Leveraging Text-Messaging to Improve Kindergarten Attendance

Autor/in	Smythe-Leistico, Kenneth
Titel	Leveraging Text-Messaging to Improve Kindergarten Attendance
Quelle	(2018), (62 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-0-4387-7621-0
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Attendance; Kindergarten; Telecommunications; Handheld Devices; Parent School Relationship; Intervention; Barriers; Academic Achievement; Outreach Programs; Program Effectiveness; Family School Relationship + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Anwesenheit; Telekommunikationstechnik; Parent-school relationship; Parent school relationships; Parent-school relationships; Parent-school relation; Parent school relation; Eltern-Schule-Beziehung; Schulleistung; Jobcoaching
Abstract	Poor school attendance in the early grades is predictive of poor subsequent educational outcomes. We report on a pilot intervention aiming to reduce chronic absenteeism in kindergarten. We designed and implemented a two-way, text-based parent-school communication system to encourage daily attendance, provide parents with personalized feedback on their child's attendance, and provide support to mitigate challenges that threatened parents' ability to get their child to school regularly. We piloted this intervention with two kindergarten classrooms (N = 45 students) within one elementary school. This study aimed to address the following research questions: (1) To what extent can the implementation of two-way text message communication between schools and families focused on the importance of school attendance and barriers that families may face getting their child to school regularly reduce rates of chronic absenteeism and improve rates of daily attendance? (2) To what extent do improvements in attendance translate to improvements in downstream outcomes, such as academic achievement? The program was well received, with nearly all families registering for participation and three-quarters of those receiving outreach responding and engaging with school personnel via text. The pilot school's kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate was substantially lower in the intervention year relative to prior trends. Further, in the intervention year, the pilot school's kindergarten chronic absenteeism rate (13%) was substantially lower than for that of a synthetically constructed comparison school (24%). We discuss implications for sustainability and scaling of an effort such as this. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01