The Lived Experiences of Low-Income, African American Families Who Did Not Send Their Child to Preschool

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of low-income, African American families who did not send their child to preschool and to identify barriers that may have prevented their participation.

Conceptual Framework. The conceptual framework for this phenomenological study was based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory.

Methodology. A phenomenological research design was used to understand the lived experiences of low-income, African American families who did not send their child to preschool. The researcher interviewed a purposeful sampling of seven (N = 7) low-income, African American families with a child in sixth, seventh, or eighth grade in a school district in the Coachella Valley. The researcher followed Creswell and Poth’s (2018) steps for phenomenological analysis of the data: epoche, significant statements, meaning units, textural description, and structural description. The researcher used the criteria from Lincoln and Guba (1986) to establish validity and reliability: credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability.

Findings and Conclusions. The review of transcripts led to significant statements by the participants that were coded into seven meaning units. From these meaning units, three key themes were revealed and supported by the literature and the data collected: navigating the unknown, educational impact, and parental hurdles.

Recommendations. The short-term and long-term benefits of preschool have been shown in the literature, but low-income, African American families are not accessing preschool as other demographics do. Future research should include a larger sampling and encompass a larger geographical area. A longitudinal study could be conducted with the families from this study to see future outcomes of the children.