This study examined the nature of young children's literacy interest, the predictability of literacy interest for early literacy skills, and gender differences in literacy interest using a sample of Head Start children (N = 263). Literacy interest was compared across parent-, teacher-, and child-reported measures of literacy activity participation…

Many Head Start programs have closed classrooms due to staff shortages, with up to 30% of teacher positions unfilled. Reducing the elevated teacher turnover rate in Head Start centers is critical to maintaining program effectiveness and controlling costs; however, a limiting factor may be differences in administrators' and teachers' perceptions of…

The Understanding Children's Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten (HS2K) Project was a multi-year project funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The purpose of this project was to better understand how to improve children's…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive case study was to focus on teachers' perceptions regarding professional development training for early childhood education. The problem addressed in this study was the inadequate amount of professional development training available for early childhood teachers to address children with challenging…

Research has shown follow-up to be an important component for professional development (PD) to result in teacher behavior change. However, PD rarely includes follow-up support. This pilot study used multiple methods to determine the feasibility of Head Start (HS) directors providing teachers PD follow-up support. Two aspects of feasibility were…

Implementation of multi-tiered frameworks for supporting staff behavior in preschools requires collaboration with skilled professionals. Given their training and skillset, school psychologists are uniquely equipped to fill this role; however, limited existing research guides practitioners in maximizing their potential as systems-level consultants…

Despite frequent reliance on teacher and parent ratings of children's behavior for multi-informant assessment, agreement between teachers' and parents' ratings is low. This study examined the predictive utility of teacher and parent ratings for children's self-regulatory outcomes (i.e., executive function, continuous performance task) in four…

A focus on early literacy that became heightened in the early 21st century has had the unintended consequence of restricting our ideas about what children should be doing in classrooms, creating a preoccupation not only with literacy in general but also with a specific subset of early literacy skills that often reflect Eurocentric cultural norms…

In March 2022, Child Trends contracted with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to conduct an independent evaluation of Parent Aware, Minnesota's quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for early care and education (ECE) programs. The evaluation was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2021 and includes several…

This article examines the language ideologies of the lead teacher and of five Mexican mothers of Spanish-speaking, emergent bilingual children in a Head Start program in Arizona. Data from semi-structured interviews, informal conversations, and participant-observation field notes were analyzed using the interrelated concepts of language ideologies…

Students often have misconceptions about learning gleaned from their experiences, the media, or even their parents and teachers. Unfortunately, students' misconceptions about learning are reinforced by traditional classroom instruction. Sometimes when students encounter more robust learning experiences in research-based classrooms, their…

Super Parents is a group-based, Extension-led parenting program developed to enhance the parent-child relationship. Implemented by trained Head Start staff using the train-the-trainer model, this effort is achieved by teaching positive parenting practices, increasing parents' knowledge of child development, instructing parents in activities and…

Family engagement benefits children's development and contributes to student academic success. However, educators feel that they are unprepared to engage families in the educational process, although they are encouraged to do so. The purpose of this basic qualitative study with interviews was to explore educators' and parents' perceptions of…

This study examined the relationship between teachers' attitudes toward trauma-informed care and teachers' self-reported levels of secondary traumatic stress. Albert Bandura's social cognitive theory and Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory were used as frameworks for this study. A purposive sample of 132 early childhood and elementary education…

This research brief uses nationally representative data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2019) to understand why Head Start families choose their child's Head Start program, what their experiences are like in their program, and if they plan to return next year. The findings offer a glimpse of program characteristics…