Data and Methods 

Instrument

A survey questionnaire was created by the 40 members of the Social Research and Program Evaluation team at Longwood University. The survey contained both open-ended and closed-ended questions. Items on the survey were designed to evaluate SMART objectives of each of five activities that were completed the previous week by Head Start families. Beyond the objectives of the activities, participants were asked about their experiences with Head Start, take home activities, and demographic information about their households. 

Sample

The non-probability sample for this study was based on the 51 children (ages three to five) who attend Head Start in two rural counties in Virginia. After activities were sent home with children for five days, the questionnaire was sent home with all 51 students. Attached to the questionnaire was a children’s book, to incentivize families to return the survey. Guardians of the children were asked to complete the survey and return it to the Head Start teacher the following school day. Zero questionnaire was returned the next school day. Teachers then sent a reminder home with children to return any outstanding questionnaires. This resulted in 11 more questionnaires being returned. Overall, there was a 22% response rate. 

Quantitative Analysis

Quantitative analysis of the returned surveys is based on the close-ended questions. For this study the dependent variable is parental involvement. The item from the questionnaire that was used to operationalize this was, “How much did your family enjoy this activity”. The answer choices for this item were, on a scale of 0-10, 0 means not at all, 10 means great amount. The independent variable for this study is parent level of education. The item from the questionnaire that was used to operationalize this was “What is the highest degree of education anyone in your household has completed?”. The answer choices for this question were less than high school, high school, some college, college degree or higher, and prefer not to answer. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze these variables. 

Qualitative Analysis

Qualitative analysis of the returned surveys is based on the open-ended questions. The open-ended questions on the survey were “what did your family enjoy most about these activities, what recommendations would you suggest to make these activities better? and what are your favorite ways to spend time with your child?”. To answer the research question, how can take-home activities encourage children’s involvement in participating in family activity, inductive open coding was used to determine reoccurring themes in the participant’s responses. 

Findings 

Quantitative Analysis 

For the quantitative findings section, the following variables were examined using descriptive statistics: Parents education and level of family enjoyment to the activities. For parents’ education, 22.2 percent of respondents reported having a high school degree. 33.3 percent of respondents reported having some college degree. 44.4 percent of respondents reported having a college degree or higher. These findings can be seen in figure 1. 

Table 1. 

Parents Education 

The dependent variable is family enjoyment of the activity measured on a scale from 0 to 10. The mean parent enjoyment score was 9.3. The median score was 10. The mode was 10. The standard deviation score was 1.45.  Figure two reveals the results of the findings. 

Table 2. 

	Mean	Median	Mode	S.D
Parents Involvement	9.3	10	10	1.45

A bivariate analysis was run to determine how the level of  parents’ education equated to parental involvement in their child’s life. Eight respondents reported having a  high school degree. Nine respondents also reported having some college degree. Finally, Ten respondents reported that they had a college degree or higher. The results for the findings can be found in figure or table 3. 

Table 3

Mean Parents Involvement by Parent Education

Education	Mean
High School	8
Some College	9
college or more	10

However, when analyzing the survey which was based on how take-home activities encourage children’s involvement in participating in family activity. Based on the data presented, family involvement in their children’s academics increased as a result of parent education status. The level of education impacted parents’ ability to engage with their child’s daily activities which was influenced by socioeconomic income. Consequently, parents with higher educational status were more involved with their child as opposed to parents with  high school education. These findings suggest that the level of education influences parents’ ability to engage in their children’s education and activities.  

Qualitative Analysis

 Parents’ involvement in their child’s life is essential in regards to education achievements, behavior and better social capabilities.  Epstein (1991), stated that parental involvement aids children to become important members of society and ensures that children are emotionally, physically and mentally healthy with support from their parents. However, the level of parental involvement can be affected by race, socioeconomic background, and financial stability. Throughout the paper, I will explain some of the major findings acquired from the family fun time activity assessment. Such as increased family bond, learning different skills and teamwork among children and their parents.  

