Study on the Effectiveness of a Videocassette Program Approach for Parental Involvement in an Urban School

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the initial effectiveness of the program, Staying Connected: Parents in Kindergarten as an additional tool to supplement the efforts of one school in Rochester, NY to promote parental involvement. The subjects were sixty-four respondents to a survey sent to all the families (137) with children in the kindergarten classes for the 1994-1995 school year. The survey was designed to obtain information on parent perceptions about the content and quality of the program as well as their receptiveness to the general idea of using videocassette technology as a tool for parental involvement. A statistical analysis was conducted on answers of a quantitative nature, while a qualitative analysis was conducted on the rest of the data to look for trends and suggestions about how to improve the program. The statistical analysis results indicated moderately high ratings for the program in general. The highest ratings were given to the questions and statements reflecting opinions about: quality of presentation; replicability of activities; access to materials for the activities; and usefulness of information. The lowest ratings were given to questions and statements related to opinions about new learning from the program, and actual modifications in the schoolwork routines at home. The qualitative analysis results reflected a congruency with the information obtained in the statistical analysis, and yielded more specific information on the ratings from the survey. The subjects also provided suggestions about how to improve the program.