Parental Perception of Competence Related to School Preparation for Their Children after Participation in a Brief Kindergarten Readiness Workshop

ABSTRACT

Low-income parents often have limited involvement in the education of their children, and children who live in poverty frequently do not have the prerequisite skills needed to enter kindergarten. The purpose of the current study was to determine if parent participation in a brief kindergarten readiness workshop developed and led by occupational therapists increased parental perceptions of self-confidence and competence related to school preparation for their children. A total of 114 parents or legal guardians of preschool-aged children participated in a workshop and completed a survey to rate their pre- and post-levels of perceived parenting self-confidence and perceived levels of confidence related to preparing a child for school. A Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test indicated a significant difference in the mean scores of the pre- and post- survey, z = −9.03, p < .05, with the average survey scores increasing by 10.5% after participation in the workshop. Occupational therapists have the knowledge and skills to provide school readiness information, resources, and training for parents, which could increase parental competence related to school preparation for their children.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational therapy
• education
• kindergarten readiness
• parenting
• child development

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Urban Child Institute for providing the funding that made this project possible.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the The Urban Child Institute [Foundation Grant].