Parental involvement in early childhood education and children's readiness for school: a longitudinal study ofChinese parents in Hong Kong and Shenzhen

Abstract



Much of the research on parental involvement in education has focused on its positive influence on school-aged students in the western culture. This thesis examined Chinese parental involvement in the early years by conducting three empirical studies in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Study 1 was designed to be qualitative in nature to examine kindergarten teachers’ and parents’ perceptions and practices of parental involvement by conducting focus group interviews with 35 teachers and 41 parents. Responses revealed that teachers and parents defined parental involvement differently, in which teachers defined it as parents assisting the teachers or the school, while parents defined it as the support they provide for their child’s learning and development. Respondents also had varying opinions about the current parental involvement practices and discussed different family, school and child factors that influence parental involvement. Study 2 investigated the association between parental involvement and children’s readiness for school using a sample of 431 children. Parents’ involvement was examined using parents’ self-report, whereas readiness for school was assessed using two child tests and parents’ report. Results indicated that parents practiced more home-based involvement than school-based involvement. All parental involvement dimensions significantly predicted overall readiness for school; however, only the dimensions of Language and Cognitive Activities and Home-School Conferencing were found the significantly predictors of children’s Chinese literacy and cognitive development. Study 3 was a follow-up investigation of the changes in parents’ perceptions and practices of parental involvement during the transition from kindergarten to primary school. Individual interviews were conducted with 18 parents three months after their child’s school entrance. Compared to their involvement during the kindergarten years, most parents indicated a shift to become more academic oriented in their involvement and expressed their dissatisfaction in the distant parent-teacher relationship in the primary school. Implications, limitations and future research directions on this topic are discussed.