The effectiveness of family involvement in early childhood programmes: perceptions of kindergarten principals and teachers

Abstract

Family involvement can no longer be considered a luxury but is rather a main component of early childhood programmes. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of family involvement in early childhood programmes in Jordan. In total, 84 kindergarten principals and 276 teachers participated in the study. To achieve the study objectives, the researchers designed a self-report questionnaire consisting of 28 items that addressed five domains: planning, implementation, evaluation, children's extracurricular activities, and communication with kindergarten. The results indicate that although principals and teachers perceived family involvement in children's extracurricular activities and communication with kindergarten domains as effective, they found family involvement in planning, implementation, and evaluation domains ineffective. The results also revealed significant differences between principals and teachers regarding the effectiveness of family involvement. Moreover, significant differences were found in principals' and teachers' perceptions due to region, type of kindergarten, training programmes, and area of certification. On the basis of this study, suggestions for improving the practice of family involvement in Jordanian kindergartens and for further research were discussed.

Keywords:

• family involvement
• early childhood programmes
• principals' perceptions
• teachers' perceptions

Notes on contributors

Fathi Ihmeideh is an associate professor of Early Childhood Education at the Department of Child Education, the Hashemite University, Jordan. His research interests include early literacy development, early childhood technology, parental involvement, and children's play.

Enass Oliemat is an assistant professor of Special Education at the Department of Special Education, the Hashemite University, Jordan. Her research interests include evaluation and diagnosis, language disorders, inclusion, families of children with disabilities, and child rights.