The relation between head start parents' participation in a Transition Demonstration, education, efficacy and their children's academic abilities

Abstract

The relation between membership in a Transition Demonstration, level of parent education, self-efficacy, and children's academic abilities was explored through structural equation modeling. One hundred and thirty-three former Head Start parents and their children served as the sample. As postulated both membership in the Transition Demonstration and level of parent education were significantly related to parental self-efficacy. In turn, parental self-efficacy beliefs significantly predicted children's academic abilities as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised , the Letter-Word Recognition, and Applied Problems subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement-Revised .