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Abstract

Accurately assessing caregiver satisfaction in their child’s education creates an opportunity for two-sided conversations between caregivers and schools that fosters active family involvement in education. In response to the need for accurate assessment of caregiver satisfaction, Fantuzzo, Perry and Childs (2006) created the Parent Satisfaction in Educational Experiences Scale (PSEE) specifically for low-income caregivers of preschool aged children attending Head Start preschool programs as well as caregivers of kindergarten students. Although the PSEE presents an opportunity to engage caregivers, the measure has not yet been validated on a sufficient sample of men or a sample of caregivers born outside of the US. This pilot study examines cross-gender and cross-birthplace reliability and validity of the PSEE, as well as an analysis of the three submeasures embedded within the PSEE. The study draws from a small sample of N=141 diverse, urban Head Start caregivers. 22.7% of caregivers identified as male and the remaining 77.3% identified as female. 52.1% of caregivers were born outside of the US, hailing from 15 different countries. To account for language barriers in caregivers born outside the US, the PSEE was administered in the five most predominant languages: English, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese. Analysis indicates the PSEE maintains strong reliability in caregivers born outside of the US but lower reliability scores in male caregivers. Cronbach’s alpha levels for submeasures within the PSEE drop to low levels in the small sample of men born inside the US. Factor analysis show the proposed three-factor solution of the PSEE does not maintain good fit among this highly diverse sample. This study highlights the strengths of the PSEE in assessing caregiver satisfaction among immigrant families while drawing attention to the need for further research into validating the PSEE among male caregivers.

Key Take Away Points

  • Caregiver satisfaction in education is closely linked to caregiver engagement
  • Caregiver engagement has been heavily studies but caregiver satisfaction has been largely overlooked
  • There are very few validated measures of caregiver satisfaction and even less that have been cross-culturally validated
  • The Parent Satisfaction in Educational Experiences scale has great potential to expand research on caregiver satisfaction but it must be adequately validated first

Author Biography

Anne Day Leong, MSW is a PhD candidate at the Boston College School of Social Work. She has also worked extensively with at-risk families through her work in domestic violence shelters, Head Start preschools and the child welfare system. Anne’s primary areas of research are in cross-cultural measurement, early childhood education, and Head Start.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the support and assistance of Dr Linnie Green Wright in completing this publication.

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