Take Home Activities and Parental Involvement
Madeline Davies
Longwood University
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the parental involvement of 3-5-year-old students that attend local head starts. It was hypothesized that if activities are sent home with 3-5-year old students, then the amount of time the child and parent spend together will increase. Students at a Virginia university utilized evaluation research and designed five take home activities to improve parental involvement. These activities were sent home to eighty-six families and were analyzed through a paper survey questionnaire that measured parental involvement. It was found that parental involvement in activities is affected by the amount of time it takes to complete the activity. When a child takes more than ten minutes to complete an activity parental involvement decreases. However, when a child takes longer than 30 minutes to complete an activity parental involvement increases. Four common themes were also found throughout the survey data. Three of the four themes agreed that take-home activities increase parental involvement.
Introduction
Parental involvement after school has many barriers. Parents have hectic work schedules, little to no free time, and responsibilities to tend to. These barriers can make it difficult for parents to spend time with their children at home after school. Previous studies conducted by DeLoatche et al., (2015), Meghan et al., (2015), and Lamb-Parker et al, have researched barriers to parental involvement and how to solve them. This study is significant for parents, teachers, and administrators when homework activities are being sent home. This study is significant because it is showing individuals how the implementation of take-home activities can affect the communities, they live in. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness by fulfilling SMART objectives and the enjoyment levels as well as parental involvement of 3-5-year-old students that attend local head starts when they are sent take-home activities.
Literature Review
Early parental involvement in a child’s education has been proven to have positive benefits throughout a child’s educational career. However, there are varying definitions of parental involvement (Lamb-Parker et al., 2001). This causes ambiguity and makes some parents feel less involved than others. This ambiguity along with barriers such as lack of time, additional children, and hectic work schedules affect the involvement that parents have with their child’s education.
Definitions of Parental Involvement
Parental involvement does not have an agreed upon definition. The definition of parental involvement varies when it is defined by teacher, parents, and school administrators. Parents often regard parental involvement as taking their child to school on time, picking them up, and solving issues that occur at home (Young & Growe, 2013). The study conducted by (Young & Growe, 2013) interviewed administrators and developed the definition of parent involvement as: the parent starting at home by introducing the value of an education, introducing reading and social behavior, attending school functions that relate to the child’s academic career, and communicating with the child’s teacher and administrator.
On the other hand, many schools and daycare centers use the Epstein Model to define parental involvement. The study conducted by DeLoatche, Bradley-Klug, Ogg, Kromrey, & Sundman-Wheat, (2015) used Epstein’s model to increase parental involvement in head start facility families. DeLoatch at el., (2015) defined parental involvement as learning activities that parents engage in at home and school, as well as communication practices between parents and school officials.
Barriers of Parental Involvement.
A variety of barriers have been known to have a negative effect on parental involvement in a child’s education. A study conducted by Lamb-Parker, Piotrkowski, Baker, Kessler-Sklar, Clark, & Peay, (2001) created a survey to determine which barriers are limiting parental involvement. The survey was initially given to two different low-income, high minority Head Start agencies (Lamb-Parker et al., 2001). The survey presented data that revealed 33 possible barriers to parent involvement for Head Start parents (Lamb-Parker et al., 2001). The most common barriers that Head Start mothers experience are feeling sad or depressed, lacking energy, having and/or had a major health problem, working, going to school, having a conflicting schedule with Head Start, having inflexible hours, and having a baby or toddler at home (Lamb-Parker et al., 2001).
increasing parental involvement.
Parental involvement during preschool correlates with strong pre-literacy skills, development of mathematical skills, well-developed social skills, and positive outlooks about school. Therefore, parental involvement in Head Start facilities as well as schools should increase to allow the student to prosper in the future. In the study conducted by DeLoatche et al., (2015) twenty-six children and their caregivers in three Head Start facilities were given an intervention about parental involvement and given training courses to increase involvement. As a result of the training courses and parental involvement increased and children enrolled in Head Start saw an increase in HBI.
