Throughout this semester I have been a part of Dr. Pederson’s social research and program evaluation class. My classmates and I have spent the last fifteen weeks researching parental involvement in Head Start families. Head Start is a government-funded early education program. We focused on families with children from the ages of three to five. We wrote literature reviews on topics that affect parental involvement and interested us to prepare for creating a survey and collecting data. The topic I chose was the amount of children in a household. I began by focusing on the sibling dynamics which shifted throughout the semester to a focus on the distribution of resources and involvement between a larger household. I struggled to find sources that supported my topic. I found some that supported specific issues like birth order and its effect on education, and others that had more general information that I was able to use throughout. Kidwell (1981) and Zedan (2011) proved to be the most relevant and useful sources.
One of the most challenging aspects of this research was the data collection process. Initially, our survey received only four responses, which was far from the response rate we had hoped for. To encourage more responses my classmates and I went to the local Head Start locations during dismissal to talk directly to parents. Our efforts resulted in twenty-six total responses which is around a 25% response rate. While this amount was still lower than we had hoped it allowed us to continue with our analysis. Once we had the responses, the next phase was analyzing the quantitative data. We analyzed the data in spreadsheets and used R to organize and understand it. It was interesting to see how the data supported my hypothesis, that larger family sizes were associated with lower levels of parental involvement, while also revealing some outliers, such as a family with four children who reported an unexpectedly high level of involvement.
In addition to the quantitative analysis, we also analyzed the qualitative responses, which provided insights into parents’ lived experiences. The recurring themes of outdoor activities, emotional connections, and coping mechanisms highlighted how parents navigate the challenges of raising children, particularly in larger households. It was clear from these responses that despite the obstacles families face, parents were committed to maintaining strong emotional connections and finding different ways to spend quality time with their children.
Going forward, this project has influenced my perspective on data collection and research. Now that I know how important each response can be in contributing to the overall picture, I am much more likely to take part in surveys. With improved abilities in data analysis, problem-solving, and research, I also have more confidence in my future projects.