| Contributors | Ash, Michael J. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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