Literacy skills have been found to be the foundation to a quality education (Meghan, Stacey, David, & Charlotte, 2015). Research suggests that literacy skills are vital for child’s continued academic success. One tactic that can be easily implemented into households across the country to increase literacy skills is letter talk with children. Letter talk is literacy‐related activity that allows parents to talk about letters in everyday conversations (Treiman, Schmidt, Decker, Robins, Levine, & Demir, 2015). A study conducted by Treiman et al., (2015) examined 50 children who were visited every 4 months between ages 14 and 50 months. The visits observed the parents and children engaging in typical activities such as letter talk, eating, and playing. The study found that conversations about the first letter of the child’s name in which parents were typically initiated by parents. The study also found that parents talk about certain letters of the alphabet such as A, B, and C more often than others which provides children more opportunities to learn about some letters than others.
Head Start facilities themselves can also contribute to increasing parental involvement. This occurred in the study conducted by Lamb-Parker et al., (2001) to address the barriers that multiple mother faced. The Head Start program modified some of their traditional parent involvement activities (volunteering in the classroom) to accommodate mothers with time restraints. The data collected allowed one agency to negotiate with local welfare-to-work programs which allowed them to launch a work site at the Head Start agency. This allowed mothers to complete their welfare-to-work requirements as well as contribute to Head Start activities. Additionally, both Head Start facilities in the study addressed the barrier of having a baby home by implementing a pilot program for mothers and infants/toddlers. Furthermore, one Head Start facility constructed a full-service day care center to help eliminate parental involvement barriers.
In order to eliminate the ambiguity in parental involvement school administrators need to create a universal definition with the assistance of teacher, parents, and community leaders (Young & Growe, 2013). This will eliminate individual perspectives that influence what individuals perceive as parental involvement. The definition should then be conveyed to parents and teachers to ensure that it is understood.
Overall, parental involvement in a child’s education has lifelong benefits. In order for a child to reap these benefits parental involvement barriers must be overcome. Head Start facilities provide resources that can help parents overcome multiple barriers. With the help of Head Start facilities multiple families will be able to overcome these barriers and allow their children to have a bright and prosperous future.
Data and Methods
Study Design and Sample
This study originated from the need of a Head Start program in rural southern Virginia to find an improved way to encourage parental involvement in the education of students enrolled in Head Start. Students at a Virginia university designed five take home activities to improve parental involvement and then utilized evaluation research to asses them. evaluation research and designed five take home activities to improve parental involvement. These activities were sent home to 86 families and would later be analyzed through a paper survey questionnaire to measure parental involvement.
Procedure
The paper survey questionnaires that were sent home to the eighty-six families stated that the respondent would remain anonymous. The surveys also stated that the respondent may skip any questions they did not wish to answer and were able to end participation in the survey at any time. The survey that was distributed also met all IRB guidelines and regulations. The surveys distributed contained both open and closed ended questions. Surveys were sent home with students with the last take home activity on a Friday. $5 gift cards were attached to all surveys to encourage completion. Parents were encouraged to return the surveys the following Monday. Head Start teachers sent out text messages reminding parents that the Monday the surveys were due and encouraged them to return them by the end of the day on Tuesday. Surveys were collected by Head Start teachers and picked up by researchers at the end of the day on Tuesday. 35 survey responses were received.
This study utilizes a mixed method analysis. A mixed method analysis can be defined as: “mixed-method analysis where quantitative and qualitative data confirmed, contrasted, or enhanced one another is presented in the results section” (Grossman & Porche, 2013)
quantitative and qualitative measures.
Researchers developed items to measure the dependent variable of parental involvement. The independent research variable is whether or not the parents complete the take home activities with their child/children. This question is important for the study because if the family did not complete the activity it will affect their overall level of parental involvement. Quantitative data from the survey came from close ended questions such as: How long did it take you and your child/children to complete the activity? From the following choices. please choose the most appropriate level of completion for this activity: a. 0-10 minutes, b. 11 – 20 minutes, c. 21 – 30 minutes, d. Longer than 30 minutes. The survey also contained questions that included scales such as on a scale from 0-10, how much did this activity help to improve you and your child’s/children’s relationship? (0 = Not at all, 10= Very much), On a scale from 0-10, how much did your family enjoy this activity? (0=Not at all, 10= Very much), and On a scale from 0-10, how much assistance did your child/children require for this activity? (0=None at all, 10=Very much).
