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Mothers’ Strategies to Support Children’s Early Learning in Low-Income Homes: A Qualitative Investigation

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Abstract

A long history of empirical research demonstrates that children of low-socioeconomic status (SES) begin school behind their peers and that enrichment activities in the home environment mediate these disparities. This past work overlooks the considerable heterogeneity in the parenting practices of families from low-SES backgrounds. To address this limitation, this study examined home enrichment practices among families with low-SES in greater detail to obtain a nuanced view of the experiences and challenges facing socioeconomically disadvantaged parents. We conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews with 13 mothers of three- to five-year-old children with low-SES, addressing their enrichment activities in the home and any challenges or barriers that interfere with enrichment activities. Parents were also asked to report on their home enrichment practices through a survey measure. All parents described substantial challenges in attempting to provide opportunities for learning with their young children but also described activities that they did engage in, along with a variety of strategies for overcoming challenges. Comparable challenges and strategies were noted by mothers with both high and low scores on a traditional survey measure of home learning activities, suggesting these measures may miss important learning opportunities that parents in low-SES contexts provide for their children.

Highlights

  • Few studies address the heterogeneity of low-SES families home learning practices.

  • In this qualitative study, we interviewed low-SES mothers with children between three and five years of age.

  • All mothers described activities they engaged in, along with a variety of strategies for overcoming SES-related challenges.

  • Traditional measures of home learning did not fully capture the learning opportunities that the low-SES mothers provided.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pittsburgh, 4320 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA

    Leanne Elliott & Heather J. Bachman

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  1. Leanne Elliott
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Correspondence to Leanne Elliott.

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Appendix: Interview Protocol

Appendix: Interview Protocol

  1. 1.

    To start out, I just want to talk generally about your home and your family.

    1. a.

      Can you tell me a little bit about what your typical day looks, like how you spend your morning, afternoon, and evening?

    2. b.

      On days when you’re working, when do you and your child get to spend time together? How do you typically spend your free time together?

    3. c.

      What about on days when you aren’t working, what kind of things do you and your child do together?

    4. d.

      When deciding how to spend your time with this child, what are some of the factors that come into play? (Probe for time limitations, other siblings, etc)

  2. 2.

    Great, thanks for catching me up on your family. I want to talk next about the family you grew up in.

    1. a.

      As you’ve started a family of your own, have your family members been involved at all? How? (Probe about financial help, practical help like babysitting, advice, etc).

    2. b.

      In thinking about how you were raised when you were young, are there things that you remember as being really positive or that you wanted to do as a parent too?

    3. c.

      Is there anything about how you were raised that you wanted to make sure you changed as a parent? Why? How have you tried to do so?

  3. 3.

    Next, I want to hear a little more bit about your child.

    1. a.

      How are you thinking about the transition to kindergarten? What are your hopes as you child starts school? Is there anything that you are worried about?

    2. b.

      What do you think are some of the most important things for him/her to be ready for school?

    3. c.

      Why are these benchmarks and skills that you mentioned important? Are they something that you heard from someone else, like a family member or teacher?

  4. 4.

    You mentioned some really important skills - how do you think your child is learning these things? What are some activities and experiences that might help him/her become more ready to start school?

    1. a.

      How are you thinking about your role in helping your child be ready to start kindergarten?

    2. b.

      Are there other people who are involved in making sure that your child is ready to start school? (probe: other parent/adults in the household, preschool teacher, broader social networks).

  5. 5.

    Are there any activities happening at home that might help your child learn to read? (recognizing letters, learning letter sounds, basic reading principles) What kinds of activities?

    1. a.

      Can you tell me a little bit more about the most recent time you engaged in one of these reading activities (e.g., reading together, identifying letters, etc)?

    2. b.

      When did this occur? Who else was involved? What had you been doing beforehand?

    3. c.

      How did you decide to do this activity? How long did it last? Was your child interested?

    4. d.

      How often are you able to do stuff like that? Would you say this is typical of how these activities normally go?

    5. e.

      When you’re able to make activities like that happen, what helps you squeeze that in? Other times what gets in the way?

  6. 6.

    Are there any activities happening at home that might help your child learn math? (counting, measurement principles, patterns, spatial reasoning, geometry) What kinds of activities?

    1. a.

      Can you tell me a little bit more about the most recent time you engaged in one of these math activities (e.g., counting, playing a board game, or talking about money)?

    2. b.

      When did this occur? Who else was involved? What had you been doing beforehand?

    3. c.

      How did you decide to do this activity? How long did it last? Was your child interested?

    4. d.

      How often are you able to do stuff like that? Would you say this is typical of how these activities normally go?

    5. e.

      When you’re able to make activities like that happen, what helps you squeeze that in? Other times what gets in the way?

  7. 7.

    Have you thought at all about how different activities might support children’s growing reading and language skills compared to math skills? Thinking about your own practices, do you find you tend to prioritize one type activity over another?

  8. 8.

    My last set of questions is about all of these different types of activities that might help prepare your child for kindergarten.

    1. a.

      What’s your motivation behind engaging in these kinds of activities? Parents have a lot of different reasons for doing what they do, so I just want to hear more about how you’re thinking about these kinds of educational activities.

    2. b.

      How much of your time together do you think you spend in these types of activities? Are you happy with this balance? Are there things that you wish you could do more/less of?

    3. c.

      Can you think of any changes that would make engaging in these types of activities easier? (probe – work schedule, less housework, etc).

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Elliott, L., Bachman, H.J. Mothers’ Strategies to Support Children’s Early Learning in Low-Income Homes: A Qualitative Investigation. J Child Fam Stud 33, 793–804 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02652-7

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