Predictors of Head Start parent educators' use of collaborative facilitation

Kay Allard DeWeese, Purdue University

Abstract

The current paradigm in parent education supports a collaborative mode of interaction between teacher and learner. This approach in parent education is consistent with andragogy, a theory of practice of adult learning. This study examined possible predictors of collaborative facilitation which were drawn from the educational literature relevant to teacher control issues. A sample of 183 Head Start Parent Involvement Coordinators from 14 states in the Midwest completed and returned a survey designed to gather information about their beliefs and practices. Nineteen of the coordinators participated in a telephone interview. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship of teachers' beliefs about parent education, teachers' sense of personal and teaching efficacy, and teachers' orientation toward interpersonal control to the frequency of reported use of collaborative practices in conducting parent education programs. The results indicated that beliefs about parent education identified as collaborative, a sense of personal efficacy in conducting parent education, and training in group leadership predicted the use of collaborative practices among the Head Start parent educators. Neither coordinators' level of education nor teachers' orientation to control in interpersonal relations were predictive of use of collaboration. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Powell, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Adult education|Continuing education|Preschool education

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