Introduction
This quantitative correlational study aimed to determine the relationship between the quality of care for minority children of low socioeconomic status and their language and literacy development. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS) were used to address this task (Ruzek et al., 2014). According to Ruzek et al. (2014), these scales are used to evaluate “the extent to which adults provide frequent stimulating and sensitive interactions” for children to work with “a variety of age-appropriate objects” and to guarantee the focus on children’s health and safety concerning their environment” (p. 121). Thus, the role of ECERS was to use a reliable and valid test that assessed the academic performance of young students in a synthesis of family and socioeconomic characteristics and the overall cultural diversity of the family. The role of FCCERS was also driven by the need for a reliable and valid assessment tool that assesses not only the quality of early childhood learning but also the parameters of their environment, including family, hygiene, teachers, and interactions. In other words, the ECERS and FCCERS covered the need for generalized observation of the sample in this study. The target population included parents of minority children of low socioeconomic status. Minority status in this study was defined according to ethnic characteristics and included families belonging to different non-White racial or ethnic groups, as described by Cabrera (2013). A sample of 31 parents was drawn from the target population, but only 29 parents ended up participating in the experiment based on data collection.
When the study was initially conceived, the goal was a larger sample size and a sample that would include teachers. However, the rapid and unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased accessibility as schools across the country switched to an online model, leading to the need to prohibit on-site study. A non-probability, purposive sampling technique was used to recruit only participants from the target population. The study site for the project was Alps Road Elementary School in Clark County, Georgia. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between childcare and language and literacy development in socioeconomic minority children.
Population and Sample
The target population for this study is parents of low socioeconomic minority children who attend elementary school in urban areas of Clarke County, GA. The urban elementary school, Alps Road Elementary, was chosen as the study site. The students at this school are from an ethnically diverse community, and the diversity score is 0.35. This school’s total number of students was 425 by 2022, with a social and ethnic minority enrollment rate of 94% (PSR, 2022). The enrollment of black students at this school is higher than the Georgia state average, and the gender composition of the children is roughly similar: 51% girls and 49% boys. Up to 92% of the students at this school are eligible for free lunch, which means that the percentage of families with lower incomes in this population is slightly higher than the state average. In other words, the selected population is ethnically diverse with a significant inclusion of various socioeconomic minorities. This fully satisfied the chosen focus of the study because it allowed us to examine the quality of care for children from socioeconomic minority groups concerning their language and literacy development.
A primary sample of 31 parents of students was drawn from this population. The sample was drawn from parents who met the given ethnic identity and income criteria. More specifically, any parent in the sample was a parent of an ethnic minority child, had an annual income below $39500, and had concerns about their child’s education quality. A nonprobability purposive sampling technique was used to select participants from the minority group. The purposive sampling technique was used instead of probability sampling because only parents belonging to a socioeconomic minority group need to be recruited (Neuman, 2014). Parents whose children were eligible for free lunch were included in the study. Parents were then contacted via email to inform them of the study and obtain their consent to provide the assessment results and answer the survey questions. After contacting the school principal, permission to use the email was obtained from the parents. Of the 31 parents, only two could not complete the questionnaire fully, so their results were excluded from further analysis; thus, the number of participants in the final sample was reduced to 29.
Research Procedures
Before beginning the study, the researcher sought approval from the North Central University Institutional Review Board while providing county approval and permission to conduct the study. After approval, informed consent forms were provided to parents and teachers to sign before the study began. Parents were also provided with FERPA permission forms for the researcher to access their children’s educational assessments (archived ORF assessments). However, personally identifiable information was to be kept confidential. After receiving the signed forms, the questionnaires were emailed to parents with instructions for completion within three days. Completed questionnaires were collected and stored in a digital folder. The data was submitted by teachers with parental permission after signing the informed consent forms. After all, data were collected and sorted, statistical analysis procedures were used, including correlational data processing and a Cronbach’s Alpha criterion validity assessment. This allowed us to judge the prevalent patterns in the sample and determine the relationship between quality of care for a given socioeconomic group and literacy and language development.
Data Collection and Analysis
Scores from the Likert scales adopted for the ECERS and FCCERS tests were taken for further analysis. The collected numerical data were analyzed using SPSS v. 23 and MS Excel, traditionally used for statistical analysis. A Spearman rank correlation analysis was conducted to determine the magnitude and direction of the correlation between the quality of care and language and literacy skills to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses. Additional correlation analyses were conducted to determine the effect of caregiving on literacy and language. Correlation analyses provided results to test the hypotheses formulated for this study (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017; Neuman, 2014). Correlation analysis was chosen to provide insight into the relationship between quantitative variables related to the same group of participants. To put it another way, this type of statistical tool allows us to assess the strength and direction of a potential relationship between two or more variables; the test results show what may be happening to one of the variables while the other is increasing. Meanwhile, Spearman’s rank correlation was chosen because ECERS and FCCERS are Likert questionnaires that give ordinal or rank scores. The coefficient of determination (R2) was used to represent the effect size for statistically significant outcomes. R2 values range from 0 to 1 — the specific number corresponds to the percentage of the variance of all data covered by the mathematical model constructed; thus, the highest number in this range corresponds to the more robust model.
