ABSTRACT LAMPRON, LAUREN ANNELIES. the Perceptions of Parents of Children Who Live in the Attendance Zone of a Title I Elementar
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ABSTRACT LAMPRON, LAUREN ANNELIES. The Perceptions of Parents of Children Who Live in the Attendance Zone of a Title I Elementary School Regarding the Implementation of Word Analysis Technology. (Under the direction of Dr. Bonnie C. Fusarelli and Dr. Michael E. Ward). This study explored the willingness of parents of children, ages birth to three, who lived in the attendance zone of Title 1 elementary schools, to implement language environment analysis technology and to change behaviors in order to increase the literacy skills of their children. Interest in these activities was moderate to high. I found limited statistically significant relationships among the willingness to engage in the various activities and parental demographic characteristics. There were 6 statistically significant results. Parental education levels demonstrated an effect as related to interest in word analysis technology components as follows: there was a decrease in interest for parents who attended high school but did not graduate and an increase in interest for parents with an associate’s degree and some college but no degree (p<.1). At the p<.01 level, parents with a master’s degree reported an elevated level of interest in word analysis components. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase in interest in word analysis technology among parents reporting the annual household income in the low income range of $6,000 to $15,000 range (p<.01). Parent participants who attended high school but did not graduate were less willing to change behaviors to improve the literacy skills of their children than parents who graduated from high school; this difference was statistically significant (p<.01). Though not statistically significant, thematic trends were observed among participants with 3 children. These parents expressed lower interest across behaviors as compared to participants with 1 to 2 children. Participants under 30 were more likely to be willing to engage in behaviors related to improving the literacy of their children. The generally high level of interest in language environment analysis technology and willingness to change daily behaviors that are evident in this study warrant the attention of policymakers and practitioners. Additional research is also in order to address some of this study’s limitations. It is important to determine how to effectively support low-income parents to encourage them to utilize different measures to support word-rich environments for their children. © Copyright 2019 Lauren A. Lampron All Rights Reserved The Perceptions of Parents of Children Who Live in the Attendance Zone of a Title I Elementary School Regarding the Implementation of Word Analysis Technology by Lauren Annelies Lampron A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education Educational Administration and Supervision Raleigh, North Carolina 2019 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Bonnie C. Fusarelli Dr. Michael E. Ward Committee Co-Chair Committee Co-Chair _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. William C. Harrison Dr. Colleen G. Paeplow DEDICATION I dedicate this finished work to our first born, Luca. You have provided me the motivation with which to finish. Now, may we enjoy each moment at play, uninterrupted. ii BIOGRAPHY After graduating from West Chester University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Lauren Annelies Lampron joined the eastern North Carolina Corps of Teach for America. She earned her teaching credentials through the alternative licensure program at East Carolina University. Subsequently, she earned a Master of School Administration degree at NC State University as a Northeast Leadership Academy Fellow. Her educational background includes teaching 7th and 8th grade English and Social Studies, obtaining high school experience through a year-long principal internship, and being a middle school administrator. Sharing a passion for education reform, she and Phillip, her husband, reside in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, where they are both administrators. Lauren currently serves as the principal of W.A. Pattillo Middle School in the city of Tarboro. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Giving all Glory to God, I am most thankful for the love He has gifted in my life. Sharing a life with my best friend, I am grateful for Phillip’s ongoing support and for always reminding me that “joy comes in the morning.” I am thankful for the reassurance from family to finish this dissertation. Entertaining Luca while I worked, my mother and Mike provided time and encouragement for me to complete my work. Their love, support, and homemade dinners made me confident that I could finish. Offering support via our Three Musketeers group chat, my father and Aunt Gail provided reassurance that I would make it through to the end of this process and that it would be worth the time invested. Always offering encouragement, I thank my W.A. Pattillo Middle School family for their support. God truly aligned our workplace to be able to engage in meaningful work as we live our motto of “learning for all…whatever it takes.” Our team’s willingness to share additional duties allowed me to be closer to graduation, each day. What a blessing it has been to have the support of such talented, passionate individuals to serve on my committee: thank you to Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Dr. Bill Harrison, and Dr. Colleen Paeplow. A continued thank you to Dr. Timothy Drake for his encouragement, willingness to meet virtually, and answering each email sent his way, each with the subject “final question.” Overwhelmingly, I am grateful for co-chair Dr. Mike Ward’s ability to simultaneously inspire me to complete thousands of his recommended edits while remaining relentless in encouraging me to meet deadlines. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Chapter Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 3 Programmatic Attempts to Address Literacy Deficiencies ......................................................... 5 Measuring Word Interactions ..................................................................................................... 9 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 10 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 13 Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................. 14 Justification for the Study ......................................................................................................... 17 Organization of the Study ......................................................................................................... 18 Chapter Summary ..................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................. 20 Chapter Introduction ................................................................................................................. 20 Background for the Study ......................................................................................................... 20 Literacy Gaps and Related Programmatic Responses over Time ......................................... 21 The Role of Word Interaction and the Impact of Poverty on Word Interaction ................... 27 Socioeconomic Status and Historic Patterns in Literacy Achievement ................................ 29 Contemporary Policy Context ............................................................................................... 33 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 36 Pertinent Research and Professional Perspectives .................................................................... 39 Socioeconomic Correlates with Literacy .............................................................................. 40 Socioeconomic Status and Parenting .................................................................................... 41 Socioeconomic Status and Brain Development .................................................................... 44 Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Proficiency Scores ...................................................... 45 Early Literacy ........................................................................................................................... 47 Parent Education to