Head start teachers act their way into new ways of thinking: Science and engineering practices in preschool classrooms

How teachers\u27 changes in their science teaching practices unfold over time remains unclear. We need greater understanding of the processes at work in professional development (PD) and how to sustain those processes that are effective over time. Effective PD processes are seen as those that recognize teacher change is multidimensional—taking an integrated view of the affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of teacher change. In this article, we report on what we learned about the teacher change process during a 2-year preschool PD intervention effort with Head Start teachers that was focused on a science, technology, and engineering curriculum. The present study sought to further address gaps in our understanding of teacher change, by examining in more detail the multidimensional relations among Head Start teachers\u27 beliefs and attitudes toward science teaching and learning (representing the cognitive domain of change) and their science and engineering practices (representing the behavioral domain). Forty-eight teachers (n = 30 Intervention, n = 18 Control) from a large urban Head Start program in the northeastern US participated in this study. Results revealed that teachers\u27 initial attitudes and beliefs had little effect on their science and engineering practices, whereas their science and engineering practices throughout the time of the project had a significant effect on their later attitudes and beliefs. In addition, teachers\u27 science and engineering teaching practices were related to their ratings of children\u27s overall engagement, though their attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching science were not

National Profiles Of School Readiness Skills For Head Start Children: An Investigation Of Stability And Change

Among a nationally representative sample of 2336 Head Start children, patterns of school readiness were compared at the beginning and end of children\u27s first preschool year, and predictors of stability and change across readiness profiles were examined. The present study documented that although the majority of children remain in a qualitatively similar school readiness profile across their first year in Head Start, 20% of children move to a qualitatively different profile over the school year, reflecting both improvements and declines in functioning. Child and family attributes (e.g., child age, ELL status, maternal education, and family structure), as well as contextual factors (e.g., teacher education and experience, parenting style, and parent involvement) were significant predictors of both profile stability and change. Given that we have little understanding about what factors practice or policy can manipulate to improve school readiness, these findings shed light on what we might do to promote school readiness and prevent declines in functioning over time. Thus, findings from this study provide a population- and pattern-based perspective of Head Start children\u27s strengths and needs, relevant for informing both individual and systems level change in Head Start programs across the nation. © 2011 Elsevier Inc

The pursuit of wellness for victims of child maltreatment: A model for targeting relevant competencies, contexts, and contributors

Child maltreatment is a national social problem that disproportionately threatens the development of our most vulnerable groups of children. The challenge of responding to the needs of these vulnerable young children is particularly daunting for mental health scientist-practitioners. Recently, the U.S. surgeon general (USDHHS, 1999) called attention to the significant disconnect between service providers and mental health scientists in addressing the needs of vulnerable children. He issued three major mandates to address these problems: (a) reduce stigma and increase sensitivity at points of entry and assessment, (b) expand supply and cultivate natural resources, and (c) establish real connections among disciplines and between research and practice (USDHHS, 1999). These comprehensive mandates create a common purpose to advance inquiry and intervention efforts; they also represent an incredibly tall order for mental health scientist-practitioners. The mandates are necessary to focus psychologists' attention, but they are insufficient to produce significant results. What scientist-practitioners need are heuristic models to guide the design of culturally responsive and ecologically valid assessment and intervention methods for the most vulnerable groups of young children. The purpose of this chapter is to present a model that is both responsive to the mandates and capable of producing effective methods. The value and utility of this model is illustrated by a sequence of research studies that were designed as applications of the model to address the needs of victims of child maltreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Patterns Of School Readiness Among Head Start Children: Meaningful Within-Group Variability During The Transition To Kindergarten

This study is a population-based investigation of children\u27s school readiness with a national sample of low-income children, utilizing data from the Family and Children\u27s Experiences Survey (FACES; 2000-2003). Guided by a developmental ecological framework, we posed 3 research questions: (a) How do children\u27s early school readiness skills in the social and cognitive domains overlap (as they enter preschool)? (b) Do these configurations of school readiness skills meaningfully predict children\u27s school adjustment by the end of kindergarten? (c) In addition to the patterns of children\u27s school readiness identified at the beginning of their first Head Start year, do relevant family and classroom context factors help to predict and/or moderate end-of-kindergarten outcomes? Results revealed 5 distinct patterns of school readiness for this national sample of low-income children. These profiles related in meaningful ways to end-of-kindergarten outcomes, such that children in more competent preschool profiles did better over time. Moreover, these patterns of school readiness identified at the beginning of the Head Start year were the most consistent predictors of end-of-kindergarten performance, controlling for demographic and context factors. However, results revealed that proximal contextual influences in the family (i.e., maternal education and parenting style) and classroom (i.e., teacher experience, teacher education, and adult-child ratio) further predicted end of kindergarten performance across preacademic and social domains. Findings illuminated significant within-group patterns and variability among an at-risk population, relevant for informing early childhood education and early intervention. © 2012 American Psychological Association

