Examining Relationships Between Teacher Behaviors and Parent Engagement

1
Examining Relationships Between Teacher Behaviors
and Parent Engagement

• Allison Osborn, Kelly Rasmussen, Kathryn Woods,
  Susan Sheridan Lisa Knoche
• University of Nebraska Lincoln
• National Association of School Psychologists
  Annual Meeting, 2009

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Importance of Early Environments

• Parents are a childs first teachers and the
  importance of parent involvement in a childs
  education is well-documented (Henderson Mapp,
  2002 Sheridan, Clarke, Knoche, Edwards, 2006).
• The earliest environments experienced by children
  are significant in how young children view
  relationships and in turn, how they relate with
  peers and adults (Dunst Bruder, 1999 Guralnick
  Neville, 1997).
• Among the developmental contexts that predict
  outcomes for young children, those related to the
  family and child-rearing environment are most
  critical (Englund et al., 2004 Lamb-Parker et
  al., 1999 Molfese et al., 2001).

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Parent Engagement

• For the purpose of this study, we are defining
  Parent Engagement as
• Actively displays an interest in participating in
  educational activities
• Discusses meaningful issues concerning the child
  and family with educational professionals
• Initiates and elaborates on topics of discussion
• Asks questions or provides information to the
  teacher, or early childhood professional (ECP)
  related to the topic of discussion
• Engagement also includes the level to which
  parents display enthusiasm, effort, and
  satisfaction with an intervention experience.

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Parent Engagement

• When parents are engaged in intervention
  services, improvements are observed in parenting
  skills and knowledge, parent-child interactions,
  and beliefs about ones ability as a caregiver
  (Charlop-Christy Carpenter, 2000 Swick
  Hassel, 1990).
• Linking engagement strategies to the delivery of
  high quality treatments has been shown to
  increase the potential long-term impact of
  effective treatments for children and families
  (Dishion Stormshak, 2007 Hoagwood, 2005).

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Parent-Child Relationships

• Quality parent-child interactions have also been
  shown to lead to positive parent-child
  relationships.
• A positive parent-child relationship includes
  parental display of warmth, encouragement,
  support, positive reinforcement and support for
  childrens autonomy (Parker et al, 1999
  Hirch-Pasek Burchinal, 2006).
• Numerous studies have highlighted how a mothers
  interaction style promotes child development.
• Sensitive mothers are more likely to have babies
  that form secure attachments (Bus van
  ljzendoorn, 1988, 1992, 1997, as cited in
  Clingenpeel Pianta, 2007).
• Infants with responsive mothers are able to
  explore their environment independently,
  requesting parental assistance when needed (Coyl,
  Roggman, Newland, 2002).

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Parent-Teacher Relationships

• Parent-teacher relationships consist of strong,
  committed, reciprocal, trusting interactions over
  time between parents and teachers.
• Relationships between parents and other adults
  responsible for the childs learning and
  development are important for establishing
  experiences that are consistent, coherent, and
  coordinated as children move between home and
  community (school) settings.
• (Christenson Sheridan, 2001)

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Parent-Teacher Relationships

• Triadic (McCollum Yates, 1994) and
  collaborative consultation (Sheridan
  Kratochwill, 2008) are two models that promote
  parent engagement.
• Each model has a specific set of strategies used
  by teachers to
• Promote parent-child engagement (triadic)
• Promote parent-teacher engagement (collaborative)

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Intervention for Families At-Risk

• Given the importance of parent engagement for
  parent, teacher and child relationships, and
  child outcomes, early intervention is a critical
  step for at-risk families
• Head Start

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Getting Ready Project

• The Getting Ready Project is a five-year,
  federally funded, longitudinal study which is
  designed to promote triadic/collaborative
  partnerships between parents and early childhood
  teachers.
• This project has partnered with early childhood
  teachers in Head Start settings to assist in
  promoting parent strengths, competencies,
  engagement with child, and childrens healthy
  development through comprehensive, evidence-based
  family-centered services.
• Parent engagement with child (i.e., warmth
  sensitivity, support for autonomy, participation
  in child learning) and with teachers (i.e.,
  collaborative interactions and planning) is an
  additional focus of the intervention program.
• Although preliminary research has examined the
  relationship between teachers use of
  triadic/collaborative strategies and child
  outcomes, research has yet to investigate the
  relationship between teachers use of
  triadic/collaborative strategies,
  parent-professional relationships, and parent
  engagement during home visits.

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Research Question

• Do teachers use of triadic/collaborative
  strategies during home visits relate to parent
  engagement during home visit activities?
• What is the relationship between strategy use and
  parents (a) rate of interaction with the child
  and (b) quality of parent engagement with the
  child?
• What is the relationship between strategy use and
  parents (a) rate of interaction with the teacher
  and (b) quality of parent engagement with the
  teacher?

