This article discusses the findings from a mixed-method study examining the relationship between social resources and levels of parent involvement in statefunded preschool programs in Illinois. Using survey data from the Illinois Birth to Five Evaluation (n = 843) and interviews with ten preschool administrators who completed the survey, the study found the number of social resources provided by a program was positively associated with levels of parent involvement. The correlation analysis (r = -0.22, p = .0001) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) F(2,708) = 23.19, p = .0001 findings both demonstrated positive relationships wherein high numbers of social resources were associated with higher levels of parent involvement in programs. Administrator interviews confirmed survey findings and suggested additional influences on parent involvement levels and use of social resources in programs. Implications for supporting child welfare and policy recommendations for early childhood programs are provided.Keywords Early childhood programs Á Preschool programs Á Child welfare Á Parent involvement Á Social support Á Social resources Increasing standards are requiring high-quality early childhood programs to address the educational and noneducational needs of participants (Ritchie and Willer 2008;Olds et al. 2007;Kirp 2007;Schweinhart 2004). Two components of high-quality settings are parent involvement and the provision of social resources to meet the noneducational needs of participants. To meet increasing quality standards, it will be important for early childhood programs to know what is necessary to engage parents and understanding the impact of that involvement. Additionally, high-quality programs must be able to identify the non-educational needs of participants and what resources would be needed to meet those needs. Though parent involvement and social resources are valued in early childhood settings, there are relatively few studies that examine the relationship between the two and the subsequent impact on child and family outcomes.
Background for Study
Cumulative traumatic migration experiences are compounded by escalating chronic distress related to the current sociopolitical climate for refugee and immigrant children and families. The aim of this open trial was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of You're Not Alone, a rapidly mounted, strengths-based, community-focused capacity building training initiative for stakeholders interacting with refugee and immigrant children and families in the Chicago area. Trainings, based on Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) and psychological first aid frameworks, adapted education and universal health promotion strategies for population-specific chronic traumatic stress. Two groups of participants (N = 948), who attended either mandatory (n = 659 educators) or voluntary (n = 289 community stakeholders) trainings, completed surveys at pretraining, post-training, and 6-week follow-up. Outcome indices included participant satisfaction, acceptability of training model, and changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Over 90% of participants reported satisfaction and acceptability of trainings. For educators, hierarchical linear modeling analyses demonstrated significant increases in trauma knowledge, refugee and immigrant-specific knowledge, positive attitudes toward TIC over time, and a decrease in negative attitudes toward immigrants. Over 95% of participants indicated that they learned and intended to use new strategies to help serve refugee and immigrant children and families. At follow-up, over 80% of those who completed the survey had utilized at least one strategy, and over 55% indicated that they were using resources that they learned about in the training. This study demonstrates that capacity-building trainings swiftly developed and disseminated to community stakeholders can produce positive change in knowledge, attitudes, and practices.
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