PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION AND ITS DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS

Authors: Ding Bo & Subadrah Madhawa Nair

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to check the impact of demographic factors on the parental involvement in pre-school education of their children in the Luoyang city Henan province. A total sample of 500 parents was selected. The survey questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 400 complete survey questionnaires was used for data analysis. Descriptive Statistics, One-way ANOVA, and Tukey HSD test were applied for getting reliable data analysis results. Results showed that all 4 demographic factors (Gender, Age, Work Experience, and Education Level) have a significant impact on parental involvement in the pre-school education of children. Mostly female presents, with old age, more work experience, and college-level education are involved in the preschool education of their children. All four hypotheses are rejected and we get a clear answer to all four research questions. Limitations of the study and future stud recommendations were also given.

Keywords: Parental Involvement, Pre-school Education, Demographic Factors, Gender, Age, Work Experience, Education Level.

REFERENCES

  • Borisova, I. 2020. “Supporting our Youngest Children in the Time of COVID.” UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Blog Post, 15 June 2020. https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/supporting-our-youngest-children-time- covid.
  • Bronfenbrenner, U., and P. A. Morris. 1998. “The Bioecological Model of Human Development.” In Handbook of Child Psychology: Vol. 1. Theoretical Models of Human Development, 6th ed., edited by W. Damon and R. M. Lerner, 993–1028. New York, NY: Wiley.
  • Brossard, M., M. Cardoso, A. Kame, S. Mishra, E. Mizunoya, and N. Reuge. 2020. Parental Engagement in Children’s learning. Innocenti Research Brief 2020-09. Florence: Unicef Office of Research-Innocenti. https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/IRB%202020-09%20CL.pdf.
  • Bulotsky-Shearer, R. J., J. Bouza, K. Bichay, V. A. Fernandez, and P. G. Hernandez. 2016. “Extending the Validity of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Short Form for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families from Low-Income Backgrounds.” Psychology in the Schools 53 (9): 911–925.
  • Cheung, C. S. S., and E. M. Pomerantz. 2011. “Parents’ Involvement in Children’s learning in the United States and China: Implications for Children’s Academic and Emotional Adjustment.” Child Development 82 (3): 932–950.
  • Craig, L., and B. Churchill. 2021. “‘Dual-Earner Parent Couples’ Work and Care during COVID-19.” Gender, Work and Organisation 28 (S1): 66–79.
  • Downer, J. T., and J. L. Mendez. 2005. “African American Father Involvement and Preschool Children’s School Readiness.” Early Education and Development 16 (3): 317–340.
  • Downer, J. T., and S. S. Myers. 2010. “Application of a Developmental/Ecological Model to Family- School Partnerships.” In The Handbook on School Family Partnerships for Promoting Student Competence, edited by A. L. Reschly and S. Christenson, 176–203. Oxford: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group.
  • MacDonell, K. W. (2019). Longitudinal Prediction of Delinquent Behavior in Early Adolescence. University of South Carolina. https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5362
  • Malik, S., Khalid, L., Malik, M., & Asghar, M. Z. (2021). Parental Involvement in Early Childhood Education in Punjab: A Qualitative Study. Revista Geintec-Gestao Inovacao E Tecnologias, 11(3), 785-797.
  • Epstein, J. L. 1995. “School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share.” Phi Delta Kappan 76: 701–712.
  • Epstein, J. L., and S. B. Sheldon. 2002. “Present and Accounted for: Improving Student Attendance through Family and Community Involvement.” The Journal of Educational Research 95 (5): 308–318.
  • Fantuzzo, J., E. Tighe, and S. Childs. 2000. “Family Involvement Questionnaire: A Multivariate Assessment of Family Participation in Early Childhood Education.” Journal of Educational Psychology 92 (2): 367–376.
