Informal science, technology, engineering and math learning conditions to increase parent involvement with young children experiencing poverty

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Lincy Lal¹  Tricia A. Zucker²  Gloria Yeomans Maldonado²  Michael Assel²  Cheryl McCallum³  Cindy Elias²  John M. Swint¹ 

[1] Department of Management, Policy and Community Health at University of Texas, School of Public Health University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston;University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston;Children's Museum Houston

关键词: Parent involvement;    informal STEM;    Pre-kindergarten;    family engagement;    museum;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1015590

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Broadening participation in early science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning outside of school is important for families experiencing poverty. We evaluated variations of the Teaching Together STEM pre-kindergarten program for increasing parent involvement in STEM learning. This informal STEM, family engagement program was offered in 20 schools where 92% of students received free/reduced lunch. The core treatment included a series of family education workshops, text messages, and family museum passes. The workshops were delivered at school sites by museum outreach educators. We randomly assigned schools to business-as-usual control or one of three additive treatment groups. Using an additive treatment design, we provided the core program in Treatment A, we added take-home STEM materials in Treatment B, and added materials + parent monetary rewards in Treatment C. The primary outcome was parent involvement in STEM (n=123). There were no significant impacts of any treatment on parent involvement; however, the groups that added take-home materials had larger effect sizes on parent involvement at posttest (ES = -0.08 to 0.18) and later, kindergarten follow-up (ES = -0.01 to -0.34). Adding parent monetary rewards only produced short-term improvements in parent involvement that faded at follow-up. We discuss implications for other community-sponsored family engagement programs focused on informal STEM learning, including considering characteristics of families who were more versus less likely to attend. These null findings suggest that alternatives to in-person family education workshops should be considered when parents are experiencing poverty and have competing demands on their time.

【 授权许可】

CC BY