Parent-Child Relationship, Home Learning Environment, and School Readiness

Abstract

This exploratory study examines several of the links between the parent-child relationship, home learning environment, and school readiness. School readiness is construed as a multidimensional concept that considers behavioral and cognitive aspects of the child's development as well as the child's adaptation to the classroom. The conceptual model upon which this study is based depicts parent involvement in Head Start as having a positive effect on school readiness, mediated by the parent-child relationships and the home learning environment. Results indicated that changes in the parent-child relationship and home learning environment from pre-to post-Head Start were associated with improvements in school readiness. In particular, on the one hand, increases in a parent's understanding of play and ability to facilitate a child's learning predicted several positive behavioral outcomes in the classroom including increased independence and creativity/curiosity. On the other hand, increased parental aggravation and strictness over time had a negative impact on a child's distractibility and hostility in the classroom and predicted a decrease in associative vocabulary skills. Implications of these findings for the role of the school psychologist working with parents and teachers are discussed.