  • Fantuzzo, J., V. Gadsden, F. Li, F. Sproul, P. McDermott, D. Hightower, and A. Minney. 2013. “Multiple Dimensions of Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education: Evidence for a Short Form of the Family Involvement Questionnaire.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 28 (4): 734–742.
  • Formosinho, J. 2021. “From Schoolification of Children to Schoolification of Parents? Educational Policies in COVID Times.” European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 29 (1): 141–152. doi:10.1080/ 1350293X.2021.1872677.
  • Green, C. L., J. M. Walker, K. V. Hoover-Dempsey, and H. M. Sandler. 2007. “Parents’ Motivations for Involvement in Children’s Education: An Empirical Test of a Theoretical Model of Parental Involvement.” Journal of Educational Psychology 99 (3): 532–544.
  • Ho, S. C. 1995. “Parent Involvement: A Comparison of Different Definitions and Explanations.” Education Journal 23 (1): 39–68.
  • Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., A. C. Battiato, J. M. T. Walker, R. P. Reed, J. M. Dejong, and K. P. Jones. 2001. “Parental Involvement in Homework.” Educational Psychologist 36 (3): 195–209.
  • Kaiper-Marquez, A., E. Wolfe, C. Clymer, J. Lee, E. G. McLean, E. Prins, and T. Stickel. 2020. “On the fly: Adapting Quickly to Emergency Remote Instruction in a Family Literacy Programme.” International Review of Education 66: 691–713. doi:10.1007/s11159-020-09861-y.
  • Lau, E. Y. 2013. “Chinese Parents’ Perceptions and Practices of Parental Involvement During School Transition.” Early Child Development and Care 184 (3): 403–415.
  • Lau, E. Y., H. Li, and N. Rao. 2011. “Parental Involvement and Children’s Readiness for School in China.” Educational Research 53 (1): 95–113.
  • Lau, E. Y., H. Li, and N. Rao. 2012. “Exploring Parental Involvement in Early Years Education in China: Development and Validation of the Chinese Early Parental Involvement Scale (CEPIS).” International Journal of Early Years Education 20 (4): 405–421.
  • Liu, L., and M. Li. 2015. “A Survey About Parental Involvement in Children’s Transition from Kindergarten to Primary School.” Studies in Early Childhood Education 6: 31–39.
  • Luo, R., C. S. Tamis-LeMonda, and L. Song. 2013. “Chinese Parents’ Goals and Practices in Early Childhood.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 28 (4): 843–857.
  • McWayne, C. M., P. H. Manz, and M. D. Ginsburg-Block. 2015. “Examination of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Early Childhood (FIQ-EC) With Low-Income, Latino Families of Young Children.” International Journal of School and Educational Psychology 3 (2): 117–134.
  • McWayne, C., R. Campos, and M. Owsianik. 2008. “A Multidimensional, Multilevel Examination of Mother and Father Involvement Among Culturally Diverse Head Start Families.” Journal of School Psychology 46 (5): 551–573.
  • Mendez, J. L. 2010. “How Can Parents Get Involved in Preschool? Barriers and Engagement in Education by Ethnic Minority Parents of Children Attending Head Start.” Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology 16 (1): 26–36.
  • Sun, J., C. Lau, A. Sincovich, and N. Rao. 2018. “Socioeconomic Status and Early Child Development in East Asia and the Pacific: The Protective Role of Parental Engagement in Learning Activities.” Children and Youth Services Review. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.08.010.
  • Toran, M., R. S. Ramazan, Y. Xu, I. T. Şahin-Sak, and Y. Yu. 2021. “Parents and Children during the COVID-19 Quarantine Process: Experiences from Turkey and China.” Journal of Early Childhood Research, 1–19. doi:10.1177/1476718X20977583.
  • UNICEF. 2020c. COVID-19: Are Children Able to Continue Learning During School Closures? https://data. unicef.org/resources/remote-learning-reachability-factsheet/.
  • Wanders, C., J. L. Mendez, and J. T. Downer. 2007. “Parent Characteristics, Economic Stress and Neighborhood Context as Predictors of Parent Involvement in Preschool Children’s Education.” Journal of School Psychology 45 (6): 619–636.
  • Wasmuth, H., and E. Nitecki. 2020. “(Un) intended Consequences in Current ECEC Policies: Revealing and Examining Hidden Agendas.” Policy Futures in Education 18 (6): 686–699.
  • Zhang, X.P.(2014).Research on Parents Participation in the Kindergarten Education in Rural Areas.Dissertation. Central China Normal University.