The Effects of Parental Self-Efficacy on Parental Involvement and on Pre-School Aged Children’s Readiness for the Transition to Kindergarten

Abstract

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), demographic and parental predictors of parental self-efficacy were identified among parents with children transitioning to kindergarten. In addition, the mediating role that parental involvement in the home and/or school context may play in the association between parental self-efficacy and children’s readiness for kindergarten was examined. Several findings were noteworthy. First, analyses indicated that numerous demographic and parental characteristics independently predicted parental self-efficacy. When the indicators are examined all together, however, only two remained statistically significant (parent education and marital status). Second, although parental involvement in the home and school were both significantly associated with kindergarten outcomes, only parental involvement at home was found to mediate the effects of parental self-efficacy on kindergarten outcomes. Implications of the aforementioned findings with respect to interventions to increase parental self-efficacy and involvement among parents with children transitioning to kindergarten are discussed.