Attitudes of Community Members Toward Preschool Programs Aimee Marquez Modified by Dr. Carol Albrecht

Purpose The purpose of this project is to examine the attitudes of community members towards preschool programs.The purpose of this project is to examine the attitudes of community members towards preschool programs. Please NOTE. This power point has been modified by Dr. Carol Albrecht and should only be used for an example of data presentations.Please NOTE. This power point has been modified by Dr. Carol Albrecht and should only be used for an example of data presentations.

Data Collection Methods The sampling technique used was a convenience sample and therefore can not be generalized to the population.The sampling technique used was a convenience sample and therefore can not be generalized to the population. A survey was constructed and mailed out to community members. The return rate was 10% for a total of 100 surveys.A survey was constructed and mailed out to community members. The return rate was 10% for a total of 100 surveys. The surveys were also self-administered and completely anonymous.The surveys were also self-administered and completely anonymous.

Hypothesis One The respondent’s attitude towards the statement, “Children of low income families deserve free access to preschool programs programs when they are preparing to enter elementary school” is contingent on the gender of the respondent.The respondent’s attitude towards the statement, “Children of low income families deserve free access to preschool programs programs when they are preparing to enter elementary school” is contingent on the gender of the respondent.

Table: Hypothesis One Table 1.1 Cross Tabulations of Gender by Attitudes Towards the Necessity of Special Attention for Low Income Children Special Attention for Low Income Children__________________________________________________________________________ Attitudes Attitudes __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ GenderStrongly Disagree Neither Agree Agree Strongly Total Disagree nor Disagree Agree Disagree nor Disagree Agree__________________________________________________________________________ Male9.09 (3) (4) (15) (8) 9.09 (3) (33) Female0 (0) 7.46 (5) (20) (29) (13) (67) Total 3.00 (3) 9.00 (9) (35) (37) (16) (100) Chi Square * *p <.05 __________________________________________________________________________ Note: Number in parentheses are total number of respondents in each category.

Hypothesis Two The extent to which respondents agree that preschool education is a necessity for low income children is related positively to respondent’s education and the number of hours they work in a preschool facility. Females are more likely than males to feel preschool education is necessary, and as respondents describe their political ideology as more liberal, they are more likely to feel preschool education is necessary.

Table: Hypothesis Two Table 1.2 Regression: Attitudes Towards Preschool Education by Necessity of Special Attention for Low Income Children, Political Ideology, Total Reported Number of Days Worked with Preschool Program Where Only Low Income Children Qualified, and Gender __________________________________________________________________________ Variables with an Impact on the Attitude Towards the Necessity of Preschool Education Variables with an Impact on the Attitude Towards the Necessity of Preschool Education independentstandardized estimateparameter estimate education level 0.31** 0.67** political ideology 0.31** 0.49** total time worked in preschool 0.17* 0.00* gender 0.16* 0.90* intercept F statistic 21.42*** R square 0.45 Adjusted R Square 0.42 __________________________________________________________________________ *p<.05 *p<.05 **p<.01 **p<.01***p<.001

Conclusions Hypothesis One:Hypothesis One: -The chi-square statistic is and is associated with a probability of The probability is less than 0.05 so we can state there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward preschool education and gender.

Conclusions Hypothesis Two:Hypothesis Two: -The F statistic is and the probability associated with it is less than This probabilities associated with each of the independent variables is significant, and we conclude that gender, work experience, education and political ideology are related to attitudes toward preschool programs for low income children.

Future Recommendations Sample those whose children participate in preschool programs.Sample those whose children participate in preschool programs. Compare across different types of preschool programs.Compare across different types of preschool programs. Control for race of respondents.Control for race of respondents.