Promoting caregiver involvement at the public library: An evaluation of a math and science storytime program for young children

Abstract

IntroductionPublic libraries are asset institutions that provide important spaces for families to engage in meaningful, authentic STEM learning. However, limited budgets and a model centered on open-access and broad inclusion makes conducting rigorous evaluations in these spaces, such as randomized control trials, challenging. There is a need to consider evaluation designs that consider both rigor and feasibility. The aims of the present study were to: (1) describe an innovative interactive parent–child interactive storytime program, Fun with Math and Science (FMS); and (2) conduct a preliminary evaluation of FMS in a large, urban public library setting, using a quasi-experimental static group comparison design.Methods and ResultsPost-test scores for caregivers who completed the program in the fall or winter (n = 80) were compared to pre-test scores for caregivers who completed the program the following spring (n = 35); Fall/winter caregivers scored higher on program items related to concrete behaviors to support math and science learning, but significant differences were not found on items related to caregiving beliefs or general caregiving practices. Demographic differences were also found related to program outcomes.DiscussionResults are discussed both in terms of implications for the development and implementation of caregiver-child interactive programming, as well as the use of innovative analytic approaches to program evaluation in community settings.

Evaluation of a community-based, hybrid STEM family engagement program at pre-kindergarten entry

“…Various organizations such as schools, museums, and libraries offer community events to engage young children in STEM and support their caregivers' behaviors and positive beliefs about supporting early STEM skills (e.g., Marti et al, 2018;Gaias et al, 2022). To broaden access to audiences unlikely to visit museum galleries, many museum-based informal STEM educators (ISEs) offer outreach events that bring museum-type experiences to community locations that may be less intimidating or more conveniently located in places where families already spend time (Farrell and Medvedeva, 2010;McWayne et al, 2022).…”

“…Similar early STEM programs also serve families with strengthsbased approaches that feature highly engaging science, math, and engineering. For example, a library-based program called Fun with Math and Science (FSM; see Gaias et al, 2022) includes a series of six 45-min family sessions that introduce parents of preschool children to strategies they can use to support their young children's early science and math skills using an interactive read-aloud approach in which ISEs at libraries model the strategy and offer activities for families to practice doing STEM. A pretest-posttest design study found that FSM parents reported increases in one proximal measure 10.3389/feduc.2024.1281161 Frontiers in Education 03 frontiersin.org of using taught behaviors such as asking more "why" questions; however, they did find significant changes in other outcomes of parents' self-efficacy and general parenting style (Gaias et al, 2022).…”

“…A pretest-posttest design study found that HSE parents reported engaging their children in more frequent engineering activities and improved comfort in supporting their young child to problem-solve or do other engineering practices (Pattison et al, 2018). These two studies of similar informal STEM programs did not directly measure any child outcomes or use random assignment designs that evaluate causal impacts (Pattison et al, 2018;Gaias et al, 2022). A review of more diverse early informal STEM programs concluded that too little informal STEM research has supported linguistically diverse families and that studies using rigorous, experimental designs mostly occurred in museum settings or with children older than preschool (Alexandre et al, 2022).…”

“…This checklist outlines approaches that may improve family attendance, along with all other steps needed to host a successful virtual or in-person funshop event. Future research could explore if attendance differs when pre-k family STEM events are hosted at schools (like the setting of this study) or other community sites such as libraries where we have successfully delivered this program in the past (Garibay, 2007) and other STEM programs (e.g., Gaias et al, 2022) because elementary school settings with older students are not always welcoming sites for families from historically minoritized populations (Leyva et al, 2022;McWayne et al, 2022). Similarly, future implementation studies could randomly assign families to virtual, in-person, or hybrid treatment modalities as well as a control group to understand the causal impacts of each delivery method and compare the magnitude of differences for different treatment methods.…”