Involvement in Head Start Services Among Diverse Immigrant Families

Background: Nearly 86% of Head Start preschools serve non-English speaking families. Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between satisfaction in services and involvement in education services, however research with diverse families remains sparse. Levels of family involvement in their child’s education as early as preschool have been correlated with positive academic and behavioral outcomes throughout childhood. The Head Start preschool program has been shown to increase academic proficiencies in children entering kindergarten and has been particularly successful in helping immigrant children from non-English speaking families to become more proficient in English before starting their K-12 education. Given the importance of Head Start services for immigrant families and English language learners, the need for research on how Head Start is working for diverse families and where Head Start can improve services to diverse families is even more salient.

Methods: This study uses surveys with diverse immigrant and US born families to better understand what factors influence a family members level of involvement in their Head Start program. This study uses a sample of 196 Head Start parents and caregivers from 17 different countries. Caregivers such as aunts, uncles, and grandparent were welcome to participate in the study to accommodate non-traditional family structures. Nearly half of the participants were born outside the US (49%) and 77% were female. Surveys were distributed in five languages to accommodate participants with limited English proficiency: English was requested 84% of the time, Spanish was requested 8%, Haitian Creole was requested 4%, Vietnamese was requested 2%, and Cape Verdean Creole was requested 1%. The sample was collected from 2 inner city Head Start preschools.

      Results: Results support previous research pointing toward the importance of satisfaction in levels of involvement in services (b=3.768, p <0.01). When caregiver demographic characteristics were introduced, there were no significant associations between race, language, or birthplace with levels of involvement in services. In contrast, increased levels of caregiver education were positively associated with levels of involvement in Head Start services (b=3.727, p <0.05). Caregivers’ relation to the Head Start student also showed a significant association with their level of involvement, suggesting parents were likely to be more involved in their child’s Head Start services than non-traditional caregivers such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles (b=11.164, p <0.05).

      Implications: Results suggest targeting intervention programs aimed at increasing involvement in Head Start services toward immigrant families may be misplaced. Our findings indicate that caregivers with low educational attainment and in non-traditional families may be in need of targeted intervention. Furthermore, satisfaction in services may be an important factor in increasing family involvement in Head Start services independent of caregivers’ demographic characteristics. Intervention programs aimed at evaluating and improving satisfaction in Head Start services may be a valuable tool towards increasing involvement in services.