Work

Parent Involvement in Head Start and Children's Development: Indirect Effects Through Parenting

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: The authors examined the extent to which parent involvement in Head Start programs predicted changes in both parent and child outcomes over time, using a nationally representative sample of 1,020 three-year-old children over 3 waves of the Family and Child Experiences Survey. Center policies that promote involvement predicted greater parent involvement, and parents who were more involved in Head Start centers demonstrated increased cognitive stimulation and decreased spanking and controlling behaviors. In turn, these changes in parenting behaviors were associated with gains in children's academic and behavioral skills. These findings suggest that Head Start programs should do even more to facilitate parent involvement because it can serve as an important means for promoting both parent and child outcomes.

Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family

DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12266

Authors: Arya Ansari, Elizabeth Gershoff

Institution: The University of Texas at Austin

Language: English

Topic: Parental Involvement in Education

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Population Research Center, Preschool, Home, and School Contexts as Determinants of the Impacts of Head Start, Population Research Center, Training Program in Population Studies