Parent self-efficacy: Relationship with parent involvement and preschoolers' school readiness

This study investigated the relationship between parents' self-efficacy, parent involvement, and preschooler's school readiness. A multidimensional framework consisting of domain-specific and domain-general self-efficacy and involvement and domains of school readiness was used. Due to the lack of parent self-efficacy and parent involvement measures focused on preschoolers' school readiness, new measures for these constructs were developed and validated. A structural equation model (SEM) was utilized to investigate the following questions: (1) whether self-efficacy impacted parents' involvement and (2) whether parents' involvement served as a mediator between self-efficacy and children's approaches to learning and school readiness. The SEM model revealed a relationship between self-efficacy and parents' involvement. In addition, parent's involvement in their preschooler's socioemotional development served as a mediator between parents' self-efficacy and children's school readiness.; Though this study utilized a Head Start, predominantly African American, sample, it provided support for the utilization of a multidimensional framework to establish the relationship between parents' self-efficacy, involvement, and children's school readiness. Additional research, using a multi-method multi-informant approach, is warranted to further establish the findings in this paper.