The Role of Parents in Literacy Development During Kindergarten

Parental involvement contributes to the improvement of student achievement. Although children entered kindergarten with varying levels of literacy development, parents might perceive kindergarten literacy instruction as a panacea for any lacking skills, therefore lessening their involvement in their children\u27s literacy development. Thus, there was a need to understand parents\u27 perceptions of the importance of (a) their involvement in the education of their children, (b) their role in their children\u27s literacy development during kindergarten, and (c) their role in their children\u27s early literacy development as influencing their children\u27s overall literacy development. Bronfenbrenner\u27s bioecological model of human development served as a guide for this qualitative exploratory case study. Semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 11 kindergarten parents on their perceptions regarding their involvement in the literacy development of their child. Data analysis was guided by Yin\u27s 5-phased cycle of analyzing case studies, through which 4 main themes emerged. First, the parents perceived their involvement in the early literacy of their children helped their children\u27s overall literacy development. Second, they perceived their involvement in their child\u27s education was important. Third, there was a change in the degree of involvement of parents once their children entered kindergarten. Last, parents perceived that their involvement in their children\u27s literacy development was one of the various roles and responsibility they have in being a parent. The findings of this study may contribute to positive social change by serving as useful information that can assist schools and teachers in developing effective strategies for encouraging parental involvement for families with children in kindergarten