Family Involvement in the Early Childhood Classroom: A Mixed Methods Study Exploring Strategies and Applications

Abstract

Family involvement is an important component of child development and leads to various positive outcomes. There are many programs that exist to provide parents with resources and support but there is a gap in the literature on what teachers are doing or can do in the classroom to promote family involvement and how families view those involvement practices. This study sought to explore and gain a better understanding of what early childhood teachers are doing in their classroom to encourage involvement, the outcomes of involvement, and whether teachers’ and families’ views regarding involvement are aligned. Five teachers were interviewed from a suburban school district. One was a retired pre-k teacher, two were current pre-k teachers and two were current kindergarten teachers. Each teacher had a minimum of 5 years teaching experience and had been recommended for their family involvement practices. Data were collected throughout interviews with teachers and surveys completed by parents. Qualitative data was transcribed and coded. Quantitative data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The results led to the development of five general themes; involvement, communication, relationships, impacts, and perspectives. This study provides pre-service teachers and teachers seeking to increase their family involvement with more strategies that can be implemented in their classroom. While this research did provide a positive foundation for family involvement, future research should be conducted to gain a more diverse understanding of family involvement and to compare family involvement practices in rural and urban school districts.