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• Methods

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SampleTable 1Demographic Information
Parent Child Teacher
Age (n220) (n220) (n29)
Mean 29 years 43 months 35 Years
Range 19-62 years 36-53 months 23-56 Years
Gender
Male 5 52
Female 95 48 100
Ethnicity
Caucasian 47 33 88
African-American 16 18
Hispanic 26 25 12
Other 11 24
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Table 1 continuedDemographic Information
Parent Teacher
Education Level (n220) (n29)
12th Grade or less 23
High School Diploma or GED 20
Some training beyond High School, but not a degree 30
One year vocational training certificate 8
Two year college degree 9
Four year college degree 3 48
Beyond four year degree 7 52
Language spoken in home
English 76
Spanish 19
Other 5
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Table 1 continuedDemographic Information
Martial Status Parent (n220)
Married 38
Divorced 13
Single, never married 29
Separated 8
With partner, not married 12
Number of people living in household
Two-Three 28
Four-Five 52
Six or more 20
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Procedure

• Children and parents recruited for this
  investigation are involved in the Getting Ready
  Project.
• Teachers visit family homes five times throughout
  the school year.
• Two sessions are videotaped and reliably coded
  for frequency of collaborative and triadic
  strategies and overall parent engagement.

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Strategies for Teachers/Professionals

• Establishing re-establishing a relationship
• Asking parents to share observations ideas
• Affirming parents competence
• Establishing a dyadic context
• Helping prioritize concerns/needs
• Focusing attention on childs strengths
• Provide developmental information
• Brainstorming
• Making suggestions
• Promoting interaction through modeling
• Helping plan for future goals
• (McCollum Yates, 1994 Sheridan, Knoche,
  Marvin, Edwards, 2008)

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Procedures

• Parents provided demographic information for
  themselves, their children, and their families
• Teacher strategy use was coded using a 60-second
  partial interval recording procedure (Home Visit
  Observation Definition Guide McBride Peterson,
  1997)
• Parents rate of interaction with child was coded
  using a 60-second partial interval recording
  procedure
• Parents quality of engagement with the child was
  coded every 10 minutes of interaction on a Likert
  scale (1low, 4high)
• Parents rate of interaction with teacher was
  coded using a 60-second partial interval
  recording procedure
• Parents quality of engagement with the teacher
  was coded every 10 minutes of interaction on a
  Likert scale (1low, 4high)

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Analyses and Results
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Analyses

• Correlational analyses were conducted
• To examine the relationship between strategy use
  and parents rate of interaction with the child
  and the quality of parent engagement with the
  child.
• To examine the relationship between strategy use
  and parents rate of interaction with the teacher
  and quality of parent engagement with the
  teacher.

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Table 3Pearson Correlations
Strategy Use Rate Parent-ECP Engagement Parent-Child Engagement Parent-ECP Rate of Interaction Parent-Child Rate of Interaction
Strategy Use Rate
Parent-ECP Engagement .50
Parent-Child Engagement .35 .42
Parent-ECP Rate of Interaction .42 .74 .03
Parent-Child Rate of Interaction .09 .31 .83 .06
p lt.05 plt.01
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Results

• No relationship was found between strategy use
  and parents rate of interaction with the child
• A significant positive relationship was found
  between strategy use and the quality of parent
  engagement with the child
• A significant positive relationship was found
  between strategy use and parents rate of
  interaction with the teacher
• A significant positive relationship was found
  between strategy use and of quality of parent
  engagement with the teacher

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Discussion

• Teachers strategy use was not related to
  parents rate of interaction with the child
• Teachers strategy use was related to parents
  quality of engagement with the child
• Although quality of parent-child engagement was
  related to teachers strategy use and the rate of
  parent-child engagement, the mechanism for these
  relationships is unknown.

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Discussion

• Teachers strategy use was related to parent
  quality of engagement and the rate of interaction
  with the teacher
• Parent may view home visits as an opportunity to
  interact and discuss pertinent issues with their
  childs teacher outside of the school environment
• This time may also be viewed as an opportunity
  for both parties to share information in a
  reciprocal manner to enhance the childs
  development

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Limitations

• Effectiveness of strategy use is not coded
• For the purposes of this study, amount of
  strategy use was investigated.
• Family characteristics were not controlled but
  likely influenced rate of interaction and quality
  of parent engagement.
• Rate and quality are not independent of each
  other for both parent-child and parent-teacher
  variables.

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Future Directions

• Assess teachers strategy use over time
• Examine relationships between overall parent
  engagement and
• Relationships with teachers
• Parents self-efficacy
• Parental involvement in school
• Assess the quality of implementation, or teacher
  effectiveness

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Implications for School Psychologists

• Importance of family involvement outside of
  school
• Importance of attachment and engagement
• Early intervention
• Importance of parents having fun with their
  children!

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For More Information

• Susan Sheridan ssheridan2_at_unl.edu
• Lisa Knoche lknoche2_at_unl.edu
• Allison Osborn allison.osborn_at_huskers.unl.edu
• Kelly Rasmussen kelrasmussen_at_hotmail.com
• Katie Woods kwoods_at_huskers.unl.edu
• This research is supported by a grant awarded to
  Drs. Susan Sheridan and Carolyn Pope Edwards by
  the Department of Health and Human Services
  (DHHS) -- National Institute of Child Health and
  Human Development (NICHD), Administration for
  Children and Families (ACF) and Office of the
  Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
  (ASPE) and the Department of Education (DOE) --
  Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
  Services. The opinions expressed herein are those
  of the investigators and do not reflect the
  funding agencies (GRANT 1R01H00436135).

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