The survey contained open ended questions on the first and last two pages in addition to the close ended questions throughout the rest of the survey. Open ended questions included Please explain what your family gained from these activities. How will you use what you gained in the future?, Do you think that being provided with pre-planned activities increased the amount of fun time you got to spend with your family after school? Please explain., and During a typical week, how many hours do you work? The second question will let parents explain whether the take home activities increased the number of hours they spent with their child/children or not. The third question will let researchers examine if the number of hours worked in a week is a barrier to parental involvement
Analysis.
Quantitative Analysis. The quantitative data was analyzed and categorized using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Parental involvement and enjoyment were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were also supported.
Qualitative Analysis. Open ended data was used to explore themes related to family involvement.
Findings
Qualitative Findings
Open ended data was used to explore themes related to family involvement. Once the data was analyzed four themes were apparent in the surveys. These themes were used in analyzing the validity of the research question “Do sent home activities increase 3-5-year-old parent involvement?”. Three of the four themes agree that take-home activities increase parental involvement. The three supporting themes are: having supplies provided increased parental involvement, having the activities designed in advance by researchers increased parental involvement, and the take home activities allowed parents to spend an increased amount of time with their child/children. The final theme is that take-home activities do not increase parental involvement.
This study was conducted in a low-income area which limits families on the activities that they can do together. Therefore, multiple parents expressed that having the supplies provided for the activities and not having to purchase a additional items allowed them to spend more time interacting with their child/children. Respondent 7 stated that having the supplies sent home “was very helpful” and that “everything was already there so all we needed to do was enjoy the activity”. Additionally, respondent 13 stated that having the supplies sent home allowed for more time to be spent with their child/children because “I didn’t have to look for things to do or go to the store to buy supplies”.
Many parents surveyed in the study work varying and rigorous hours. Therefore, it is often difficult to plan activities for the family after work hours. Multiple respondents expressed that having activities preplanned allowed them to spend more family time together. When asked if preplanned activities were beneficial respondent 3 stated “Yes absolutely! It took all the planning and prepping out of the equation.”. Respondent 10 was asked the same question and stated “Yes, because being a busy mom of two its hard to come home and try to think of something to do”. Overall, preplanned take-home activities allow parents and their child/children to spend quality time together when the parent comes home from work.
Take-home activities also provide the opportunity for parents to spend quality time with their child/children. Respondents were asked if they believed the take-home activities allowed them to spend more time with their child/children. Respondent 19 said “Yes I think it increased the amount of fun time because usually only the older kids get help with homework or get to do activities”. Respondent 11 said “Yes, it was something we made time for. We don’t always get that chance”. Take-home activities are providing 3-5-year-old children who might not get as much quality time after school with an opportunity for more. Additionally, these activities are being implemented into the nightly routines of parents and their child/children which is allowing more quality time to be spent together.
The final theme provided an unexpected answer to the research question “Do sent home activities increase 3-5-year-old parent involvement?”. The final theme observed is that take-home activities do not increase parental involvement in all cases. Only two respondents out of the 35 felt that the take home activities did not increase parental involvement. Respondent 9 states that take-home activities did not increase parental involvement because “we do activities every day”. When asked if take-home activities increase parental involvement respondent 12 said “Not necessarily. We always ensure there’s time to spend with family after school”.
The four themes present are crucial when trying to understand if sent home activities increase 3-5-year-old parent involvement. The majority of survey respondents stated that take home activities increase parental involvement because supplies are provided, activities are preplanned, and they allow parents to help their 3-5-year-old child/children with an activity which leads to an increased amount of quality time spent together. However, a small fraction of respondents felt that the take-home activities did not increase their level of parental involvement because they claim to already be doing activities with their child/children at home.
Quantitative Findings
Closed ended survey data was used to analyze the validity of the research question “Do sent home activities increase 3-5-year-old parental involvement?”. The dependent variable in the study was parental involvement. The independent variable in the study was the amount of time it took parents and their child/children to complete the sent home activity. Data was gathered and analyzed from thirty-three surveys.
