Associations of parent and staff factors with parent engagement in after-school programs

Abstract

This 2-study research examined staff and parent predictors of parent engagement in after-school programs. A parent engagement measure tailored to after-school programs was developed based on existing theory and literature. Two distinct factors, parent engagement and parent participation, emerged from factor analyses and were subsequently tested. A 2-level model was run on 4 program/staff and 6 parent predictors using staff and parent data from 26 after-school program sites (Study 1) and nine sites (Study 2). Program quality, staff educational levels, and length of employment in the after-school program were significantly associated with parent engagement and parent participation but in opposite directions, with other findings contrary to hypotheses. For parent factors of engagement and participation, there was a significant positive association between parental age and parent engagement, while having more than 2 children in a program was significantly and positively associated with parent participation only. Results and implications are discussed.