An analysis of the home visitation process in five prekindergarten programs in Illinois

Includes bibliographical references (pages [104]-106)The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the home visiting process of five selected sites of the Illinois At-Risk Prekindergarten Program funded by the Illinois State Board of Education. The researcher was an observer as she accompanied one teacher at each site on her visits to the homes of her students in May and June, 1991. After observing each visit, the investigator interviewed the parent, teacher, and administrator to gain some understanding of each person’s perception of the home visit process. The purpose of the home visit, the role of the teacher in the home visit, and verbal interactions within each visit are described. A qualitative approach was selected in order to provide in-depth descriptions of the process of home visiting, including examples of ways in which teachers educate parents informally within their homes. The researcher is a prekindergarten teacher in a state-funded program. Overall, findings which emerge from this study showed several discrepancies between parents’, teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions about the purpose and focus of home visits and about the importance of the teacher as friend and source of support to parents. While parents assumed active verbal participation in the visits, the absence of parent-child verbal interaction seemed to the investigator to contradict the "parents as teachers" purpose stated by administrators.M.S. (Master of Science