A Model of Co-Construction for Curriculum and Professional Development in Head Start: The Readiness Through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE) Approach

Background/Context: In the context of increasing accountability mandates in the preK-12 education system, the importance of professional development (PD) supports for early childhood educators is recognized. Education leaders emphasize the importance of partnering with teachers to inform the development of effective PD approaches. This partnering process is often referred to as co-construction. Co-construction with teachers is thought to be an essential element for ensuring that the learnings gained from any PD program are maintained once intensive supports are removed. However, guidance is scant concerning specific aspects of effective co-construction. Purpose of Study: In this article, we document the process of co-construction within the Readiness through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE) curriculum and PD approach. In so doing, we hope to illuminate processes potentially at work within the "black box" of PD. Setting/Participants: The RISE project was implemented at two Head Start program sites that served a high proportion of dual language learning children and immigrant families in a large city in the northeastern United States. Participants were teachers and parent volunteers from these two programs. Research Design: Using grounded theory methods, qualitative data on implementation across key RISE contexts were analyzed. Data collected across three years included digital audio- and video-recorded interactions among participants, written documentation of meeting agendas, planning notes, and meeting notes. Results: Analyses resulted in the articulation of a three-step process: (1) setting the conditions for co-construction (establishing mutual respect and trust among partners, leveling roles and authority, and validating/naming partners' expertise); (2) establishing joint activities as the core process (setting shared goals and agenda, building relationships, and validating coconstructed products); and (3) observing outcomes of co-construction (shifts in attitudes and interactional roles, appropriation of RISE concepts, and integration of RISE components). Conclusions/Recommendations: The RISE model of co-construction comports with what others in the field have proposed about the importance of teacher input into their own professional learning, adding further dimensionality through systematic documentation and grounded theory analysis. We discuss how the RISE co-construction approach is similar to and distinct from other such efforts in the field of early childhood education, and we suggest future directions for research to document and test effective PD processes

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.10.002

a b s t r a c t Among a nationally representative sample of 2336 Head Start children, patterns of school readiness were compared at the beginning and end of children's first preschool year, and predictors of stability and change across readiness profiles were examined. The present study documented that although the majority of children remain in a qualitatively similar school readiness profile across their first year in Head Start, 20% of children move to a qualitatively different profile over the school year, reflecting both improvements and declines in functioning. Child and family attributes (e.g., child age, ELL status, maternal education, and family structure), as well as contextual factors (e.g., teacher education and experience, parenting style, and parent involvement) were significant predictors of both profile stability and change. Given that we have little understanding about what factors practice or policy can manipulate to improve school readiness, these findings shed light on what we might do to promote school readiness and prevent declines in functioning over time. Thus, findings from this study provide a population-and pattern-based perspective of Head Start children's strengths and needs, relevant for informing both individual and systems level change in Head Start programs across the nation

Engagement in the preschool classroom: Brief measures for use with children from ethno-racially diverse and low-income backgrounds

•Two new measures of children's engagement were developed and tested for use in preschool classrooms– a teacher rating scale and an independent observation instrument.•Findings revealed initial construct validity evidence for the two measures, which were found to be reliable and to relate modestly with one another as well as to an external criterion measure of children's science knowledge.•Findings also revealed significant relations between preschool children's engagement and child and family demographic characteristics, perhaps attributable to the unique context of Head Start. For example, teachers rated children whose home language was not English as higher in engagement compared with children whose home language was English. Children's behavioral engagement in preschool is a strong predictor of their academic achievement both concurrently and into the later school years across socioeconomic and ethnic groups (Chien et al., 2010; Fuhs et al., 2013; Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Kim & Suarez-Orozco, 2015; Ladd & Dinella, 2009). The present measurement development study was conducted within the context of a larger intervention research program in partnership with an urban Head Start program in the northeastern United States. Forty-one teachers and 456 children participated. Two new measures were developed and tested for use in preschool classrooms– a teacher rating scale and an independent observation instrument. Although many of the assessments that result from commonly employed systematic observation methods provide a detailed and nuanced description of children's engagement in the classroom, they often require intensive training and are costly to implement. The present study sought to provide the early childhood education field with two brief and more cost-effective measures. Findings revealed initial construct validity evidence for the two measures, which were found to be reliable and to relate modestly with one another as well as to an external criterion measure of children's science knowledge, which was the focus of the larger intervention. Findings also revealed significant relations between children's engagement and child and family demographic characteristics, perhaps attributable to the unique context of Head Start