Experiences of parents regarding a school-readiness intervention for pre-school children facilitated by Community Health Nursing students

Abstract

A school-readiness intervention, facilitated by Community Health Nursing (CHN) students, was conducted as an effort to provide parents with the skills to contribute towards their preschool children’s early childhood development. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of parents regarding this school-readiness intervention.The research followed a qualitative, descriptive, exploratory design. Focus group interviews gave the parents the opportunity to share their experiences of the school-readiness intervention. The data of the pilot interview as well as of the three focus groups interviews were analysed according to guidelines set by Creswell (2009).Experiences of the parents were categorized into: emotional-, awareness-, and impact experiences. The category on emotional experiences was divided into five themes: fear, pride, trust, gratitude and relief. Awareness as category had two themes, namely difficulties and responsibilities. Awareness was further divided in sub-themes: discipline, challenging behaviors and parental involvement. The category impact was divided into themes describing the skills of the participants as well as the development noticed in the child. Development was divided into sub-themes of cognitive as well as social and emotional development.When CHN students engage with communities through service learning, a school-readiness intervention may serve as a powerful tool to provide parents with the support that is needed to empower them with the skills to contribute towards their children’s early childhood development. It may improve the parent–child relationship which is critical in the development of children.