Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
Hardwick Smith Johnson, Jr.
Committee Member
Sherilyn Poole
Keywords
parent participation, early learning programs, early childhood education, academic achievement, preschool education
Abstract
The problem in the study was students living in low-income areas, below the poverty level, were vulnerable to experiencing less academic and behavioral success in school. The purpose was to understand how the experiences of parents engaged in a twogeneration approach impacted the success of students living in poverty. The early education and care of young children, especially those of low socioeconomic status, was essential for child development. Children who attended these programs were more likely to develop the necessary skills to become lifelong learners. When children attended early childhood education programs, it helped prepare them cognitively and socially prior to entering a formal school setting.
The study utilized a qualitative approach with three research questions and a phenomenological research design. Data were collected from six parents at one urban early learning center in the northeastern United States. To answer the three research questions, a piloted questionnaire was used to gather the data. For Research Question 1, some two-generation approach parents had no challenges that negatively influenced the children’s school attendance. These were initiative-taking parents who planned their time very well. They were proactive parents. Some of the other two-generation approach parents’ job responsibilities negatively and slightly affected children’s attendance because of several situations. Parents who worked multiple jobs or long hours tended to be too tired from work to become deeply involved in early childhood education. With Research Question 2, academic performance was improved when parents prepared children to go to the early learning center with good learning attitudes. Parents were supportive of children’s good academic performance when the parents reinforced in the home what was instructed in the classrooms. Parents used teacher feedback and home reinforcement strategies to improve the weak academic areas of their children. Likewise, when the two-generation approach parents participated frequently in their children’s early learning education, the outcomes were enhanced academics. For Research Question 3, most parents were satisfied with their children’s early learning education. There were a few concerns, such as disagreement with some aspects of the curriculum that did not prepare children for a 21st-century changing society. Work or job conflicts prevented some parents from going on field trips with their children.
Recommendations include the possibility of training for parents with one or more children enrolled in the early learning centers and an investigation of early learning centers with monolingual and bilingual students in the centers. A future study may also recruit a larger number and more demographically varied parent participant sample for greater generalizability. Finally, a recommendation is to develop and investigate the effectiveness of an early learning center two-generation approach parent report card.
NSUWorks Citation
Angela E. Hamilton. 2024. Parent Participation in Student Academics and Behaviors at an Urban Early Learning Center Utilizing the Two-Generation Approach to Education. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (711)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/711.
