Validation of the Spanish Form of a Multidimensional Assessment of Family Engagement for Early Childhood Programs

The purpose of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the Family Involvement Questionnaire-Short Form (FIQ-SF) for use with Spanish-speaking families of children enrolled in early childhood education programs. This study examined the factor structure of the FIQ-SF and established criterion validity for the resulting FIQ-SF dimension scores. Results from exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses replicated the three dimensions of the English FIQ: Home Engagement, School Engagement, and home-school Conferencing. Mean differences across family demographics were examined. Criterion-related validity for the three FIQ-SF dimensions was established by examining correlations with scores on measures of parent-reported satisfaction with educational experiences, program records of family engagement, direct assessments of child language skills and teacher-reported approaches to learning. Future directions and practice implications for the use of the Spanish FIQ-SF to inform program policy and interventions are discussed.