Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

EdD

College

College of Education and Human Services

Department

Curriculum & Instruction/Literacy Studies

Committee Chair

Joy Faini Saab.

Abstract

The research problem is: Many parents are not involved in their children's early literacy education. Some Head Start parents experience issues that keep them from teaching their children early literacy skills. The research questions were: What are the factors for parental involvement in the support of early literacy skill development for their children? What do parents in Head Start do to support early literacy development in their children? What are the barriers in how parents support literacy development for their children? This research included 392 parents from Head Start centers in West Virginia. Eleven parents participated in focus groups and 381 completed home literacy surveys. The major issues identified by the parents were work, childcare, time, money, too busy, and transportation. Initially, four questions were constructed to give to 11 parents in a focus group. The questions were about the parents' early literacy skills and understanding of parental involvement. The home literacy survey is divided into three parts. The SPSS software was used to tabulate the results Marion's (2004) study found "The experiences of a child during their first year of life are capable of changing the way a child turns out" (p. 17). Parents should contact Head Start officials when they can not attend meeting and explain why. Head Start center staff should make sure the families understand all the opportunities that are available to them.

Download

Share

COinS