Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education: A Systematic Review of its Measurement

Abstract

Family involvement in early childhood education is a cornerstone of the educational process, significantly influencing children's holistic development and fostering stronger connections within the school community. This systematic review offers a current and comprehensive overview of measurement practices related to family involvement in the educational settings. Following the PRISMA method, the review examined literature sourced from Web of Science and Scopus databases, using search terms related to assessment, involvement, and early childhood education. We included empirical studies that employed quantitative or mixed method designs within school contexts. After removing duplicates and applying rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria, 97 articles were selected for analysis. Findings revealed a marked increase in scholarly attention to this topic from 2010 onward, with a high concentration of publications from the United States. The review identified three main dimensions of family involvement: home-based engagement; school-based engagement; and home–school communication, with home-based involvement emerging as the most extensively examined. These findings underscored the pressing need for standardized approaches to comprehensively evaluate family involvement and to inform the development of more effective educational strategies.