ACF OPRE: American Indian-Alaska Native Head Start Research and Outcomes Assessment (AIAN)

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Issues and Observations

Parent involvement has been a fundamental principle of Head Start since its inception. Parents may engage in a variety of activities, including child development and education, health and nutrition, mental health education, community advocacy, program oversight, and transition practices; they are encouraged to be present in the classrooms (including as paid paraprofessional staff) and to participate in special school events; and some become involved in decision-making opportunities to shape program content by participating in Parent Committees and serving on the Policy Council.

Current challenges for AI-AN parents include a continued feeling of alienation from the education system, sometimes because families perceive that their culture and values are not respected or understood. Many AI-AN adults feel alienated from and distrustful of the educational system, particularly public schools, because of the incompatibility between their culture and that of the school, racism, and history (Deyhle, 1991; Robinson-Zanartu and Majel-Dixon, 1993).
Barriers to AI-AN parent involvement may include staff and parental attitudes, mobility, lack of choice among schools for children to attend, family dynamics, and a lack of understanding among educators regarding tribal culture (Butterfield and Pepper, 1991).
Very few parent education programs have been developed specifically for an AI population, and no studies have been conducted on their efficacy (Gorman and Balter, 1997).

Research Findings: Parent Involvement
Author	Sample, Measures, and Methods	Major Findings Reported by Author
Bachtold, 1982	20 children from the Hoopa reservation and 20 Anglo children from a nearby town, matched by age and gender, were videotaped in their preschools in 5-minute segments on 12 occasions. Researchers created written narratives of the videotapes and coded them for 12 social behaviors identified by Whiting and Whiting (1975). Analysis was based on the Whiting proportion scores for behavior. Parents (12 Hoopa and 19 Anglo) were interviewed using a 50-item inventory from the Childrearing Practices Questionnaire.	Children in both groups showed nurturant-responsible behaviors. On a different behavioral dimension, Hoopa children scored more at the sociable-intimate end of a scale, whereas Anglo children scored more at the authoritarian end of the scale. Parents in both groups tended to share many attitudes toward childrearing. Both prefered reasoning with their children, rather than inflicting physical punishment, but Anglo parents were more opposed to physical punishment; both wanted children to develop a sense of independence, but Hoopa parents prefered more than Anglo parents that children learn to know that others are around to help them when needed; and Hoopa parents felt it is very important that children do as they are told. The author concludes that Hoopa childrearing practices may be inconsistent with characteristics for excelling in the current structure of education. Hoopa parents face the challenge of helping to develop their children’s cultural identity while preparing them with skills they will need in a non-Hoopa environment.
Coburn, 1992	A survey was mailed to 399 administrators of schools with significant AI-AN populations and 2,000 AI-AN parents. The questionnaire asked administrators about successful parent involvement techniques and asked parents about types of involvement. Responses were obtained from 60 administrators and 245 parents.	In the area of direct involvement with parents, administrators report a preference for informal gatherings. Very similar findings were reported for both active and inactive parents, although active parents volunteer more in the schools, visit schools more often, and are more likely to participate in planning sessions. Parental involvement seems to be higher than is commonly assumed. Both parents and school administrators are familiar with typical parent involvement activities, but have suggestions for enhancing AI-AN parent involvement.
Deyhle, 1991	An ethnographic study was conducted over 5 years on the Navajo reservation. The study focused on Navajo concepts of childrearing and parent involvement, parenting styles, and reactions to school culture. The author used participant observation (including in classrooms, during extracurricular school activities, and at community and school board meetings) and lived on the reservation.	There are distances between the school culture and the Navajo culture that manifest themselves in ways thought to be detrimental to children and parents. Schools want to assimilate students; Navajo parents want children to complete school, get jobs, and remain affiliated with their cultural heritage. Navajo parents are committed to better education and better economic opportunities for their children, but institutional strategies of the educational system are perceived to limit meaningful involvement for parents. Parents are caught in a very hard place: in trying to be good parents, they must meet both Caucasian middle-class expectations and Navajo cultural expectations.
Leveque, 1994	A case study was conducted of AI-AN students in the Barstow Unified School District (total population during one school year is about 120 students). Data sources include participant observation, ethnographic interviews, a norm-referenced test (the Curriculum Alignment System: Comprehensive Assessment System) and document reviews.	AI-AN elementary and middle school students scored near or above the district averages on a norm-referenced achievement test. The high school dropout rate over a 2-year period was 10 percent, which is perhaps lower than the district-wide average. The positive outcomes are explained by the involvement of parents—who were acculturated and assimilated into the culture—in designing supplemental AI-AN educational programs (not because of student participation in the programs themselves), which is linked to greater communication and familiarity with schools. The author questions whether academic success—in this case due to parental acculturation and assimilation—depends upon AI-AN populations living the life of the dominant culture. Replication of the study in other settings, including reservations, is recommended.