Examining the family fun time activity assessment, there was a relationship concerning certain activities that increase family bonding. The majority of respondents regardless of the activity reported that they were content with the activity due to the fact that it increased family bond collectively. A respondent for activity one stated that “ We did each activity at least twice, I would pay for activities like this with their child.”  Respondents that had some college education or degree were predominantly white, as compared to African Americans who had high school or college degrees and higher. Respondents with high school degrees generally seem to spend less time on the activity as compared to college degree or higher. However, there was not a significant difference between the number of white and black individuals with college degrees or higher. As a result, the level of parental involvement in the activity seemed to be based on the amount of time to spare after work. Overall, children were content about the activity and leisure spent together with their parents. 

A respondent to activity four indicated that “It brought a lot of fun and laughter for our family and my kids were able to learn a lot.”  Alternatively stated, the activity was able to educate their children while creating space for family collaboration. Nonetheless, children completed the activity with no help or some form of assistance from their parents. Children from a double parents household appeared to spend more time on the activity in contrast to single parent households. However, the findings from the family fun activity suggests that children learned skills in completing assessment. Most of the children were able to identify textures, color beads, painting leaves, and differentiate between gravity on earth and in space. Respondents to assessment two reported  that “Spending time together and learning new things”, is what their family enjoyed the most about the activity. Certain activities such as scavenger hunt and astronaut pudding were completed quicker for children in double parents households. These findings implies that children from two parents possibly learned more skills due to help from both parents in comparison with single parents homes. 

However, teamwork among children and their parents was another theme obtained from the family fun activity assessment. A respondent to activity nine expressed that, “ they enjoyed interacting with their child, as a result, the rest of the family was interested in participating as well.” All the activities needed collaboration from the child and parents to join forces in order to accomplish the assessment. When analyzing the degree of involvement regarding the activity from parents and child’s perspective, respondents reported a great amount of involvement from both parties. For Instance, when parents were asked if they would be willing to participate in the same activity in the future, the majority of respondents reported being interested. The degree of collaboration among children and their parents could be affected by levels of education and the amount of time spent with the child after school. As stated previously, higher education presents opportunities that an individual from low socioeconomic background may be restricted to. Consequently, parents with high school degrees may spend more time outside of the house in order to obtain financial stability. 

Finally, one specific theme that kept recurring was the ability for parents and their child’s to have fun during the activities. A respondent from activity ten mentioned that they enjoyed having fun the most about the activities. Overall, the activities presented parents the opportunity to bond with their child, learn important skills, and collaborate more efficiently together. If the activities encourage children’s involvement then at-home family activities should be expected to increase. 

Limitations

The study was conducted in Farmville, Virginia as stated previously in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, the response rate from participants regarding the survey was limited. There were 51 Head Start children that participated in the family fun activity. However, there were only 11 participants who brought back the completed assessment. This  indicates that 22 percent of the survey assessment was returned in comparison with the 80 percent response rate expected in the beginning of the study. The pandemic may have impacted the participants ability to effectively engage in the activities or return the activity upon completion. 

Conclusion

Parental involvement is essential for children because it can lead to a child becoming productive or delinquent members of society. As children develop, the level of parent involvement frames their perspective about education and at-home activities. It ensures that children are provided with support essential for them to function properly in regards to mental, emotional and physical health. However, the level of parenting can be impacted by factors that may restrict a parent capability to successfully engage with their child. Factors such as parents’ education level and socioeconomic components influence parenting style. Parenting style among single parent households may differ in contrast with double parent households due to the extra assistance from their mother or father.  However, positive parenting is regarded to have a greater influence in children especially concerning academic achievement and participation in at-home activities. Positive parenting can change a child’s outlook about specific attitudes, behavior and acts. This outcome raises the question “why does parental involvement matter?” A child cannot properly become involved in at-home and school-based activities without them recognizing that their parents value their accomplishment.  

The findings of this study directly answer the research question “How can take-home activities encourage family involvement?” The result indicated that respondents enjoyed the family fun activity assessment since some of the participants reported the activity provided them with the opportunity to engage with their child. Without effective parenting and family involvement, children are equivalent to a car without a driver. A car without a driver cannot move on its own without a sense of direction. However, with pepper parent bond and involvement the child can learn to excel at their own pace regarding future references. 

References 

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