National Profiles of classroom quality and family involvement: A multilevel examination of proximal influences on Head Start children's school readiness

Guided by a developmental and ecological model, the study employed latent profile analysis to identify a multilevel typology of family involvement and Head Start classroom quality. Using the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 1997; N = 1870), six multilevel latent profiles were estimated, characterized by distinct patterns of parent school involvement, parent home involvement, and classroom quality. The most prevalent profile (47.5% of children within the national sample) reflected low levels of parent home and school involvement practices, but above average classroom quality. Significant differences were found among the six profiles on (a) child, family, classroom, and program demographic characteristics, and (b) children's literacy, language, mathematics, and social skills at the end of children's first Head Start year. The strongest positive associations between profile membership and child outcomes were seen for children in profiles characterized by high levels of parent involvement and above-average levels of Head Start classroom quality, although there were several nuanced distinctions that emerged. Children within the profile characterized by low parent involvement and low classroom quality exhibited lower academic and social outcomes relative to children in higher quality profiles. Implications for early childhood practice, policy, and research are discussed.     

Improving preschool classroom processes: Preliminary findings from a randomized trial implemented in Head Start settings

A primary aim of the Chicago School Readiness Project was to improve teachers’ emotionally supportive classroom practices in Head Start-funded preschool settings. Using a clustered randomized controlled trial (RCT) design, the Chicago School Readiness Project randomly assigned a treatment versus control condition to 18 Head Start sites, which included 35 classrooms led by 94 teachers who served 602 children. Teachers in the treatment condition were invited to participate in behavior management training and their classrooms were visited weekly by mental health consultants who “coached” teachers as they implemented behavior management strategies. Estimation of hierarchical linear models revealed that the multi-component intervention provided statistically significant benefits: Head Start classrooms randomized to the treatment condition were found to have statistically significantly higher levels of positive classroom climate, teacher sensitivity, and behavior management than were classrooms in the control condition (with effect sizes ranging from d = 0.52 to 0.89). Discussion of these findings reflects on policy implications and future research.     

Ecological contexts and early learning: Contributions of child,family, and classroom factors during Head Start,to literacy and mathematics growth through first grade

The current study investigated the extent to which child, family, and classroom factors during Head Start are related to children's literacy and mathematics skills at the beginning of preschool and through first grade. Children and families (n = 945) were participating in the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), a large-scale data collection effort that assessed children's developing skills as well as their family and classroom environments. Longitudinal growth models revealed that Head Start children began their academic careers well below their more advantaged peers in literacy and mathematics, although by the end of first grade, their scores were nearly on par with national averages. Demographic characteristics of children, as well as their early language and social skills, were the strongest predictors of children's initial status and growth in both early academic domains. Results highlight key foundations and specific promotive factors of early school success for the nation's most disadvantaged children.     

Associations between classroom quality and children's vocabulary and executive function skills in an urban public prekindergarten program

Despite evidence that high-quality preschool programs have substantial, long-lasting impacts on young children's developmental outcomes, associations between preschool quality measures and children's cognitive outcomes within preschool programs are generally small or null. Using data from a large urban prekindergarten program, we examined associations between children's receptive vocabulary and executive function skills and several indicators of classroom quality. Ours is the first such study within a program that has been shown to have small-to-large causal impacts on children's language, literacy, mathematics, executive function, and emotional development outcomes. Consistent with prior literature, we found small or null associations between quality predictors and children's outcomes and we found that some of these relationships were curvilinear. Findings are discussed in light of several hypotheses in the literature regarding the general pattern of small or null associations, including the psychometrics of commonly used quality measures and possible range restriction of quality indicators.     

