Building a National Network of Museums and Libraries for School Readiness Project (SRP)

Focus Group Protocol

Part 1. Introductions

1. Let’s begin our conversation with introductions. Please share your name, how old your child or children are, and your favorite thing about [ORG NAME].

Part 2. Participation Habits

INTERVIEWER: It’s great to meet you all. The first few questions are about how you participate in the [ORG NAME] community.

2. There are multiple ways to be part of the [ORG NAME] community. First, you may participate in programs at [ORG NAME] such as [examples of programs at organization]. How many of you participate in programs at [ORG NAME]?

• What programs do you participate in?

• About how often do you participate in these programs, for example, every month, a few times a year, less than once a year…?

3. Another way to be part of the [ORG NAME] community is to visit the museum to

[list examples of what families may do when visiting the organization, such as ‘see exhibits’ or ‘borrow books’]. How many of you visit the museum to do things such as [repeat examples]?

• What do you do when you visit [ORG NAME]?

• About how often do you visit the museum for this purpose, for example, every week, a few times a year…?

4. What other programs/libraries/museums do you visit and/or participate in? What do you do at these programs/libraries/museums?

5. What, if anything, makes it difficult to participate in these programs at [ORG NAME] (e.g., transportation, work schedule)? What might make it less difficult?

Part 3. Reaching Families

INTERVIEWER: My next two questions are about how you learned about [ORG NAME] and how [ORG NAME] can reach other families in the community.

6. How did you learn about [ORG NAME] (e.g., maybe you learned about from a friend or read about it in a church bulletin)?

7. One goal of this project is to increase the number of families from this community who visit [ORG NAME] and/or participate in activities at [ORG NAME]. What recommendations do you have for advertising to new families?

Part 4. Participant Goals

INTERVIEWER: The next few questions are about what you and your child/children have learned through visiting and/or participating in programs at [ORG NAME].

8. Did you have specific goals for visiting and/or participating in the programs at [ORG NAME] (e.g., give your child opportunities to read or to learn about science)? If yes, what were your goals?

9. Did visiting and/or participating in programs at [ORG NAME] meet your goals? Why or why not?

10. What could [ORG NAME] do to better meet your goals?

11. What have you learned from visiting or participating in programs at [ORG NAME]?

    • What did [ORG NAME] do to help you learn (e.g., videos, hands-on activities?)

12. What do you think your child/children have learned from visiting and/or participating in programs at [ORG NAME]? Please explain.

13. One goal of this project is to support children’s school readiness. There are many components of school readiness. There are academic skills such as literacy, math, and science. In what ways did visiting and/or participating in programs at [ORG NAME] support your child/children’s academic skills? Please explain.

14. School readiness also includes skills that are not necessarily related to a specific subject area. These are sometimes called “soft skills” and include things such as controlling emotions and behavior, positive relationships with other children, and self-confidence. In what ways did visiting and/or participating in programs at [ORG NAME] support the development of these type of school readiness in your child? Please explain.

Possible probes:

• Supporting children in controlling their emotions and behavior?

• Supporting children’s ability to focus and pay attention

• Increasing children’s ability to persist/complete a task

• Nurture children’s curiosity and creativity

• Promote positive relationships between your child and you and other adults

• Promote positive relationships with other children

• Increase children’s ability to empathize

• Increase children’s confidence in themselves

Part 5. Wrap Up

INTERVIEWER: Thank you so much for participating in today’s conversation.

15. Is there anything else you would like to share about your experiences?