3-196 - Diverse Approaches to Measuring Family Engagement Strategies and Outcomes in Early Childhood Education Settings

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Integrative Statement

Family engagement in children’s early learning is one of the most powerful predictors of children’s development, particularly in low-income families. When families provide enriched experiences, elaborated linguistic interactions, and learning opportunities, their children develop better social-emotional, language, and mathematical skills. These early experiences and continued parental support predict school readiness, later educational trajectories, and long-term academic success. By engaging families as partners early in the educational process, early childhood education (ECE) programs serve as gateways for parents to establish strong home-school connections to support their children’s achievement. However, it can be challenging to gather meaningful data on family engagement strategies, especially regarding activities parents do at home to complement their children’s learning in formal early childhood settings. In this session, Mallary Swartz, Director of Family Engagement Research at the Ounce of Prevention Fund, will moderate a discussion about diverse and innovative strategies for engaging families in their children’s early learning and how to measure the effects of these strategies. While all projects take place with families in Head Start settings, each targets different outcome areas and uses different measures and methods (e.g., surveys, observations, interviews, focus groups) and implementation strategies. A dynamic discussion will inform researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the relative benefits and challenges of varied approaches to measuring and implementing family engagement strategies and for promoting high-quality interactions among ECE staff, families, and children that set children on a path toward success.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Moderator

• Mallary I. Swartz, Ounce of Prevention Fund

Panelists

• Heidi Rosenberg, EDC

• Sandra L. Soliday Hong, UNC Chapel Hill, FPG Child Development Institute

• Camellia Sanford-Dolly, Rockman et al

• Scott Pattison, TERC