Profiles of school readiness among four-year-old Head Start children

This study uses the Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) data from 1997 to investigate the degree to which child, family, classroom, teacher, and Head Start program characteristics are related to children's school readiness and continued development over the four-year-old Head Start year. Latent class analyses were used to examine the constellation of school readiness competencies within individual Head Start children in both the fall and spring of the four-year-old Head Start year. Multinomial regression analyses examined patterns of association between demographic and program characteristics and profile membership over time. Four distinct developmental profiles were found in the sample in the fall, and three were found in the spring. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of Head Start children (43%) moved from a developmental profile including some risk to a strengths profile between the fall and spring of the Head Start year. Child age, family structure, parental educational attainment, classroom quality and teacher's level of educational attainment emerged as important factors associated with stability and change in profile membership over the four-year-old Head Start year, but receipt of social services through Head Start was not associated with stability or change in profile membership.     

Understanding Head Start children's problem behaviors in the context of arrest or incarceration of household members

Using data from the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), the relationships between living in a household where a household member had been arrested or incarcerated and conduct problems of preschool children enrolled in Head Start were examined. Children who lived in such households showed more aggressive, hyperactive, and withdrawn behaviors than children who lived in households with no such exposure. These associations remained statistically significant after controlling for other family background characteristics. Parental involvement in Head Start, less use of spanking, and more time spent by the child in Head Start were associated with less problem behaviors.     

Head Start and children's nutrition,weight, and health care receipt

Using a sample of low-income children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N ≈ 4350) and propensity-score weighted regressions, we analyzed children's nutrition, weight, and health care receipt at kindergarten entry, comparing (1) Head Start participants and all non-participants, and (2) Head Start participants and children in prekindergarten, other center-based care, other non-parental care, or only parental care. Overall, we found that compared to all non-participants, Head Start participants were more likely to receive dental checkups but showed no differences in getting medical checkups; they were also more likely to have healthy eating patterns but showed no differences in Body Mass Index (BMI), overweight, or obesity. However, these results varied depending on the comparison group—Head Start participants showed lower BMI scores and lower probability of overweight compared to those in other non-parental care, and the effects on healthy eating and dental checkups differed by comparison group.     

Relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy,classroom quality,and children's language and literacy gains

This study examined the relations among preschool teachers' self-efficacy (n = 67), classroom quality (instructional and emotional support), and children's (n = 328) gains in print awareness and vocabulary knowledge over an academic year in the US. Results indicated that teachers' self-efficacy and classroom quality served as significant and positive predictors of children's gains in print awareness but not vocabulary knowledge. However, results also showed a significant interaction among teachers' self-efficacy, classroom quality, and vocabulary gains: for children of teachers with higher levels of self-efficacy, higher levels of classroom quality (emotional support) were associated with higher vocabulary gains.     

美国“智力启动”计划与早期儿童教育中的“家长参与”

美国20世纪60年代的“伟大社会”改革推出了诸多计划,但一直运转良好和不断扩大的项目则不多,而“智力启动”计划是幸存计划之一。家长参与的特征使“智力启动”计划伴随着巨大政治压力的同时,也成为该计划幸存的关键因素。     

Raising teacher education levels in Head Start: Exploring programmatic changes between 1999 and 2011

Between 1999 and 2011, the percentage of Head Start teachers nationwide with an Associate's Degree or higher more than doubled from 38 to 85%. Over the same period, the percentage of teachers with a BA also rose rapidly from 23 to 52%. This paper uses within-program fixed-effects models and a 13-year panel of administrative data on all Head Start programs in the United States to explore whether programs that experienced increases in teacher education experienced changes with respect to comprehensive service provision, staffing choices and the racial composition of the staff. I find no evidence that programs that raised their teachers’ education levels sacrificed health or social services. However, programs with gains in teacher education did see some increases in child–teacher ratios, turnover, and racial divergence between children and staff, which may be associated negatively with young children's development.     

