| Citation: | Fantuzzo, J., McWayne, C., & Perry, M. A. (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. |
Annotation:
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between family involvement in early childhood education and classroom outcomes. The researchers used a multidimensional scale of family involvement, the Family Involvement Questionnaire (FIQ). The Researchers found that the Home-Based Involvement dimension was a stronger predictor of later classroom outcomes than School-Based Involvement or Home-School Conferencing dimensions. Analyses revealed that Home-Based Involvement activities, such as reading to a child at home, are associated with later competencies in preschool classrooms including attention, task persistence, motivation to learn, receptive vocabulary skills, and fewer behavior problems in the classroom. In addition, School-Based Involvement in combination with Home-Based Involvement was also related to fewer behavior problems in the classroom. These results were obtained from 144 preschool children-enrolled in Head Start in a large urban area in the Northeast ranging in ages from 46 to 68 months-and their parents. The majority of the participants (96%) were African American and most parent respondents were mothers. The demographics of the Head Start centers that participated in this study match the national proportions for urban Head Start centers. This study highlights the importance of parents involving their children in educational activities at home and suggests that educators should target barriers that prevent parents from engaging in these practices. Though this study provides insight into possible impacts of home-based interventions, further research including randomized controlled trials, are needed to gauge the value of specific home-based intervention strategies.
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