Does Parent Involvement Mediate the Effect of Early Childhood Intervention On Remedial Education?

Introduction: Early childhood interventions have demonstrated long-term benefits for at-risk children. The Child Parent Center (CPC) is a preschool intervention grounded in research that has demonstrated positive life course outcomes through the provision of parent involvement (PI) supports and high quality early education.  Parenting behavior, as measured through PI, has predicted positive changes to children’s long- and short-term social and academic development.

Special education identification, primarily specific learning disabilities (LD), has disproportionally represented low-income children. Grade retention is also of concern where at-risk children are more likely to repeat grades. Unfortunately, LD identification and retention have demonstrated negative short- and long-term effects on children’s well-being.

Considering the potentially deleterious effects on educational attainment, and in turn, life course achievement, special attention should be spent identifying the malleable factors affecting over identification of LD and retention. This study examines CPC participation and the potential positive impact of PI on LD identification and retention on low-income children.

Methods: We investigate the role of parent involvement (PI) and its impact on the relationships between early intervention and LD identification and retention in children.  Data from the Chicago Longitudinal Study of the CPC are used. A cohort of 989 low-income children who participated in CPC beginning at age three and a matched comparison (n= 550) were followed into adulthood. Our independent variables include participation in CPC and teacher-reported PI in elementary schools at 1^st-3^rd grade. Dependent measures include: grade retention in 1-3^rd grade, LD identification variables in 1^st- 3^rd grade, 4^th-8^th grade, and at any grade through 12^th. The following control variables were included in the analyses: race, gender, single parenthood status, mother’s age, TANF use, maternal employment status, free lunch eligibility, high poverty school/ neighborhood, and parent education. Baron and Kenny’s four-step mediation analyses were conducted to examine CPC’s impact on LD and retention with PI as a potential mediator.

 Results: Preliminary results suggest CPC participation has a significant, negative effect on both LD identification and retention, i.e., children who attended CPCs were less likely to receive services for LD and less likely to repeat an early grade. PI also significantly impacted LD identification and retention. CPC participation also significantly predicted higher levels of PI. Mediation analyses indicate PI fully mediates the relationships between CPC participation to later LD identification and grade retention. Robustness analyses will be completed using alternative measures and measures of social adjustment.

Conclusion: These results indicate that CPC participation reduces LD identification and retention in low-income children. Of particular interest is the role of parent involvement, both its impact on LD identification and retention as well as CPC’s effect on it. Parent involvement and support are critical components of early interventions for young at-risk children.