The dependent variable in the study was parental involvement. Parental involvement was measured by the question “How involved was your family in this activity? (0=Not at all, 10=Very much)”. This question allowed respondents to answer on a scale from 0-10. The mean answer of the question was 8.63. The median was 10.00 and the mode was 10. Table 1 below depicts each of the responses and their frequency. Ten was the most common response with 19 respondents or 59.4% selecting it. The numbers 0-3 were not selected by any of the respondents. five was the second most influential number chosen. Four respondents or 12.5% selected five. One respondent failed to answer the question therefore there are 32 recorded responses.
Table 1
Frequency of Involvement Responses
Mean Median Mode
8.63 10 10
Note.
Each respondent received the same survey with the same rating Scale.
The independent variable in the study was the amount of time it took parents and their child/children to complete the sent home activity. The survey asked parents to indicate the amount of time it took them and their child/children to complete the Sugar Writing Activity. Parents were given four different time ranges to select. Response a. 0-10 minutes, response b. 11-20 minutes, response c. 21-30 minutes, and response d. Longer than 30 minutes. 12.1% of parents selected response, 33.3% selected response b, 27.3% selected response c, and 27.3% selected response d.
Table 2
Amount of Time Needed to Complete the Activity
0-10 mins 11-20 mins 21-20 mins 30 + mins
Frequency 4 11 9 9
Percentage 12.1 33.3 27.3 27.3
Using a bivariate analysis of the two variables it can be concluded that the longer the activity takes to complete can lead to a reduction in the level of involvement. When parents spent 0-10 minutes in the activity the mean level of involvement was 9.67. When parents spent 11-20 minutes completing the activity the mean level of involvement was reduced to 8.91. When parents spent 21-30 minutes on the activity the mean level of involvement reduced further to 7.67. Finally, when parents spent longer than 30 minutes on the activity the involvement mean increased to 8.89.
Table 3
Parental Level of Involvement Over Time
0-10 mins 11-20 mins 21-30 mins 30 + mins
Average 9.67 8.91 7.67 8.89
Overall, parental involvement in activities is affected by the amount of time it takes to complete the activity. When a child takes more than ten minutes to complete an activity the level of parental involvement decreases. However, when a child takes longer than 30 minutes to complete an activity parental involvement increases. This likely occurs because the parent is helping the child finish the activity.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness by fulfilling SMART objectives and the enjoyment levels as well as parental involvement of 3-5-year-old students that attend local head starts when they are sent take-home activities. It was found that parental involvement in activities is affected by the amount of time it takes to complete the activity. When a child takes 21-30 minutes to complete an activity parental involvement decreases. When a child takes longer than 30 minutes to complete an activity parental involvement increases because parents are helping the child complete the activity. This information is important because when school systems send home activities, they need to be aware that parental involvement level will decrease if the activity consumes a large amount of their time.
Works Cited
DeLoatche, K., Bradley-Klug, K., Ogg, J., Kromrey, J., & Sundman-Wheat, A. (2015). Increasing parent involvement among head start families: A randomized control group study. Early Childhood Education Journal, 43(4), 271-279. doi:10.1007/s10643-014-0660-7
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 3
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 7
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 9
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 10
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 11
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 12
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 13
Family Fun Time Activities Survey, 2019. Respondent 19
Lamb-Parker, F., Piotrkowski, C. S., Baker, A. J., Kessler-Sklar, S., Clark, B., & Peay, L. (2001). Understanding barriers to parent involvement in Head Start: a research- community partnership. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16(1), 35–51. doi: 10.1016/s0885-2006(01)00084-9
Meghan, K., Stacey, N., David, W., & Charlotte, W. (2015). Parental involvement routines and former head start children’s literacy outcomes. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 29(2), 173-186. doi:10.1080/02568543.2015.1011360
Treiman, R., Schmidt, J., Decker, K., Robins, S., Levine, S., & Demir, O. (2015). Parents’ talk about letters with their young children. Child Development, 86 (5), 1406-1418. doi:10.1111/cdev.12385
Young, C., Austin, S., & Growe, R. (2013). Defining parental involvement: Perception of school administrators. Education, 133(3), 291-297.