The Importance of Family Involvement: Examining Teacher Perspectives on Children's Pre-Kindergarten Outcomes

• In Event: Examining Perspectives of Families, Children, and Teachers

Abstract

Public pre-kindergarten (Pre-K) programs, which aim to bolster young children’s preparedness for kindergarten, are expanding. The present study is situated in an emerging Pre-K program in a mid-size town in the American South serving a majority Black student population (n = 393 students).The purpose of the present study is to examine teacher perceptions of various “points of leverage”—that is, factors which program developers should emphasize to support kindergarten preparedness—which are associated with young children’s cognitive, language, and social-emotional Pre-K outcomes in order to provide insights to contextually similar programs. An ecological systems approach was used to examine child, family, and school factors that teachers perceived as related to children’s outcomes. Findings particularly indicate the importance of family involvement.

Authors

• Holland Windels Banse, University of Alabama

• Maria Hernandez-Reif, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa

• April Kendrick, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa