Can parents do it all? Changes in parent involvement from 1997 to 2009 among Head Start families. (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ansari, Arya; Markowitz, Anna J.
• Is Part Of: Children and youth services review. Volume 120(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: Early childhood -- Family and Child Experiences Survey -- Head Start -- Parental involvement; Social work with children -- Periodicals; Social work with youth -- Periodicals; Adolescent -- Periodicals; Child Welfare -- Periodicals; Social Work -- Periodicals; Service social aux enfants -- Périodiques; Service social à la jeunesse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105780
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0190-7409

Abstract

Highlights: We examined whether parental involvement changed among Head Start families from 1997 to 2009. Parents were found to increase their involvement in the home between 1997 and 2009. In contrast, parents reported significantly less engagement in Head Start. Changes in involvement were comparable for different groups of children and families. Abstract: The present investigation considered the extent to which parental involvement in the home and school changed among low-income families with preschoolers between 1997 and 2009. Data were drawn from five waves of the Family and Child Experiences Survey, which included a total sample of 12, 248 3- and 4-year-old first time Head Start attendees. Results from covariate adjusted regression models revealed that, across this 12-year period, parents of Head Start children increased their involvement in the home, especially in terms of cognitively stimulating activities. However, parents also reported significantly less engagement in the Head Start program over this period. These changes in parental involvement across time were comparable for different groups of children and families. Taken together, study findings highlight the changing nature of parental involvement among Head Start families during a critical period that witnessed heightened investment in children and families.