Development in early literacy skills during the pre-kindergarten year in Head Start: Relations between growth in children's writing and understanding of letters

Children's literacy skills are an important predictor of success in the early elementary grades. Education programs for at-risk preschool students target children's acquisition of specific literacy skills, including knowledge of letters of the alphabet, in preparing children for early school success. Writing has been proposed as a complementary approach to other instructional strategies for teaching young children about letters. This study examines relations among preschool children's early writing competence, knowledge of letter names, sensitivity to initial sounds in words and understanding of print concepts in a sample of low-income children enrolled in Head Start. Data were collected from the beginning to the end of the school year, which offered the opportunity to examine concurrent development of these early literacy skills. Results revealed that children whose writing was more sophisticated knew the names of more letters, understood more about print concepts and were more sensitive to initial sounds of words. There was evidence of bidirectional influences of writing on growth in letter knowledge, and of letter knowledge on growth in writing competence.     

Supporting optimal child development through Early Head Start and Head Start programs: Reflections on secondary data analyses of FACES and EHSREP

We are delighted to reflect on the 10 papers highlighted in this important special issue of Early Childhood Research Quarterly devoted to recent secondary data analyses of the FACES and EHSREP datasets. First, we provide some background on Head Start research and give an overview of the large-scale Head Start and Early Head Start datasets that are available for researchers to analyze. Then, we comment on the papers in this special issue from a methodological and statistical standpoint. Finally, we reflect on themes that stood out across the various papers. Throughout, we make recommendations for future large-scale data collection efforts and future research on Head Start and Early Head Start programs.     

Parenting quality: Confirmation of a higher-order latent construct with mothers of Head Start children

We proposed a higher order latent construct of parenting young children, parenting quality. This higher-order latent construct comprises five component constructs: demographic protection, psychological distress, psychosocial maturity, moral and cognitive reflectivity, and parenting attitudes and beliefs. We evaluated this model with data provided by 199 mothers of 4-year-old children enrolled in Head Start. The model was confirmed with only one adjustment suggested by modification indices. Final RMSEA was .05, CFI .96, and NNFI .94, indicating good model fit. Results were interpreted as emphasizing the interdependence of psychological and environmental demands on parenting. Implications of the model for teachers, early interventionists, and public policy are discussed.     

Playing with others: Head Start children's peer play and relations with kindergarten school competence

Time-sampled observations of Head Start preschoolers’ (N = 264; 51.5% boys; 76% Mexican American; M = 53.11 and SD = 6.15 months of age) peer play in the classroom were gathered during fall and spring semesters. One year later, kindergarten teachers rated these children's school competence. Latent growth models indicated that, on average, children's peer play was moderately frequent and increased over time during preschool. Children with higher initial levels or with higher slopes of peer play in Head Start had higher levels of kindergarten school competence. Results suggest that Head Start children's engagement with peers may foster development of skills that help their transition into formal schooling. These findings highlight the importance of peer play, and suggest that peer play in Head Start classrooms contributes to children's adaptation to the demands of formal schooling.     

Classroom age composition and rates of change in school readiness for children enrolled in Head Start

Despite policy and theoretical support for mixed-age classrooms in early childhood, research examining associations between age-mixing and children's outcomes is inconclusive and warrants further investigation, particularly in preschools serving children who are at risk for poor adjustment to formal schooling. One recent study conducted in preschool classrooms serving low-income children found negative associations between age-mixing and children's social and cognitive development. The current study extended this research by examining associations between classroom age composition (variability in ages of children in the classroom) and low-income preschool children's rates of change in school readiness. The sample consisted of 4417 preschool children enrolled in 207 classrooms in a large, diverse urban Head Start program. Multilevel modeling was employed to examine the main effect of classroom age composition, as well as the interaction between classroom age composition and children's age, as predictors of children's rates of change in emergent literacy, emergent numeracy, social and emotional skills, and approaches to learning. In contrast to previous research, classroom age composition was not associated with school readiness outcomes. This study contributes to the conflicting literature examining the associations between age mixing and children's school readiness and calls for a future research agenda to examine age mixing in context that is focused on sorting out these conflicting results. In the meantime, policymakers should consider other relevant factors when making decisions regarding mixed-age classrooms, such as family preference or the capability for teachers to individualize instruction to children based on their individual needs.     