Assumptions
The present study included several critical assumptions, the statement of which was an essential part of the overall validity of the results. The first assumption was that a nonparametric purposive, nonprobability-based parental sample was more appropriate than a probability-based sample because it was necessary to focus only on children from low socioeconomic minority backgrounds. To mitigate the adverse effects of this assumption, the researcher avoided self-selection in the study, which can be defined as a situation where participants decide on their participation in the study before they are recruited. Another assumption was that the correlational research design was maximized to address the research questions and hypotheses (Neuman, 2014). This assumption was also related to the premise that the regression analysis could demonstrate the prediction of relationships rather than the degree of association. Possible negative consequences were mitigated by reconciling the questions, hypotheses, and research methods.
Limitations
The study design also had several limitations; the main one was that only a certain number of participants were included, based on the chosen setting. The small sample size may have affected the reliability of the results, so an attempt was made to address this limitation by changing the focus of the study to examine correlations related to the Clarke County setting. The small sample size was due to limitations associated with COVID-19. It is known that small samples can cause undesirable bias in results, so steps were taken to minimize this effect. In addition, the questionnaires were self-administered by parents, which may have been their increased bias toward their children. Parents could not objectively assess their children’s level of knowledge and socioeconomic status, so their ratings might have been inflated compared to reality. Another limitation is that the scales used in the questionnaires were taken from research related to the topic of this study. However, the purpose of this study may have differed from the purpose of the selected studies (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017). In other words, the limitation was determined by the possibility of valid extrapolation of previously published scales by other authors for this experiment. This limitation was addressed by adapting the scales and questionnaires to fit the purpose of this study.
Delimitations
The first delimitation focused only on the language and literacy development of low socioeconomic minority children. This choice was based on the literature on the issue. To mitigate the effects of this distinction, the research questions were framed in terms of the existing literature. The second distinction was related to the choice of variables to study using correlational analysis (Hoy & Adams, 2016). To mitigate the negative potential of this distinction, variables were chosen based on the purpose of the study and information in the studied literature on the issue.
Ethical Safeguards
The study received approval from North Central University’s Institutional Review Board before data collection. Ethical issues that were considered included protecting participants from harm and protecting participants’ confidentiality and anonymity. Parents and teachers included in the study and represented children from low socioeconomic minorities signed informed consent forms. The data collected was coded with identification numbers and securely stored digitally (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017). These aspects met the requirements of The Belmont Report 1976 to demonstrate respect for the individual and guarantee the use of informed consent forms (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1979). In addition, the study was based on the principle of fairness and social benefit, which was also a criterion of The Belmont Report 1976. Finally, maximum efforts were made by the researcher to ensure the well-being of all parties involved in the experiment. Thus, the researcher ensured an unbiased and objective analysis of the data without subjective interpretation by verifying the data by the assigned supervisors.
Conclusion
Chapter three discusses the appropriate methodology and research design, focusing on the quantitative correlational design chosen for this study. This study addressed the problem of delayed language and literacy development in children from low socioeconomic backgrounds due to a lack of proper care by caregivers. This quantitative correlational study aimed to determine the relationship between the quality of caregiving among low-socioeconomic status minorities and their language and literacy development. The chapter also provides details regarding the sample, instruments, and operational definitions of the variables. Research procedures and approaches to data analysis focus on correlational analysis (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017). Assumptions, limitations, and distinctions are also listed in this chapter, along with ethical concerns; the following chapter presents the study results.
References
Cabrera, N. J. (2013). Positive development of minority children. Social Policy Report, 27(2), 3-22.
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. (1979). The Belmont report [PDF document]. Web.
Edmonds, W. A., & Kennedy, T. D. (2017). An applied reference guide to research designs:
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Hoy, W. K., & Adams, C. M. (2016). Quantitative research in education: A primer (2nd ed.). New York, NY: SAGE Publications.
Neuman, W. L. (2014). Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (7th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
PSR. (2022). Alps Road Elementary School. Public School Review. Web.
Ruzek, E., Burchinal, M., Farkas, G., & Duncan, G. (2014). The quality of toddler child care and cognitive skills at 24 months: Propensity score analysis results from the ECLS-B. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(1), 12-21.