The goal of the graduate essay was to provide the reader with a historical overview of the United States government funded preschool program Head Start and examine policy considerations for long term effectiveness on academic achievements of participants. Focusing on research about Head Start effectiveness, careful consideration was given to...
Positive teacher-child relationships, characterized by warmth and closeness, are associated with better behavioral and academic outcomes for children in preschool and elementary school (Hamre & Pianta, 2005). Supporting teachers to establish these positive relationships with children is important in all early care and education (ECE) programs. Head Start programs, designed...
Past research on Head Start has focused on child outcomes, yet Head Start services also target the behaviors of parents. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCW), the current study examined the effect of Head Start on mother (n = 3,575) and father (n = 1,812)...
This study utilized a qualitative approach to explore how Healthy Start home visiting services affect participants' parenting and lives in general. The purpose of this study was to explore both the intended and unintended outcomes of Healthy Start, using the theory of transformative learning. This theory postulates that through education...
Studies have shown that parental feeding practice has an impact on the child's
dietary intake, food preference and weight status. Our study focused on teaching parents
the division of responsibility in parent-child feeding relationship as well as benefits of
eating meals together, since feeding practice takes place during the mealtime....
There is growing evidence that children develop science-related interests in early childhood, before they enter school, and that these interests may have long-term implications for science participation and achievement. Although researchers have made headway in describing interest development in the preschool years, little is currently known about the proximal processes...
The purpose of this project was to explore health and nutrition concerns and priorities of parents and caregivers of children enrolled in Kids and Company (KidCo) Head Start using Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The project examined the feasibility of conducting CBPR with Head Start in the relatively short timeframe...
Two studies investigated the characteristics of high-risk Hispanic parents with young children who were enrolled in a primary prevention home visitation program targeting first birth families. In the first study, more and less acculturated high-risk Hispanic families were compared to high-risk non-Hispanic White families on differences in demographic characteristics, risk...
As program participants integrate new knowledge and understanding into previous standards regarding attitudes or perceptions, these altered standards violate the assumption of consistency inherent to the pretest-posttest method for measuring change over time. If this violation, or response-shift bias, is not controlled results can be misleading, which carries serious implications...
This study used a mixed method approach (quantitative and qualitative) to examine the commonalities and differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants of the Even Start Family Literacy Program. Using a life course perspective, this study examined the educational background and life history of Hispanic and non-Hispanic participants, their reasons and...