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Citation:

Culp, A. M., Hubbs-Tait, L., & Starost, H. J. (2000). Maternal parenting characteristics and school involvement: Predictors of kindergarten cognitive competence among Head Start children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 15(1), 5-17.

Annotation:
The researchers examine relationships between maternal parenting characteristics and childrenÕs competence in kindergarten after one year in Head Start. They found that maternal school involvement related positively to the kindergarten child remembering instructions; maternal punitiveness related negatively to kindergarten childÕs cognitive competence; and maternal involvement during Head Start and kindergarten explained significant variance in childrenÕs Peabody scores and in their capacities to remember teachersÕ instructions. The study involved 114 primary caregivers and their 5-year-old children who had attended Head Start in rural Oklahoma and continued through Kindergarten. Maternal warmth, intrusiveness, maternal punitiveness, and school involvement were defined and measured when caregivers reacted to Computer-Presented Parenting Dilemmas (CPPD). Teacher ratings determined the parental involvement during kindergarten with items including how the parent responds to suggestions and provides information about the child. Computer-administered (though personalized) vignettes assessed each motherÕs reaction to child distress scenarios. The cognitive testing of the children took place in the spring of their Head Start year, when their teachers completed competency scales. During their Kindergarten year additional tests and ratings were collected. The researchers concluded that parental school involvement influences cognitive competence beyond the Head Start year and into kindergarten. There was no significant relationship between the maternal warmth in Head Start and school involvement in kindergarten. Though early care educators may use this study as one more piece of evidence on the importance of parent involvement, the use of computer scenarios to assess parental skills should not be taken as definitive indicators of parentsÕ actual behaviors.