Examination of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Early Childhood (FIQ-EC) With Low-Income, Latino Families of Young Children

Abstract

Given the growing numbers of Latino children entering the U.S. educational system, there is a need to understand the ways Latino parents support their children's early education. However, tools used to measure family engagement have been developed primarily with middle-income, English-speaking European American families in the United States. The present study builds upon prior empirical work with the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Early Childhood (FIQ-EC), a multidimensional scale developed for use with culturally diverse low-income families of young children. With a cross-site sample of 450 Latino parents of children in preschool through first grade, construct validity of the FIQ-EC was examined using Rasch methods and expert panel review. Results from Rasch analyses provided further support for the reliability of the factors comprising the FIQ-EC, as well as provided nuanced information regarding item and person functioning for this Latino sample. These results, in combination with expert panel reviews, suggested avenues for further item development when using this scale with low-income, Latino families. The current study has implications for validating measurement tools for use with diverse populations and also provides some clues about the role low-income, Latino families play in their children's schooling for consideration in future research.

Keywords::

• Rasch
• family engagement
• Latino
• early childhood
• Family Involvement Questionnaire

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP) for providing the funding for this secondary data analysis project. We are grateful to our SSSP Mentors and Expert Panel members for their guidance and support: John W. Fantuzzo, Thomas J. Power, Michael Lopez, Sandra Baruecco, Ratna Nandakum, Leyda Mazur, Miguel Maldonado, and Ernesto Barnabas. We would also like to acknowledge the support and consultation of Qiong Fu and her faculty mentor, Everett Smith, Jr., at the University of Illinois at Chicago concerning the Rasch methodology. Finally, we would like to thank Maura Roberts for her enormous contributions to the southwestern study.

Notes

^1. Readers interested in learning more about the primary studies conducted should contact the corresponding author for that information.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christine M. McWayne

Christine M. McWayne, PhD, is associate professor of child development and director of Early Childhood Education at Tufts University. Her research expertise includes assessment and curriculum development in early childhood programs, and family engagement in support of children's school readiness. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of School Psychology and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. She is also associate editor for the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology and the Educational Researcher, an American Educational Research Association journal.

Patricia H. Manz

Patricia H. Manz, PhD, is an associate professor and director of the School Psychology Program at Lehigh University. Her research examines low-income parents’ preferences and expressions of involvement with their children, focusing particularly on Latino children between the ages of birth through 5 years. Further, she is applying knowledge about Latino parent involvement to intervention development for home visiting programs. Dr. Manz serves as associate editor for the Journal of School Psychology, and as a member of several editorial boards for journals focusing on early intervention and school psychology.

Marika D. Ginsburg-Block

Marika D. Ginsburg-Block, PhD, is an associate professor of education at the University of Delaware. She was formerly coordinator of the school psychology program where her primary teaching and advising responsibilities lie. Her current research interests include the study of family early literacy practices and their contributions to learning outcomes and response to intervention in preschool children. Dr. Ginsburg-Block serves as an editorial board member for School Psychology Review, and as a reviewer for numerous journals in the child development and education fields, as well as an invited reviewer for the recent NASP publication Best Practices in School Psychology.