The Association between the Unique Dimensions of Family Engagement and Latino Children’s School Readiness

• In Event: 3-214 - Family Contributions to the Developmental Outcomes of Latino, Low-Income Children in Early Care and Education Settings

Integrative Statement

Protective factors promote positive outcomes for Latino children and ameliorate negative effects of risk factors. Family engagement has been identified as a protective factor for ethnically diverse children from low-income backgrounds. Families may be engaged in children’s development in different ways, such as supporting children’s learning at home and participating in school events. Previous findings suggest there may be differential relationships between the ways families are engaged and children’s school readiness, but this has not been examined within the Latino population.
This study examined the relationship between family engagement dimensions and school readiness skills in Latino Head Start children. The following research questions were investigated: 1) What is the relationship between family engagement and language skills at the beginning of the year? 2)What is the relationship between family engagement in the beginning of the year and approaches to learning skills at the end of the year?
Participants included 301 Latino Head Start children and families across 5 centers and 22 classrooms. Children’s ages ranged from 36-59 months (M = 48.32, SD = 6.79), with 51% boys. Most children were born in the U.S. (92.7%) and more than 75% of the children had “none” to “little” English proficiency at the beginning of the school year. Primary caregiver ages ranged from 15-63 years old (M = 33.82, SD = 6.42), with 90% females. Most were born outside of the U.S.; 38% in Cuba, 19% in Honduras, and 13% in Nicaragua. The remaining 30% of caregivers were born in one of 17 countries in the Caribbean, Central, or South America.
In the fall, primary caregivers completed the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Short Form (FIQ-SF) and a family demographic form. The FIQ-SF includes the following dimensions: home engagement (α =.83), school engagement (α =.86), and home-school conferencing (α =.92). Direct assessment of children’s vocabulary skills in English and Spanish were conducted using the Picture Vocabulary/Vocabulario Sobre Dibujos subtest of Woodcock Johnson/Munoz Language Survey-Revised. In the spring, teachers rated children’s approaches to learning skills using the Preschool Learning Behavior Scale , consisting of the dimensions: Competence/Motivation (α=.87), Attention/Persistence (α=.88), and Attitudes towards Learning (α=.78).We conducted a series of structural models and all models demonstrated adequate fit.
Home engagement was significantly and positively associated with English and Spanish vocabulary, Attention/Persistence, and Attitudes Towards Learning (in their respective models), after controlling for age, sex and nesting (children within classroom). School engagement and home-school conferencing were not significant in any of the models. None of the dimensions of family engagement significantly predicted Competence/Motivation.
Results suggest that children whose families provided more learning opportunities in the home had higher English and Spanish language skills, were more persistent during challenging tasks, and had more positive attitudes towards learning. Findings provide evidence for researchers and practitioners to allocate resources to encourage home engagement in Latino households as a way to promote school readiness for children. Most importantly, this study highlights the critical role that families play in children’s academic development.

Authors

• Johayra Bouza, University of Miami
  Presenting Author

• Daryl Greenfield, University of Miami
  Non-Presenting Author