Family income, parent education, and perceived constraints as predictors of observed program quality and parent rated program quality

Observed child care quality and parent perceptions of child care quality received by children in poor (below Federal Poverty Line, FPL), low-income (between FPL and 200% of FPL), and non-low-income families were examined. Observations were completed in 359 center- and home-based child care programs in four Midwestern states and surveys were received from 1313 parents whose children were enrolled in these programs. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that programs with higher proportions of low-income families tend to have lower observed quality than programs with a higher proportion of non-low-income families. Programs with more educated parents tended to have better observed quality, however, more educated parents tended to have lower perceptions of quality.     

Ready or not: Associations between participation in subsidized child care arrangements,pre-kindergarten,and Head Start and children's school readiness

Research has found disparities in young children's development across income groups. A positive association between high-quality early care and education and the school readiness of children in low-income families has also been demonstrated. This study uses linked administrative data from Maryland to examine the variations in school readiness associated with different types of subsidized child care, and with dual enrollment in subsidized child care and state pre-kindergarten or Head Start. Using multivariate methods, we analyze linked subsidy administrative data and portfolio-based kindergarten school readiness assessment data to estimate the probability of children's school readiness in three domains: personal and social development, language and literacy, and mathematical thinking. Compared to children in subsidized family child care or informal care, those in subsidized center care are more likely to be rated as fully ready to learn on the two pre-academic domains. Regardless of type of subsidized care used, enrollment in pre-kindergarten, but not Head Start, during the year prior to kindergarten is strongly associated with being academically ready for kindergarten. No statistically significant associations are found between type of subsidized care, pre-kindergarten enrollment, or Head Start and assessments of children's personal/social development.     

Parent involvement in Head Start programs: the role of parent,teacher and classroom characteristics

The purposes of this study were to determine the extent and types of parent involvement in Head Start programs, and to examine the relations between parent participation and family, teacher and classroom characteristics. Parents (n = 1131) and teachers (n = 59) from four Head Start programs participated. Data were gathered through volunteer logs, parent interviews, teacher questionnaires, and classroom observations. The most frequent type of parent involvement activity was helping out in the classroom, followed by attendance at parent meetings. This pattern was consistent across the year (fall or spring), and across total amount of participation (i.e. parents participating one, two, three or more times in the year). Parent employment was the strongest predictor of parent involvement compared to other parent characteristics. Among teacher and classroom characteristics, classroom quality was the strongest predictor of parent involvement. Also, teachers with more years of experience in Head Start had more total hours of volunteering in their classrooms and had volunteers returning more times. Teachers’ reports of the involvement of parents in their classrooms were moderately correlated with volunteer logs, while parent self-reports of their involvement were only modestly correlated with volunteer logs, indicating that teachers may be more accurate than parents when reporting parent involvement activities.     

A multilevel model of child- and classroom-level psychosocial factors that support language and literacy resilience of children in Head Start

Early exposure to the multiple risk factors associated with poverty is related to an elevated risk for academic difficulty. Therefore, it is important to promote academic resilience as early as possible and to identify factors that support resilience. Given the positive relation between early language skills and later academic outcomes, examining resilience in the domain of language and literacy is critical. Both exposure to a high-quality classroom environment and early child psychosocial strengths may serve as protective or promotive factors for low-income children, reducing the risk of poor language and literacy outcomes. Using a sample of 275 preschoolers from 29 Head Start classrooms, the current study examined the relations among teacher-reported child-level psychosocial strengths, observed classroom process quality, and growth in language and literacy. Furthermore, whether child and classroom factors had an additive or an interactive effect on outcomes was also investigated. Results indicated that child-level psychosocial strengths predicted initial levels of language and literacy, and classroom organization predicted growth. Results are discussed in terms of understanding how malleable child- and classroom-level factors are associated with language and literacy outcomes and emphasize the importance of intervening early on in young children's learning trajectories.