Development and Test of a Summer Family Involvement Questionnaire

This study reports the development and initial test of the first measure of summer family involvement—the Summer Family Involvement Questionnaire. Items for the questionnaire were developed to reflect each of Epstein’s six types of parental involvement. Data were collected to test the usefulness of the questionnaire from 55 parents at a school-based summer enrichment program for students in the Northeast, U.S. The responses indicated that parents prioritized summer learning and provided a space in the home for children’s summer learning activities. They also suggested that parents focused mainly on their children’s summer reading activities. The findings support the usefulness of the questionnaire as a measure of family engagement during the summer months. Future research will be needed with larger and more diverse samples to permit more rigorous data analyses, including factor analysis to identify subscales and stronger measures of reliability and validity on the importantmeasure of family engagement during the summer months of a school year.