Family Engagement in 4K Program: Implications for Children's School Readiness
Family engagement is crucial for preschool program quality and children's cognitive and socioemotional development. This study explores family engagement practices in Madison's 4K program and their impact on children's school readiness through surveys, focus groups with parents, and linking data on family engagement to student outcomes.
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Family Engagement in Madison s 4K Program: Implications for Children s School Readiness Alejandra Ros Pilarz University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Social Work Presentation for MEP Research Symposium April 26, 2018
Family Engagement and Childrens School Readiness Family engagement is an important component of preschool program quality Stronger family engagement in preschool has been associated with better child cognitive and socioemotional outcomes Family engagement can: oIncrease parents knowledge of and support for child s learning at home oStrengthen parents social networks oConnect parents to needed resources in the community Sources: Ansari & Gershoff, 2016; Arnold, Zeljo, Doctoroff, & Ortiz (2008); Forry, Moodie, Simkin, & Rothenberg (2011); Powell, Son, File, & San Juan, (2010); Sommer et al. (2017)
6 Standards For family & Community Engagement in MMSD Family Engagement Framework Family involvement Relationships with families Family support services Standard 1 Welcoming all families into the School Community Opportunities for volunteering Parent-child activities Parent social events and workshops Community events Direct provision of support services (parent education, mental health services) Connections to community resources Referrals to social services Two-way communication and collaboration Teachers knowledge of families Teachers attitudes about family engagement Standard 2 Communicating Effectively Standard 3 Supporting Student Success Standard 4 Speaking up for every child Standard 5 Sharing Power Standard 6 Collaborating with Community Center/School Environment
Research Questions & Methods 1. What family engagement practices do 4K site directors/school principals and teachers use to communicate with, involve, and support families? Survey of 4K teachers, school principals, and community-based early care and education (ECE) site directors in March/April 2017 2. How do parents perceive and experience 4K programs family engagement practices? Focus groups with 4K parents in May/June 2017 3. Are family engagement practices related to children s attendance in 4K and school readiness skills at the end of the 4K program year? Link survey data with MMSD administrative records on student characteristics, attendance, report cards, and early literacy assessment (PALS) scores Used a statistical model (OLS regression) to estimate associations between family engagement practices and children s attendance, early literacy skills, and teachers ratings of socioemotional skills
Who participated in the study? Survey of 4K teachers, principals, and directors o82 teachers (89% response rate at school sites; 83% at ECE sites) o16 principals and 26 directors (67% and 84% response rate) oMajority of participants identified as female and white, non-Hispanic and had some graduate education Focus groups with 4K parents o15 parents at 3 school sites and 1 ECE site o9 mothers; 5 fathers; 1 grandmother o5 Spanish-speaking parents Linked survey data and MMSD administrative records o1743 4K students from 2016-2017 school year whose teacher or principal/director participated in survey
What are 4K programs doing to engage families? Welcoming Environment Supporting Student Success 100 100 100 100 96 95 100 100 88 % % 83 80 68 80 63 64 54 60 60 50 49 31 40 38 40 25 20 19 20 0 0 Pictures, artwork, etc. reflect families' backgrounds Dedicated space for families Family social events (several times/year) Offer parent-child learning activities Offer parenting classes On-site library with children's books All sites School sites ECE sites All sites School sites ECE sites Communicating Effectively Collaborating with Community 100 100 98 % % 94 100 100 92 90 88 75 80 80 58 56 56 60 60 52 50 46 46 46 40 38 40 40 20 20 0 0 Use multiple modes of communication Individual meetings in preferred language Group meetings in all languages Partner with community orgs. Referrals to social services Referrals to community services
What are 4K teachers doing to engage families? Most Frequent Types of Practices Least Frequent Types of Practices % 60 60 % 52 50 50 46 44 42 41 40 40 27 30 30 21 20 18 20 17 20 14 11 11 10 10 7 10 7 10 2 0 0 Offer ideas or suggestions about parenting Set goals for child with parents/ discuss progress What child is learning in the classroom Parents' concerns about their child * 1-2 times per year or less Several times per year 1-2 times per year or less Several times per year Once per month Once per week Once per month More than once per month More than once per week *Teachers at ECE sites reported doing this more frequently, on average, than teachers at school sites
What are 4K teachers doing to engage families? Most Frequent Parental Involvement Opportunities Least Frequent Parental Involvement Opportunities % 70 % 70 66 60 60 50 50 44 40 40 40 40 28 30 26 24 24 27 30 24 20 18 20 13 7 10 6 9 10 0 2 * Volunteer in the classroom Family social events 0 * Home visits Field trips Never 1-2 times per year Never 1-2 times per year Several times per year Once per month or more Several times per year Once per month or more *Teachers at ECE sites reported doing this more frequently, on average, than teachers at school sites
