Family Fun Time Activities and Family Involvement in Head Start Children
Baily Higgins
Department of Sociology, Longwood University
SOCL 345: Social Research and Program Evaluation
Dr. JoEllen Pederson
November 22, 2023
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Family Fun Time activities on family involvement which researchers suggest is beneficial to children’s education. This was a mixed-method study with a questionnaire consisting of open-ended and closed-ended questions sent home with the children. The qualitative findings suggest a noticed increase in involvement and enjoyment of the activities. Similarly, the quantitative findings indicate that the Family Fun Time activities facilitated family engagement or involvement. The completed education level of parents was also recorded, and little variations in involvement were observed. This evaluation would be advantageous in determining if the Family Fun Time activities are a program that would be beneficial to a larger population than Head Start.
Introduction
The present study is interested in increasing family involvement at Head Start programs through the introduction of Family Fun Time activities. This research reviewed the effects of rural living, low socio-economic status (SES), and different educational levels on family involvement. Previous research suggests that family involvement, or parent involvement, is important to children’s success in education (Graue, et al., 2004). Previous research does not indicate if the educational level of parents impacts family involvement.
The current study will be helpful for Head Start programs and others like it to decide if Family Fun Time activities would be beneficial to implement on a larger scale. If it is determined that these activities increase parent involvement, which in turn increases children’s educational success, it would be advantageous for programs to employ these activities on a larger scale.
Literature Review
Parent-School Relationships
The present study is interested in researching the impacts of parent-school relationships, family involvement, and rural factors on children’s academic and social development. The aim is to measure if take-home Family Fun Time activities will impact family involvement in children Head Start families. In studying the partnerships between schools and families, Epstein (2010) suggests that good parent-school relationships can foster success in students. The author outlines the theory and frameworks for partnership growth between school programs and families. In the article, the six types of involvement (parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community) are charted; explaining what they are, what the weaknesses are, and the expected findings from the involvement of parents, teachers, and students. The aspects that Epstein (2010) focused on that are relevant to the present study are the potential impacts of parent-school involvement as well as the importance of parent and school actions in children’s success.
Graue et al., (2004) were interested in the impacts of parent involvement and school curriculum on student development. The researchers conducted a longitudinal study on 989 low-income children who were a part of Child-Parent Centers in Chicago. A sample of students attended the centers between 1983 and 1986. The researchers suggest an approach to education, based on their findings, that incorporates parent involvement, teacher-instructed activities, and child-initiated activities to garner the most success in school readiness and achievement (Graue, et al., 2004). Similar to the Epstein (2010) article’s focus on the importance of parent involvement, and the interest of the current study, the approach that appears to be the most effective as suggested by Graue et al., (2022) is the incorporation of parent, teacher, and student actions.
Parent Involvement Impacts
The impacts of parent involvement on a child’s academic and social development were studied by El Nokali et al. (2010). They completed between and within the subject’s research to determine their findings as well as closely examining the previous research in the field. The researchers acquired some data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and they measured parent involvement with the Parent-Teacher Involvement Questionnaire. Their findings suggest that parent involvement has significant impacts on social development, but not on academic achievement. This is relevant to the current study as the research question is primarily focused on how parent involvement impacts children. The questionnaire in the present study will further research parent involvement through Family Fun Time activities.
The researchers, Ansari and Gershoff (2016) were interested in the influence of parent involvement over time specifically with families in Head Start programs. They studied this by examining features of Head Start programs and determining how well they were facilitating parent involvement. The researchers outlined three predictors of parent involvement: support from Head Start, staff training, and parent barriers. Their findings suggest that parent involvement can be influenced by the programs through opportunity and resources; they also suggest that parent involvement has a significant impact on parenting practices and in turn, children’s behavior (Ansari & Gershoff, 2016). The implications of this research on the present study include the potential to further research on the impacts of Head Start promoting family involvement.
