{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101762"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/101762","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"“We have to learn how to transition with our children”: Parenting practices that promote school readiness among low-income black families in a head start program","abstract":"When parents are present and play an active role in their child’s development, they are capable of protecting them from negative characteristics in their neighborhoods that may lead to poor academic and socioemotional outcomes. Family involvement, therefore, is very important because active parents can guide their child’s transition into kindergarten, setting the foundation for a successful educational trajectory. Yet, there is not much research available that speaks to the specific cultural nuances that low-income Black families face in regard to their in-school and at-home parenting practices. Utilizing an asset-based approach that privileges the perspectives of the participants, this dissertation utilizes qualitative research methods (e.g. in-depth interviews, note-taking, and photographic documents) to capture the lived experiences of 21 Black mothers residing in a targeted neighborhood within Chicago. Several findings emerged in this study. First, while mothers have various beliefs about what it means to be ready for school, primarily their focus is on teaching nominal knowledge (i.e. letter, numbers, colors, or shapes) and skills for emergent literacy development (i.e. reading, writing, spelling, tracing, or drawing). Extended family members, including grandparents, aunts, and cousins as well as residential and non-residential fathers and siblings are each contributing to the school readiness preparations for the majority of families (n=20). Mothers in this study demonstrated that beliefs about education are intergenerational, including beliefs surrounding academic achievement and parenting values. Subsequently highlighting the lack of resources available in their neighborhoods to support their children during the transition to primary school. However, these mothers also demonstrate their resilience by making use of the tools available, such as Head Start programming. Lastly, mothers provide policy and practice recommendations to support families during the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Findings from this study produce descriptive data (i.e. the written words, spoken words, or observed behavior of our Black families) regarding the specific ways these families engage their children in preparation for school entry. This provides first-hand accounts on the parenting practices of Black families that promote school readiness. While findings from this study aren’t generalizable, many families may find similarities with the stories of the participants in this sample.","abstract_html":"When parents are present and play an active role in their child’s development, they are capable of protecting them from negative characteristics in their neighborhoods that may lead to poor academic and socioemotional outcomes. Family involvement, therefore, is very important because active parents can guide their child’s transition into kindergarten, setting the foundation for a successful educational trajectory. Yet, there is not much research available that speaks to the specific cultural nuances that low-income Black families face in regard to their in-school and at-home parenting practices. Utilizing an asset-based approach that privileges the perspectives of the participants, this dissertation utilizes qualitative research methods (e.g. in-depth interviews, note-taking, and photographic documents) to capture the lived experiences of 21 Black mothers residing in a targeted neighborhood within Chicago. Several findings emerged in this study. First, while mothers have various beliefs about what it means to be ready for school, primarily their focus is on teaching nominal knowledge (i.e. letter, numbers, colors, or shapes) and skills for emergent literacy development (i.e. reading, writing, spelling, tracing, or drawing). Extended family members, including grandparents, aunts, and cousins as well as residential and non-residential fathers and siblings are each contributing to the school readiness preparations for the majority of families (n=20). Mothers in this study demonstrated that beliefs about education are intergenerational, including beliefs surrounding academic achievement and parenting values. Subsequently highlighting the lack of resources available in their neighborhoods to support their children during the transition to primary school. However, these mothers also demonstrate their resilience by making use of the tools available, such as Head Start programming. Lastly, mothers provide policy and practice recommendations to support families during the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Findings from this study produce descriptive data (i.e. the written words, spoken words, or observed behavior of our Black families) regarding the specific ways these families engage their children in preparation for school entry. This provides first-hand accounts on the parenting practices of Black families that promote school readiness. While findings from this study aren’t generalizable, many families may find similarities with the stories of the participants in this sample.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Perry, Danielle M."],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Social Work","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jarrett, Robin L.","Ostler, Teresa","Carter-Black, Janet","Wegmann, Kate"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-09-27T16:45:32Z","date_published":"2018-09-27T16:45:32Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:40Z","subjects":["black families, school readiness, head start, parenting practices"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["© Danielle M. Perry"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101762","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jarrett, Robin L.","Ostler, Teresa","Carter-Black, Janet","Wegmann, Kate"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Perry, Danielle M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2018-09-27T16:45:32Z","2020-09-28T09:15:19Z","2018-06-21","2018-08"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Social Work"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["black families, school readiness, head start, parenting practices"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Danielle M. Perry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101762"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["When parents are present and play an active role in their child’s development, they are capable of protecting them from negative characteristics in their neighborhoods that may lead to poor academic and socioemotional outcomes. Family involvement, therefore, is very important because active parents can guide their child’s transition into kindergarten, setting the foundation for a successful educational trajectory. Yet, there is not much research available that speaks to the specific cultural nuances that low-income Black families face in regard to their in-school and at-home parenting practices. Utilizing an asset-based approach that privileges the perspectives of the participants, this dissertation utilizes qualitative