Parent Engagement with an Online, School-Based, Character Strengths Promotion Program

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Child Development
• Family Engagement

Background:

• Schools increasingly focus on character strengths for student success and well-being.
• Involving caregivers in character education can enhance school-based initiatives.
• Online platforms offer potential for accessible family engagement, but require optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an online character strengths program for parents of kindergarten students.
• To identify factors influencing parent access and engagement with online character education resources.
• To understand parental preferences for content related to child character development.

Main Methods:

• A brief online character strengths program was created for parents.
• Content analysis of parent focus groups (N=14) examined access and engagement factors.
• Content analysis of caregiver responses (N=54) to reflection questions assessed content preferences.
• Exploratory statistics identified engagement patterns across socio-demographic groups.

Main Results:

• Positive engagement factors included visuals, intuitive navigation, strength-based content, and school recruitment.
• Parents preferred applicable content, especially strategies for noticing and developing character strengths in children.
• Single parents, fathers, and parents of racial minority children showed lower engagement, indicating potential barriers.

Conclusions:

• Online resources can be designed to improve parent involvement in school character programs.
• Specific design elements and content strategies are crucial for maximizing parent engagement.
• Further research is needed to address the needs and barriers of diverse families in character education initiatives.