Within their research, DeLoatche et al. (2015) studied the impact of parent involvement in the home, at school, and in home-school conferencing in Head Start programs. They aimed to provide further research on low-income families to decide more efficacious ways to promote parental involvement in education. DeLoatche and colleagues (2015) measured family involvement through a questionnaire and early literacy skills using Preschool Early Literacy Indicators. One group of parents did 27 sessions of about 20 minutes practicing the alphabet with their kids. Another group completed fifteen minutes of reading to their child three times a week. The findings of this study indicate that parents working on literacy skills with their children at home have an impact on the children. Similar to the Ansari and Gershoff (2016) research, they suggest promoting parental involvement through the programs. This research has implications for the present study as the interest is on what activities may facilitate more involvement.
In their study, Fantuzzo et al. (2004) also examined parental involvement impacts on childhood development and education. Their study focused on 144 low-income children of urban families in Head Start programs. Family involvement, approaches to learning, classroom problem behaviors, and receptive vocabulary skills were what they measured. The data was collected from the families, teachers, and child assessments. Their results suggest that parent involvement at home has a significant impact on children’s development and learning. The present study wishes to expand on the importance of specific activities and how they facilitate parent engagement.
Ecological Impacts on Parent Involvement and Education
In their research, Iruka et al. (2019) studied the impacts of ecological factors, specifically rural living, on early childhood development and education. The researchers define what they consider rural through the National Center for Education Statistics and Census Bureau data on population density, as well as by geographical factors. Interviews were conducted with principals, school administrations, and parents in rural Nebraska. Their sample was collected in what the researchers describe as a “childcare desert,” where there is a lack of resources, or quality resources for the children (Iruka et al., 2019). The researchers concluded that the impact that rural living has can be attributed to a lack of diversity in its teachers that it needs to support the change in demographics in the areas, also lack of funding in rural schools impacting teacher retention was suggested to have effects on the parental involvement (Iruka et al., 2019).
Researchers, Shu-Yuan et al. (2014) observed through teacher reports the factors of parent involvement in rural areas. The researchers sent surveys to teachers and administrators in three rural states addressing parent involvement and family-school-community relationships. Their research findings suggested that challenges for rural parent involvement were socioeconomic status and parental schedules. Like Shu-Yuan and colleagues’ (2014) article, the importance of culture was noted by those who were surveyed. Potential issues related to rural and low-income living on parental involvement is a topic the present study is interested in researching.
Researcher, Iwaniec (2022) observed the impacts of SES and parental education levels in rural versus urban areas on student motivation. Almost 600 questionnaires were received and based on their findings, Iwaniec concluded that lower educational levels of parents, SES, and rural living suggested lower motivation in learning from students. Students with parents having university levels of education were noticed to have more motivation to learn than those whose parents did not. The present study is interested in the potential interconnectedness of parent education level and involvement which previous research suggests is an important factor in children’s educational success and motivation.
Overall, previous research outlines the importance of family, or parent, involvement in children’s education along with how SES, rural living, and parent education impact parent involvement. These studies suggest that lower SES, rural living, and lower educational levels of parents show a decrease in parent involvement and child motivation for learning. The present study is interested in furthering the research on the influence of parent education on involvement and overall enjoyment of the Family Fun Time activities.
Data and Methodology
Instrument
A survey questionnaire was created by eight members of the Social Research and Program Evaluation team at Longwood University. The survey consisted of 14 questions, 11 closed-ended and three open-ended questions. The first question on the survey asked respondents for informed consent. Respondents who answered “no” to the informed consent were not able to see any other questions. The survey included questions that measured family involvement, family enjoyment, evaluation of SMART objectives, and demographics. The survey was sent online through the Qualtrics program. Head Start teachers emailed survey links to the guardians and children brought home books with a QR code attached.
