Introduction
The research question for this study was “Would parents who received a higher education be more involved with their children during the Family Fun Time activities” The dependent variable examined in this study was family engagement throughout the activity. It was asked on a 0-10 scale, with 0 being not involved, to 10 being fully involved. The independent variable for the study was the parent’s level of education. Respondents were allowed to choose an option from 1-4 ranging from “Less than High School,” “High School,” “Some College,” and “College Degree or higher,” with an additional fifth option of “Prefer not to answer.” The purpose of this section of the study is to analyze the relationship between the level of education of the parent(s) and the overall engagement of the parent(s). I have used three different statistical tables to test the research question: ANOVA, Chi-Squared, and T-test.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Table
Table 1. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) of family engagement by the level of education
| Mean Engagement | F-Value | |
| High School | 6.25 | 0.0498* |
| Some College | 9.0 | |
| College Degree or higher | 5.83 |
Note: p<.05*, p<.01**, p<.001***
The dependent variable for this ANOVA was family engagement, and the parents were asked on a 0-10 scale with 0 being not involved, to 10 being fully involved. The independent variable for this ANOVA was the level of education. Respondents chose an option from 1-4 ranging from “Less than High School” to “College Degree or higher”, with an additional fifth option of “Prefer not to answer”. The mean engagement for parents who completed High School was 6.25. Those who completed some college had a mean engagement of 9.0, and those with a College Degree or higher had a mean engagement of 5.83. According to the ANOVA results (F=0.0498), there is a significant difference between the means at the .05* level. From the results, we can conclude that education level influences family engagement.
Chi-Squared Table
Table 2. Chi-Squared of parent engagement by education
| Low Education | High Education | Total | |
| Not Engaged | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Engaged | 28 | 36 | 64 |
| Chi-Square | 0.72 |
Note: p<.05*, p<.01**, p<.001***
The dependent variable for this Chi-Squared table is parent involvement, which was asked on a 0-10 scale with 0 being uninvolved, and 10 being fully involved. The independent variable for this Chi-Squared is the parent’s level of education. Respondents were allowed to choose an option from 1-4 ranging from “Less than High School,” “High School,” “Some College,” and “College Degree or higher,” with an additional fifth option of “Prefer not to answer.” For the parents who were not engaged and had low education, the number of responses was 4, and for those who received high education, the number of responses is 8. Both of those equal 12. For the parents who were engaged and received low education, the number of responses was 28, and 36 for those who received high education. These numbers came out to equal 64. The Chi-Square number on the table (0.72), indicates that there is no significant difference between the categories since it is not less than .05, .o1, or .001.
Independent Sample T-Test Table
Table 3. Independent sample t-test of parent involvement based on education.
| Family involvement based on education | t | df | |
| High School or Lower | 7.13 | -3.51*** | 44.24 |
| Some College or Higher | 9.20 |
Note: p<.05*, p<.01**, p<.001***
The dependent variable for this Independent Sample T-test is Family involvement and this was asked on a 0-10 survey, with 0 being uninvolved and 10 being fully involved with the activity. The independent variable for this Independent Sample T-test is the parent’s level of education. Respondents were allowed to choose an option from 1-4 ranging from “Less than High School,” “High School,” “Some College,” and “College Degree or higher,” with an additional fifth option of “Prefer not to answer.” The mean family involvement for families with high school or lower education was 7.13 out of 10 while the mean for some college or higher was 9.20. The t-test value was -3.51 and it is significantly different at the .001*** level. This means that the mean family involvement based on education is significantly different.
Conclusion
In conclusion, by looking at the tables and analyzing the data, there is a direct relationship between family involvement and level of education. The tables and data show that higher education results in higher levels of involvement. Other than the T-test, the statistical tables indicate a significant difference between the means for the dependent and independent variables. ANOVA indicated a significant difference between the means at the .05* level, and the Chi-Squared table indicated a significant difference between the means at the .001*** level.