Project P.E.A.R.L.S. | Ensuring eXperiences for Children's Early Learning Success (ExCELS) Lab

Parents Enhancing Academic Readiness through Lessons about Strengths

With Dr. Jacqueline S. Mattis (formerly, University of Michigan; currently, Rutgers University – Newark) and Dr. Linnie Green (New York University)

This project explores what Black (African American, Afri-Caribbean, and African immigrant) parents in New York City Head Start programs determined to be supportive parenting. Specifically, we wanted to learn about parents’ beliefs, values, goals, and practices with respect to their preschool aged children. We set out to learn from parents (through parent conversation groups, individual interviews, and videotaped observations of parent-child interactions) about their conceptualizations of positive parenting. The ultimate goal was to develop new tools to assess parenting that are strengths-based and grounded in the beliefs and values of parents’ ethnocultural communities. As we learn more about positive parenting across communities, we learn more about how we can influence positive outcomes for children, like school readiness. This project was originally funded by the National Institutes of Health.

For more information on this line of research, please read:
*Indicates student co-author

McWayne, C., *Owsianik, M., *Green, L., & Fantuzzo, J. (2008). Parenting behaviors and preschool children’s social and emotional skills: A question of the consequential validity of traditional parenting constructs for low-income African Americans. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 173-192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.01.001

McWayne, C. M., Mattis, J, S., *Wright Green, L., & *Limlingan, M. C., & *Harris. E. (2016). An emic, mixed-methods approach to defining and measuring positive parenting among low-income Black families. Early Education and Development, 28, 182-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1208601

McWayne, C.M., Mattis, J., & *Hyun, S. (2018). Profiles of culturally salient positive parenting practices among urban-residing, Black Head Start families. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 24 (3), 414-428. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000164

Mattis, J., McWayne, C. M., *Palmer, G. J. M., *Sparks, H., & Johnson, M.(2020). Color him father: Generative parenting among low-income, urban-residing, co-residential Black fathers. Psychology of Men & Masculinities. https://doi.org/10.1037/men0000300

McWayne, C. M., Mattis, J., & *Li, L. W. (2020). Parenting together: Understanding the shared context of positive parenting among low-income Black families. Journal of Black Psychology, 46, 312-339. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798420931653

Selected Presentations:
*Indicates student co-presenter

McWayne, C. M., Mattis, J. S., Wright, L. G., *Watson, C., *Rogers, O., *Bayer, B., *Kull, M., Knight, K., Ricks, I., & *Samuel, S. (2010, June). Creating parent-derived, strengths-based observational and paper-pencil measures for Black Head Start parents: Preliminary findings. Poster presentation at Head Start’s Tenth National Research Conference: Research on Young Children and Families: Launching the Next Decade for Policy and Practice. Washington, DC.

Mattis, J., McWayne, C., Wright, L.G, *Limlingan, M. & *Harris, E. (2013, April). Developing a Culturally Relevant Measure of Parenting among Black Head Start Families: A Mixed –Methods Emic Approach. Paper presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development Conference, Seattle, WA.

Mattis, J. S., McWayne, C. M., Green Wright, L. E., & *Harris, E. M. (2013, April). A Parent-Derived Observational Measure of Parenting Competence: A Focus on Low-Income, Urban-Residing African American Parents. Poster presentation at the Society for Research in Child Development. Seattle, WA.

Green Wright, L., McWayne, C. M., & Mattis, J. S. (2013, January). Validation of the Family Support Scale with Black Head Start families: Parent ethnicity matters. Paper presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.

*Li, L., McWayne, C., & Mattis, J. (2018, April). Determinants of positive parenting in a shared family context. Paper presentation, as part of the Family matters: Parental involvement in education networking and decision making roundtable session (Chair: Brown, A. F.), at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New York, NY.

*Li, L., McWayne, C., & Mattis, J. (2018, June). Examining determinants of positive parenting in a shared family context among Black caregivers of Head Start children. Poster presentation at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) National Research Conference on Early Childhood, Arlington, VA.

Mattis, J., McWayne, C., Johnson, M., *Palmer, G., & *Sparks, H. (2018, July). Perspectives on generative parenting from low-income, urban residing Black fathers. Poster presentation at the American Psychological Association Biennial Meeting. San Francisco, CA.