Sample
The non-probability sample for this study was based on 17 children (ages three to five) who attend Head Start in rural Virginia. To reiterate, Head Start is a federally subsidized preschool program for families with economic needs. A Family Fun Time Activity called Counting Caterpillars was sent home to encourage family involvement. The guardians were encouraged to complete the survey after participating in the activity with a QR code linked to the survey that was attached to a book given to their child. Teachers sent a reminder email to the guardians to complete any outstanding surveys. This resulted in four questionnaires being completed. Overall, there was a 4% response rate. Therefore, data from previous years (2019 and 2022) on Family Fun Time activities were added to the analysis. This resulted in 66 completed surveys to be used in analysis (four from 2023, 20 from 2022, and 42 from 2019).
Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative analysis of completed surveys is based on closed-ended questions. For this study, the dependent variable is family involvement. The item from the questionnaire that was used to operationalize this was, “On a scale from 0 to 10 did this activity encourage your family to work together?” (0= not at all, 10 = a great amount). For this study, the independent variable is the guardian’s education level. The item from the questionnaire that was used to operationalize this was, “What is the highest degree of education you have completed?”. The answer choices for this item are, “Some high school, High school diploma or GED, Certification from a trade/vocational school, Some college, Associate degree, Bachelor’s degree, and Graduate degree or more”. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze these variables.
Qualitative Analysis
Qualitative analysis of the completed surveys (from 2019, 2022, and 2023) was based on open-ended questions. The open-ended items were, “What did you enjoy about this activity?”, “What are your suggestions for improving this activity?”, “Typically, what activities do you do with your child?”. To answer the research question, “How do Family Fun Time activities influence family involvement?” Inductive open coding was used to determine reoccurring themes in the respondent’s responses.
Findings
Qualitative Findings
In Family Fun Time Surveys there are two common themes: overall enjoyment of the activity by the family and a noticed increase in quality time within the family. Both enjoyment and quality time, or engagement, were phenomena that were goals of the Family Fun Time Activities.
Overall Enjoyment
Out of 66 surveys, 23 respondents (47%) used language indicating that their families enjoyed the activities provided by Head Start. Respondent 19_18 directly stated that “the animal dice activity was very fun.” Another response that suggests the Fun Time Activities were enjoyable was from survey respondent 22_03 who stated, “Our family enjoyed how simple the activities were and how much our child enjoyed them.” This demonstrates that the Family Fun Time Activities were enjoyable not only for the children but for the family as well. Lastly, respondent 19_02 stated, “It was fun playing a game with the kids.” This quote directly relates the themes of enjoyment and quality time to family involvement as the parents enjoyed using the activities to interact more with their child’s learning. Overall, the Family Fun Time Activities brought enjoyment to the families that participated.
Quality time/involvement:
The second theme noticed is parents indicating an increase in quality time spent with their children through the Family Fun Time Activity. Out of 66 surveys, 27 (56%) respondents mentioned quality time in their surveys. Respondent 22_04 stated that because of the activities they experienced “time spent together, the talks, learning.” This suggests that the Family Fun Time activities promote quality time and family engagement. Another response that demonstrates the involvement aspect was from Respondent 19_19 who directly stated, “My family gained quality time.” Similarly, Respondent 19_ 05 stated, “Our family was able to bond.” This further conveys the idea that the Family Fun Time Activities generated involvement and quality time for the families. Overall, based on the participant responses, the Family Fun Time Activities acted as a source for increased family engagement and quality time.
Additionally, based on the Counting Caterpillars activity, one respondent replied to the question “What did you enjoy about this activity?”. Respondent 23_01 answered, “Allowing my child to confidently guide me.”
Overall, the survey responses suggest that the participants enjoyed the Family Fun Time Activities and found that they facilitated quality time or family involvement.
Quantitative Findings
The effects of Family Fun Time activities were measured through the dependent variable of Family involvement, or engagement, and the independent variable of parental education. The findings of the present study are below.
Table 1
Mean and Standard Deviation of Family Involvement
Involvement
Mean 7.2
Standard Deviation 2.8
Note. n = 66
As shown in Table 1, the average response to the question, “How engaged was your family in this activity (working together)? Scale of 0-10. 0=a great amount.” was 7.2 with a standard deviation of 2.8.