Mayfield, 1985	To determine the effects of a home-based infant program among five Native groups in British Columbia, the Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST) was administered to about 190 children, beginning before the program began and again at 6-month intervals. 25 parents were surveyed on their opinions about the program.	DDST results suggest that 85 percent of the children were developing within normal ranges, and none younger than 19 months were delayed. Among the 5 percent with delayed development, 80 percent were over the age of 42 months. The authors conclude that several features were key for successfully planning and implementing the program: the indigenous community initiated the program, the community’s culture is incorporated, local Native personnel were trained and employed, and parents actively participated in services with their children.
Ndura, 1994	Administrators, teachers, parents (n = 145), and students of five racial/ethnic groups in Flagstaff, AZ were surveyed by mail and through in-person interviews regarding their perceptions of and experiences with parent involvement in schools.	Although the sample size of AI parents is small (n = 10), most AI parents agree with Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, and Asian parents that parent involvement produces educational advantages for their children. AI and Hispanic parents believe that teachers interact differently with parents from different cultures. Although most parents believe school-home communications are effective, AI parents do not. All respondents, from all racial/ethnic groups, expect more communication from each other. The author recommends that future studies should focus on reasons for communication gaps between home and school, include observational studies on the effects of parents in the classroom, and involve larger-scale studies with a sampling plan that would produce more generalizable results.
Sears and Medearis, 1992	Post-test scores of a control group were compared with post-test scores of a cohort who received a math intervention in Seminole Nation Head Start (n = 8) and a non-AI school (n = 12). Data collection tools include the ABC Screening Inventory (measures verbal, math, and social learning skills), a Parent Child Interaction Questionnaire (self-report regarding family activities), and interviews with teachers and parents.	Project staff prepared take-home packets of materials with instructions and tools for family math activities, and teachers and parents were trained on ways to use the materials. Test scores of children entering kindergarten showed no differences between those who were exposed to the math activities and those who were not. Of the few parent questionnaires returned, respondents indicated satisfaction with the program and said it had helped their children. The authors report that the project demonstrated that culturally related factors can be integrated with math instruction. They mention the absence of random assignment, no pre-test data, inability to control what happens during home activities, and small samples as limits to the research.
Sontag and Schacht, 1994	A survey consisting of closed-ended questions was administered in person to parents in a southwestern state whose children (ages 4 and younger) had developmental problems. Of 536 families in the final sample, 5 percent were American Indian. The survey asked about parents’ information needs, sources of information, and participation in early intervention planning and services.	Statistically significant differences were found among American Indian, Hispanic, and white parents. All parents expressed a need for more information about available services. American Indian parents reported, more than parents in the other two groups, that they received no explanation as to why a particular service could not be provided. American Indian and Hispanic parents, compared to white parents, said they had a greater need to receive information on ways to get services, were more likely to get information from hospitals (as opposed to sources such as therapists and other agencies), and were less likely to provide information and support to other parents. The authors conclude that families from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds may have different kinds of information needs and that service providers should review practices to ensure responsiveness to those needs.
Strom and Hill, 1979	70 Hopi and 70 Navajo reservation-based parents of preschool children were administered the 50-item Parent as a Teacher Inventory, which measures parental expectations around childrearing.	Differences between Hopi and Navajo parents were observed. Navajo parents were more willing to encourage creative behavior among their children than Hopi parents, and Hopi parents indicated a greater need to control their children. Some variance is due to the child’s gender (e.g., parents of sons indicated a greater need to control children and to contain creative behavior), the parent’s gender (e.g., mothers were more likely to encourage creative behavior and indicated less need for control), and the parent’s level of education, with more “desirable” responses as the level of education increased. The authors note that this kind of study may provide information useful for tribal policymakers and program planners.
Wynn, 1995	A 16-item questionnaire was administered to parents, in one of three languages, by a community interviewer regarding involvement with cultural practices and their child’s math achievement. Interviews were conducted with 112 parents of 132 AI students in grades 3-5, living on the Pascua Yaqui reservation. The children’s math scores on the ITBS were obtained from records and reports parents maintained in their homes.	Parents who spoke the Native language in the home and attended culturally-related community and social events had children who were more likely to achieve at or above the 4th stanine (i.e., are considered to have mastered normal skill levels for the skill being measured) on the math portion of the ITBS. The author concludes that the level of parent participation in the Native culture has a significant and positive effect on student math achievement test scores. Additional research might examine different definitions of culture and academic success and be conducted in other tribal settings.

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