In what ways does the Head Start program asses and measure
goals for children’s future education?
Bierman, Karen L., et al. "Helping Head Start Parents
Promote Their Children's Kindergarten Adjustment: The Research‐Based
Developmentally Informed Parent Program." Child Development 86.6 (2015):
1877-1891. PsycINFO. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
Parental involvement is important
in a child’s education. The Head Start program is designed to prepare children
for learning by providing concrete opportunities. These opportunities are
strategically developed according to research based developmental domains.
Children’s success is measured by observations and assessments according to
goals set by teachers and parents. This article brought to my attention the way
that parental encouragement extends the impacts of Head Start on children’s
learning. The research data provides plans of analysis and children’s
individual outcomes. Each of these apply to my research in the way that the
data was collected and the children’s outcomes were measured.
Coley, R. L., Votruba-Drzal, E., Collins, M., & Cook, K.
D. (2016). Comparing public, private, and informal preschool programs in a
national sample of low-income children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly,
3691-105. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.11.002
This article discusses the impacts
early education and care programs have on school readiness. The research
reports on multiple programs such as private child care, Head Start and public
centers. Program goals for each center
were evaluated to determine if they’re similar enough to compare and contrast
the differences in human capital factors and the role it has in choosing a
school. For example, the Head Start program offered children more opportunity
to engage in literacy and math activities compared to private centers.
Several factors were also applied
to the research such as, family characteristics, size and income. The research
team also took into factor the families’ race and ethnicity, parental education
and family structures. Each of these things play an important role in how the
child learns and how they will develop in any of the three program types. This
article will help me gain a better understanding of my topic because it focuses
on child family and community characteristics which is important in my
research.
DeLay, Dawn, et al. "Peer Effects On Head Start
Children’S Preschool Competency." Developmental Psychology 52.1 (2016):
58-70. PsycARTICLES. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.
This article shares data gathered
by research that focuses on whether or not peer selection in preschool
influence children in ways that the children become more similar over time.
Eighteen Head Start programs were studied over a period of two years. Each
classroom had a low ratio of 18-24 students, ages 3-5 years of age. Important
individual differences were taken into consideration, such as age, gender,
primary language and receptive vocabulary. Research has shown that positive and
significant evidence that peers influence behavioral change over time. That
influence increased the child’s level of preschool compentency. This article
provides an understanding of how children form early peer relationships in
preschool. It also discusses how these early peer relationships reflect a
child’s level of school readiness, and how these early peer relationships may
be used to promote long-term academic success on school entry. This is important knowledge for my research.
Hallam, Rena A., Jennifer Grisham-Brown, Robyn A.
Brookshire, and Xia Gao. "The Effects of Outcomes-Driven Authentic
Assessment on Classroom Quality." Early Childhood Research & Practices
9.2 (1999). Www.doaj.org. Web. 20 Feb. 2016.
<http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v9n2/hallam.html>.
This article discusses the
challenges of program expected outcomes through appropriate assessments. The
standards in early childhood education programs such as NAEYC recommend
research practices in childhood assessments and accountability to determine the
positive impact on development and lack of.
This research article helped me understand the challenges of assessing
children and methods required to assess the data collected. The article
enhanced my research in the way that I understand how information is gathered,
via different assessments and observations and how they align with early
childhood development to determine the outcomes of the Head Start program
compared to other preschool programs.
Love, John M., Louisa Banks Tarullo, Helen Raikes and Rachel
Chazan-Cohen. "Head Start: What Do We Know About Its Effectiveness? What
Do We Need to Know?." Blackwell Handbook of Early Childhood Development.
McCartney, Kathleen and Deborah Phillips (eds). Blackwell Publishing, 2005.
Blackwell Reference Online. 24 January 2016
http://www.blackwellreference.com.libproxy.chapman.edu/subscriber/tocnode.html?id=g9781405120739_chunk_g978140512073929
This article has a lot of valuable
information. It covers all areas of Head Start. The families it serves,
funding, educational goals, research and analysis, previous results, staff
goals and more. I researched a couple of the authors and was very surprised to
learn how qualified they were. John Love is a leader in Early Childhood
Research which studies Head Start programs. He serves on many advisory
committees and is Board of Directors of ZERO TO THREE. A website devoted to the
development of children ages zero to three. I use that website often in many of
my other Early Childhood classes. Helen Raikes experience consist of many
different advisory boards and teaching in the classroom. One being the, Society
for Research in Child Development Visiting Scholar and Special Research
Consultant, Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. In 2005 she
received the Distinguished Service to Children Award, Nebraska Association for
the Education of Young Children.
While evaluating for signs of
scholarship I saw many. A lot of the topics covered has thorough information
and links that were government pages. The article also had many references that
were informative. There were too many for me to go through today, but I did
visit a few.
O'Sullivan, J. M. (2013). Head Start and Child Outcomes :
Select Analyses of FACES 2009. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
This book is a collection of
results from a FACES 2009 collection. FACES is Head Start Family and Child
Experiences Survey. The book discusses family and program outcomes, who they program
serves and what they teach. It collects various data reports from kindergarten
readiness to children’s social emotional development, family success from the
program. It also discusses staff and staff development. The book holds valuable
and accurate information gathered through many assessments and collections of
data from the FACES research. Each contributing author is educated in Early
Childhood Education and hold various degrees and positions studying and
researching programs. This book will help me gain a better understanding of my
topic due to the depth of information and research it shares. The outcomes of
FACES provide key information to the developmental benefits of the Head Start
program. The book will enhance my research in all areas, specifically in the
outcomes of the program. I would like to know more about children’s cognitive
outcomes, ECERS teaching and instruction and CLASS instructional methods.