research methods (e.g. in-depth interviews, note-taking, and photographic documents) to capture the lived experiences of 21 Black mothers residing in a targeted neighborhood within Chicago. Several findings emerged in this study. First, while mothers have various beliefs about what it means to be ready for school, primarily their focus is on teaching nominal knowledge (i.e. letter, numbers, colors, or shapes) and skills for emergent literacy development (i.e. reading, writing, spelling, tracing, or drawing). Extended family members, including grandparents, aunts, and cousins as well as residential and non-residential fathers and siblings are each contributing to the school readiness preparations for the majority of families (n=20). Mothers in this study demonstrated that beliefs about education are intergenerational, including beliefs surrounding academic achievement and parenting values. Subsequently highlighting the lack of resources available in their neighborhoods to support their children during the transition to primary school. However, these mothers also demonstrate their resilience by making use of the tools available, such as Head Start programming. Lastly, mothers provide policy and practice recommendations to support families during the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Findings from this study produce descriptive data (i.e. the written words, spoken words, or observed behavior of our Black families) regarding the specific ways these families engage their children in preparation for school entry. This provides first-hand accounts on the parenting practices of Black families that promote school readiness. While findings from this study aren’t generalizable, many families may find similarities with the stories of the participants in this sample.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-08-01","The student, Danielle Perry, accepted the attached license on 2018-06-19 at 22:43.","The student, Danielle Perry, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2018-06-19 at 22:51.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2018-06-21 at 15:57.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #12650 on 2018-09-27 at 11:33:24","Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-27T16:45:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 PERRY-DISSERTATION-2018.pdf: 2038684 bytes, checksum: efee539ef148de11bef5716a017f3895 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: ab292d67fa5dc945d8ff86dbeb340067 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-21","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107862 Lift date: 2020-09-27T16:45:39Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107862 Lift date: 2020-09-27T16:47:41Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Limited Restriction Lifted for Item 107862 on 2020-09-28T09:15:19Z."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["“We have to learn how to transition with our children”: Parenting practices that promote school readiness among low-income black families in a head start program"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jarrett, Robin L.","Ostler, Teresa","Carter-Black, Janet","Wegmann, Kate"],"dc:creator":["Perry, Danielle M."],"dc:date":["2018-09-27T16:45:32Z","2020-09-28T09:15:19Z","2018-06-21","2018-08"],"dc:description":["When parents are present and play an active role in their child’s development, they are capable of protecting them from negative characteristics in their neighborhoods that may lead to poor academic and socioemotional outcomes. Family involvement, therefore, is very important because active parents can guide their child’s transition into kindergarten, setting the foundation for a successful educational trajectory. Yet, there is not much research available that speaks to the specific cultural nuances that low-income Black families face in regard to their in-school and at-home parenting practices. Utilizing an asset-based approach that privileges the perspectives of the participants, this dissertation utilizes qualitative research methods (e.g. in-depth interviews, note-taking, and photographic documents) to capture the lived experiences of 21 Black mothers residing in a targeted neighborhood within Chicago. Several findings emerged in this study. First, while mothers have various beliefs about what it means to be ready for school, primarily their focus is on teaching nominal knowledge (i.e. letter, numbers, colors, or shapes) and skills for emergent literacy development (i.e. reading, writing, spelling, tracing, or drawing). Extended family members, including grandparents, aunts, and cousins as well as residential and non-residential fathers and siblings are each contributing to the school readiness preparations for the majority of families (n=20). Mothers in this study demonstrated that beliefs about education are intergenerational, including beliefs surrounding academic achievement and parenting values. Subsequently highlighting the lack of resources available in their neighborhoods to support their children during the transition to primary school. However, these mothers also demonstrate their resilience by making use of the tools available, such as Head Start programming. Lastly, mothers provide policy and practice recommendations to support families during the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Findings from this study produce descriptive data (i.e. the written words, spoken words, or observed behavior of our Black families) regarding the specific ways these families engage their children in preparation for school entry. This provides first-hand accounts on the parenting practices of Black families that promote school readiness. While findings from this study aren’t generalizable, many families may find similarities with the stories of the participants in this sample.","Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2020-08-01","The student, Danielle Perry, accepted the attached license on 2018-06-19 at 22:43.","The student, Danielle Perry, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2018-06-19 at 22:51.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2018-06-21 at 15:57.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #12650 on 2018-09-27 at 11:33:24","Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-27T16:45:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 PERRY-DISSERTATION-2018.pdf: 2038684 bytes, checksum: efee539ef148de11bef5716a017f3895 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: ab292d67fa5dc945d8ff86dbeb340067 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-06-21","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107862 Lift date: 2020-09-27T16:45:39Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 107862 Lift date: 2020-09-27T16:47:41Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD system","Limited Restriction Lifted for Item 107862 on 2020-09-28T09:15:19Z."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["http://hdl.handle.net/2142/101762"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["© Danielle M. Perry"],"dc:subject":["black families, school readiness, head start, parenting practices"],"dc:title":["“We have to learn how to transition with our children”: Parenting practices that promote school readiness among low-income black families in a head start program"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Social Work"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:40Z"}