Parent involvement and language development: A comparison of Early Head Start and Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships

Abstract

This study compared parent involvement and children’s language development in EHS and EHS-CCP programs operating under the grantee, ChildCareGroup, located in the city of Dallas. The sample included 105 EHS and EHS-CCP parents with children ages 12 to 36 months. Data for this study was collected through a combination of surveys and language scores including a demographic survey, the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Short Form (FIQ-SF) (Fantuzzo et al., 2013), the Parent and School Survey (PASS) Barriers to Parent Involvement (Ringenberg et al., 2005), and the Early Learning Accomplishment Profile (Early LAP) Language domain (Hardin & Peisner-Feinberg, 2001). EHS parents reported more offered parent involvement opportunities in their centers as well as participation in these opportunities. EHS-CCP parents scored higher on FIQ-SF subscale, Home-Based Involvement, while EHS parents scored higher on Home-School Conferencing and School-Based Involvement. There was a significant difference in Receptive and Expressive Language scores by program type and age group.