Figure 1
As shown in Figure 1, two respondents reported having completed some high school, 12 respondents reported completing high school or GED, 13 respondents reported completing a trade or vocational school, 19 respondents reported completing some college, nine respondents reported completing an associate degree, seven respondents reported completing a bachelor’s degree, and one respondent reported completing a graduate degree.
Table 2
Means and Standard Deviations of Involvement by Education
Education Mean Standard Deviation
Some HS 8.5 2.1
HS/GED 6.4 2.7
Trade/Vocation 7.8 2.9
Some College 6.8 2.0
Associates 7.6 2.3
Bachelor’s 6.4 4.2
Graduate School 9.0 N/A
As shown in Table 2, the reported average involvement was 8.5 with a standard deviation of 2.1 for respondents reporting completing some high school. The reported average involvement for respondents who completed high school or GED was 6.4 with a standard deviation of 2.7. The reported average involvement for respondents who completed a trade or vocational school was 7.8 with a standard deviation of 2.9. The reported average involvement for those who completed some college was 6.8 with a standard deviation of 2.0. The reported average involvement of participants who completed an associate degree was 7.6 with a standard deviation of 2.3. The reported average involvement of participants who completed a bachelor’s degree was 6.4 with a standard deviation of 4.2. Lastly, the reported average involvement of participants having a graduate-level degree was 9.0 with no standard deviation applicable.
Most respondents had some college education, trade school, or a high school degree. The bivariate analysis did not provide vast differences in the averages of involvement by education. The mean scores of parents who were recorded to have a high school, trade school, or some college education were all similar to the mean average of involvement. These findings suggest that parental education is not a factor that influences family involvement as the trends observed in the data do not have substantial differences.
Conclusion
This study aimed to investigate the impacts of Family Fun Time activities and parent level of education on family involvement. The research findings, based on the survey responses, suggest that the Family Fun Time activities foster parent involvement. These findings also demonstrate that parental educational levels have little impact on family involvement. Similar to the findings of previous research, the Family Fun Time activities foster a connection between parents and education for better involvement.
Overall, it would be advantageous for Family Fun Time activities to be implemented on a larger scale as they were found to be enjoyable and foster family involvement. Because Head Start programs, and others like it, cater to low SES and rural families that have various levels of education, these activities are important to boost family involvement and further the children’s education.
References
Ansari, A., & Gershoff, E. (2016). Parent involvement in Head Start and children’s development: Indirect effects through parenting. Journal of Marriage & Family, 78(2), 562–579. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12266
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. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-014-0660-7
El Nokali, N. E., Bachman, H. J., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2010). Parent involvement and children’s academic and social development in elementary school. Child Development, 81(3), 988–1005. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40599147
Epstein, J. L. (2010). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701- 712.
Fantuzzo, J., McWaynem C., Perry, M. A., & Childs, S. (2004). Multiple dimensions of family involvement and their relations to behavioral and learning competencies for urban, low-income children. School Psychology Review, 33(4), 467-480. https://doi.org10,1080/02796015.2004.12086262
Graue, E., Clements, M. A., Reynolds, A. J., & Niles, M. D. (2004). More than teacher-directed, or child initiated: Preschool curriculum type, parent involvement, and children’s outcomes in the child-parent centers. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 12, (72). https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v12n72.2004
Iruka, I. U., DeKraai, M., Walther, J., Sheridan, S., & Abdel-Monem, T. (2019). Examining how rural ecological contexts influence children’s early learning opportunities. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 52, 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2019.09.005
Iwaniec, J. (2020). The effects of parental education level and school location on language learning motivation. Language Learning Journal, 48(4), 427–441. https://doi-org.proxy.longwood.edu/10.1080/09571736.2017.1422137
Shu-Yuan Lin, Isernhagen, J., Scherz, S., & Denner, P. R. (2014). Rural Educator Perceptions of Parent Involvement in Public Schools: Perspectives from Three States. Rural Educator, 36(1), 40–56.