Parenting Practice Profiles During the Transition to Formal Schooling: Associations with School Readiness

• In Event: Person-centered approaches to understanding school readiness

Abstract

Children’s transition to formal schooling coincides with a period during which the development of foundational skills for school readiness is evident (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000). Despite the recognition of school readiness as an early marker of long-term development, many children, especially those from low-income families, exhibit modest levels of school readiness (Duncan et al., 2015). Parents have tremendous potential to facilitate the transition to formal schooling given their significant role in shaping children’s experiences and opportunities for development during the first five years of life (Dockett et al., 2017). Thus, a greater understanding of parenting practice patterns during children’s transition to formal schooling and how such patterns align with indicators of school readiness would be of interest to parents and practitioners alike. The present study makes a unique contribution to the literature examining connections between parenting and child development by conceptualizing parenting using a person-centered analysis approach that accounts for the multidimensional nature of parenting (Cook et al., 2012; Lanza & Cooper, 2016).

The present study aims to analyze parenting practices during the transition to formal schooling for children of diverse, low-income families. Specifically, we use a person-centered analysis approach to identify parenting practice profiles, and we examine how parenting practice profiles relate to children’s school readiness. Given the heterogeneity of the sample, we hypothesize that: (1) multiple parenting practices patterns (i.e., profiles) will be identified; and (2) patterns reflecting more positive parenting practices will be positively associated with children’s school readiness.

Data were collected as part of a larger multi-cohort longitudinal study examining children’s classroom engagement and school readiness. Both study cohorts were recruited from public preschool programs serving low-income families in the same geographic region of a mid-Atlantic state. Cohort 1 included 380 children from 51 classrooms who entered preschool in 2016-17 and transitioned to kindergarten in 2017-18 and Cohort 2 included 387 children from 55 classrooms who entered preschool in 2018-19. Table 1 presents sociodemographic information for the analytic sample.
Analyses will be performed in two phases. First, to identify parenting practice profiles, we conduct Latent Profile Analyses (LPA) at the entrance of prekindergarten and kindergarten. Preliminary results have identified three latent parenting practice profiles at prekindergarten reflecting varying degrees of positive parenting practices, educational enrichment, and household chaos. (See Figure 1). Next, planned analyses include conducting multivariate regressions to examine associations between parenting profiles and children’s school readiness outcomes measured in preschool and kindergarten.

Using a person-centered analytic approach, this study illuminates meaningful differences in parenting practice patterns among diverse, low-income families with young children. Additional planned analyses will explore how parenting practice profiles contribute differentially to children’s school readiness across several domains. Findings of this research have the potential to illuminate nuanced and complex parenting practice patterns and provide a better understanding of how parenting practices support child development and school readiness during the critical transition to school.

Authors

• Deiby Mayaris Cubides Mateus, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Virginia Commonwealth University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Khara Lynn Pence Turnbull, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author