What are parents perspectives on family engagement in 4K? Regular, two-way communication was important for building strong, trusting parent-teacher relationships and supporting child s learning at home I bring him and pick him up everyday, that is how I talk with her. And because sometimes I arrive early, she talks to me. And one day she almost started crying. Yes, because she says that he has progressed so much; I am very happy to see that he is able to communicate with his friends, that at the beginning he was so shy. But everyday, when I come pick him up that s when she tells me: today he did this, today he was able to say this or whatever else. Weaker parent-teacher relationships when teachers only communicated when a need arises I think here, communication exists when a need arises. You know, as opposed to just kind of a daily or weekly kind of check in. But if something has gone down, she ll let me know. But most of the time, no news is good news. And unfortunately, that kind of feedback doesn t really bring any kind of enlightened state in my head to know exactly what s going on.
What are parents perspectives on family engagement in 4K? Parental involvement activities like family fun nights helped build a sense of community and supportive relationships between parents at the last family fun night one of my daughter s classmate s mom was like you know they had such a fun time together, great best friends in class, you know, we should get together for a play date and go to the park and do a picnic or something. But some parents desired more activities, especially for 4K parents only A meeting once in a while, a gathering with the parents...I don t know all of them, honestly. The few I have seen, it is because they have been waiting their turn for the conference or because I see them outside of school, but I don t really know who they are. I don t know their names...but we have never spent enough time together to introduce ourselves. Scheduling conflicts and language barriers made participation difficult And then the parent-teacher association has late meetings, too...Because usually, those started like 6 where you're sitting down for dinner at that time and getting ready to go to bed at 7. So even if there s child care provided then it totally messes up the schedule. And one of the best things for children is to have a schedule.
What are parents perspectives on family engagement in 4K? 4K programs efforts to connect parents to family support services in the community made parents feel welcome and that the program cares about families Yeah, she makes sure that everything, like if you can t figure out something or you can t get this done, she s giving you time, she s helping you. She s understanding. She s not making you feel uncomfortable. Like oh my God. Like say if I m not going to have this payment. She s like we re going to get it together. However, some parents reported being unaware of services through their school and expressed need for better communication No, no. Well, nothing that I can remember, no. It s just that sometimes, the e-mails are in English, I really don t know. Maybe I have received them, they have come, but I don t understand all of them.
Are family engagement practices associated with child attendance and school readiness skills? Found few associations between family engagement practices and child outcomes; effects were small in magnitude Teachers practices for communicating with and involving parents were associated with higher early literacy skills at the end of 4K Site-level practices were not except that programs efforts to connect parents to family support services were associated with higher early literacy skills Associations were smaller (and often not statistically significant) when taking into account children s fall early literacy scores
Summary and Implications Regular, two-way communication about child s learning was... o frequently reported by teachers o important to parents for supporting child s learning o may be challenging when parents do not regularly visit 4K program Parental involvement opportunities were... o more frequently reported at ECE sites o helpful in building supportive relationships, especially when focused on 4K parents Connecting parents to social and family support services was... o somewhat less frequent than other types of practices o valued by many parents, but parents were often unaware of available services Non-English speaking parents face unique challenges o especially when teachers, program staff, and other parents do not speak their language o 75% or fewer programs provide translated materials or interpreters
Acknowledgements Thank you to the 4K teachers, directors, principals, and parents who participated in this study! This project is being carried out with the support of the Madison Education Partnership with funding from the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Research Assistants: Ying-Chun Lin and Elizabeth Premo MMSD, WCER, and MEP project staff: Beth Vaade, Bo McCready, Barbie Klawikowski, Dominique Bradley, Jaymes Pyne, and others Thank you! Alejandra Ros Pilarz pilarz@wisc.edu
