Parent Participation in School Functions Following Participation in Head Start or Title I

The involvement of parents in a child\u27s schooling is an essential part of public schools and early childhood education programs. Results from previous studies indicate that this parental involvement has positive effects on a child\u27s cognitive ability and attitude toward school. This study assessed the effects of early childhood education programs, specifically Head Start and Title I, with stated parental involvement components, on a continued parental involvement in school activities as compared to children who did not attend these programs. Data collected compared the frequency of attendance for school-related functions for program participants to frequency of attendance for non-program participants. A further assessment was made on the types of these involvements, whether they were parent-initiated or teacher-initiated. This study assessed whether teacher experience (years of teaching) affected this involvement. Results indicated no significant difference in overall parent involvement between the two groups. Results did indicate a highly significant difference in parent-initiated contacts by prior participants and a nearly significant difference between teacher-initiated contacts with the prior participant group. Finally, results on teacher experience as it affects parental involvement showed no significant difference between the high (9+ years of experience) and the low (0-8 years of experience) groups