PARENT EDUCATION FOR KINDERGARTEN READINESS WITH LOW INCOME FAMILIES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY Dissertation Submitted to The School of Education and Health Sciences of the UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership By Diane Brogan-Adams, B.A., M.S. UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON Dayton, Ohio December 2014 PARENT EDUCATION FOR KINDERGARTEN READINESS WITH LOW INCOME FAMILIES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY Name: Brogan-Adams, Diane APPROVED BY: ______________________________________ Carolyn S. Ridenour, Ed.D. Committee Chair ______________________________________ Theodore J. Kowalski, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________________ Joni L. Baldwin, Ed.D. Committee Member ______________________________________ Peter B. Nelson, Ph.D. Committee Member ii ©Copyright by Diane Brogan-Adams All rights reserved 2014 iii ABSTRACT PARENT EDUCATION FOR KINDERGARTEN READINESS WITH LOW INCOME FAMILIES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY Name: Brogan-Adams, Diane University of Dayton Advisor: Dr. Carolyn S. Ridenour The purpose of this study was to learn the needs of parents who are involved in the Taking Off To Success program and how the program can meet those needs. The Taking Off to Success program goal is to prepare children for kindergarten. The academic success of children living in poverty is important to the economy of Dayton Ohio and the “voice” of the parents is vital to helping children succeed. There were three themes presented in the review of the literature: parent education and involvement, early childhood literacy, and social justice. These three areas represented the focus of the Taking Off To Success program’s goals to assist parents in understanding their role as their child’s most important teacher. The mixed methods used in this study included case studies of three mothers involved in the Taking Off To Success program. After the qualitative data were collected a survey was developed and 35 parents from the program completed this survey. This iv QUAL→quan model (Morse and Niehaus, 2009) was appropriate for this research question. Seven themes were identified during the research. The three main themes included: making friends with other parents, school and the importance of an education, and a need to learn more about parenting specifically in the area of discipline. The four sub-themes were: gaining self-confidence, poverty, listening to others, and mental health. Implications from this study include the need for parent education programming to include a component for building social capital. Parents living in poverty need the knowledge of child development, as well as the need to alleviate the social isolation they feel. Teacher education should require understanding families living in poverty and the daily struggles they face. With this knowledge the teacher in the classroom might become an ally to families, rather than a purveyor of stereotypes of family deficiency. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Carolyn S. Ridenour for her infinite patience in assisting me during this entire process. She was professional, caring, and willing to spend time helping me organize, write, and complete my dissertation. My other thanks goes to my family—my parents for their unwavering support for education and instilling that value in me; my children and grandchildren for their encouragement and understanding when I spent hours writing instead of playing with my grandchildren; and most of all my husband, Howard, who has unselfishly kept me going through this and has been my biggest cheerleader and support—love you. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ...............................................................................................................x Chapters 1. THE PROBLEM .............................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................................2 Purpose .......................................................................................................................3 Importance of the Study .............................................................................................6 Scope of the Study .....................................................................................................9 Location of the Researcher ......................................................................................10 Limitations and Delimitations..................................................................................11 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................13 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ..............................................................................15 Parent Education and Involvement ..........................................................................15 Early Childhood Literacy .........................................................................................25 Social Justice ............................................................................................................31 3. METHODS ...................................................................................................................40 Background ..............................................................................................................45 Research Participants ...............................................................................................48 Data Collection ........................................................................................................50 Data Analysis ...........................................................................................................53 Summary ..................................................................................................................54 4. RESULTS .....................................................................................................................55 Setting ......................................................................................................................55 Participants ...............................................................................................................58 Three Case Studies ...................................................................................................60 Tammy .............................................................................................................60 Postsecondary work experience and education...........................................62 Parenting .....................................................................................................62 Taking Off To Success Program .................................................................64 Contribution of Tammy’s case to the research question .............................65 Jennifer ............................................................................................................66 vii Postsecondary work experience and education............................................67 Parenting ......................................................................................................68 Taking Off To Success Program ..................................................................69 Contribution of Jennifer’s case to the research question .............................70 Anna ....................................................................................................................71 Postsecondary work experience and education...........................................72 Parenting .....................................................................................................72 Taking Off To Success Program .................................................................73 Contribution of Anna’s case to the research question ................................73 Focus Group .............................................................................................................74 Parent Surveys .........................................................................................................77 Findings....................................................................................................................82 5. CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS .......................................84 Linking the Literature Review .................................................................................91 Suggestions for Future Research .............................................................................95 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................98 APPENDIX A Family Activities Survey .........................................................................107 APPENDIX B IRB Approval ..........................................................................................109 APPENDIX C Staff Roles ...............................................................................................110 APPENDIX D Schedule of