The purpose of this multi-perspectival qualitative study was to examine the reasons parents/primary caregivers residing in and around the Steeltown community choose to have their preschool age children participate or not participate in quality early childhood education programs. The goal of the researcher was to examine the early childhood experiences of some of the children from the Steeltown community who reside in either of the two subsidized housing projects and/or their neighborhoods.
The following research questions were formulated to examine the reasons parents/primary caregivers choose to have their preschool age children participate or not participate in quality early childhood programs, given the presence of these programs in the Steeltown community.
1) What are the early childhood programs available in the area?
2) What do these programs provide: academics, socialization, childcare, other?
3) What types of early childhood care (primarily) do parents/primary caregivers enroll their children: home (none), babysitter, daycare, nursery school?
4) On what basis is this type of early childhood care chosen by parents/primary caregivers?
5) How important is a childs prekindergarten (approximately from ages 0-5 years) experiences on kindergarten school readiness?
6) What comments or questions regarding the context of early childhood education programs in the community do the research participants have of the researcher?
Data was collected from interviews and focus groups of parents/primary caregivers and the school district parent involvement coordinator along with a review of school district documents regarding early childhood programs in the Steeltown area and local demographics.
The findings indicate that the communication system between parents/primary caregivers and early childhood education providers has had a major impact on participation or lack of participation in quality early childhood programs. The goals of Goals 2000 legislation, ensuring all children come to school ready to learn, and the goals of the No Child Left Behind legislation have influenced the focus on the provision of high quality early education programs for all children. The results of this study revealed that without an effective communication system, parents/primary caregivers have limited knowledge of school readiness, what quality early childhood programs offer, and that these programs are accessible.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-10282006-115349 |
| Date | 29 January 2007 |
| Creators | Lobaugh, Catherine Skezas |
| Contributors | Dr. Charles Gorman, Dr. Sean Hughes, Dr. Sue Ann Goodwin, Dr. Richard Seckinger |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-10282006-115349/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0566 seconds