Psychology Ph.D. Dissertations

The Occurrence and Impact of Parent Involvement on Child Outcomes for Children Participating in an After-School Program

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology/Clinical

First Advisor

Eric Dubow

Abstract

The impact of specific types of parent involvement on positive child outcomes has been rarely addressed in the empirical literature. In addition, the impact of after-school programs on the occurrence of parent involvement is often only measured through parent satisfaction surveys which do not capture the type and frequency of parent involvement. The current study investigated the association between different types of parent involvement and child outcomes as reported by 116 children, 109 parents of children, and 137 teachers of children who participated in a K-6 after-school program during the 2004-2005 academic year in one rural Midwestern county. The average age of children in the study was 9 years old and most were in the 3rd grade. About 1/3 of the children qualified for free or reduced lunch and 90% were Caucasian. Correlations, t-tests, and linear regression analyses were used to measure the occurrence of three types of parent involvement (School-Based, Home-Based, and Home-School Conferencing) at two time points during the year and the ability of parent involvement to predict changes in child outcomes over time, based on three reporters (parent, teacher, child). Results indicated that teachers tended to report School-Based parent involvement as related to more positive child outcomes at both time points, whereas parents reported higher School-Based and Home-School Conferencing as related to less positive child outcomes, particularly earlier in the school year. Parent involvement did not increase or decrease from Time 1 to Time 2. Regression analyses revealed that increases in parent-rated total parent involvement over time significantly predicted more child competence behaviors over time, while increases in teacher-rated School-Based parent involvement over time significantly predicted more child competence behaviors and fewer child problem behaviors over time. The implications of these results are discussed.

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