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CHILD CARE QUALITY: PROCEDURAL QUALITY
NATIONAL HEAD START IMPACT STUDY
Measure: Classroom Observation of Teacher-Directed Activities
Source
The National Head Start Impact Study is funded by the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Westat (prime contractor) conducts the study in collaboration with the Urban Institute, the American Institutes for Research, and Decision Information Resources (the subcontractors).
The Family and Child Experiences Survey staff developed the checklist of teacher-directed activities.
Population Assessed
The Head Start Impact Study involves 4,750 (2,829 treatment and 1,921 control) 3- and 4-year-old newly entering Head Start-eligible preschool children across 84 nationally representative grantees and delegate agencies in communities where there are more eligible children and families than can be served by the program. Of the 4,750 children selected for the study, approximately 42 percent are Hispanic; 27 percent, Black; 28 percent, White; and 3 percent, are other. Sixty-six percent of the children speak English as their primary language, 31 percent speak Spanish, and 3 percent speak a language other than Spanish or English. Gender is evenly split on the child sample.
The sample selection process began by including all fiscal year 1999–2000 Head Start grantees and delegate agencies in all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. Programs that were very new, migrant, tribal, migrant, or tribal or that offered Early Head Start only were excluded. Geographic grantee clusters were developed using a minimum of eight grantees/delegate agencies per cluster, and the clusters were grouped into 25 strata using state pre-K and childcare policy, child race/ethnicity, and urban/rural location and region as stratifiers. One cluster was selected per strata with probability proportional to size (N = 261 grantees/delegate agencies). Next, the eligibility of grantees/delegate agencies in each cluster was determined. Those that were closed or merged and those that were saturated (have very few children in the community who are not served) were excluded. Remaining grantees/delegate agencies within the clusters were then stratified based on grantee/delegate agency characteristics including local contextual variables. Three grantees/delegate agencies were randomly selected from each cluster. These grantees/delegate agencies were contacted for participation in the study and the list of centers operating within these grantees/delegate agencies in 2002–2003 was compiled. Center eligibility was determined by excluding saturated centers and combining small centers with nearby centers to create center groups. Using the same stratification characteristics as used for the grantees/delegate agencies, approximately three centers were selected from each grantee/delegate agency based on proportional probabilities (i.e., larger centers have greater chance of selection). The final sample included 378 centers within 84 grantees/delegate agencies. Once the centers were selected, random assignment of children within these centers resulted in 2,829 children in the treatment group and 1,921 children in the comparison group for a total of 4,750 children.
Children selected were considered part of one of two cohorts. Cohort one included children who were 3-years-old in the 2002–2003 school year. Cohort one will be followed through 2005–2006, when they will have reached first grade. Cohort two consists of children who were 4-years-old during the 2002–2003 school year, and thus are moving into kindergarten in the 2003–2004 school year. Cohort two will be followed through their first grade year in 2004–2005.
Periodicity
This measure was used in spring 2003 and will be used in spring 2004 for the children in the 3-year old cohort.
Subscales/Components
The first year of data collection is complete, but subscales are not yet available. The measure examines whether or not certain teacher-directed activities (e.g., teaching letters of the alphabet, naming colors, show-and-tell) occurred during the day and whether it occurred individually, as part of a small group, or as part of a large group.
Procedures for Administration
The study-appointed observer completes a classroom observation of teacher-directed activities. He/She is given the following instructions: For each play or learning activity that you observe during the course of the classroom day, check whether it occurred and in which group setting. You have to observe only the activity once to check a given box.
- Count any teacher-directed play of learning activity led by either the lead or assistant teacher. Teacher-directed activities are those where the teacher is in charge of the activity and usually involves some planning and a goal for the activity;
- Do not include activities led by an adult volunteer.
- Check the group type, either individual teacher-child attention (one teacher working with one child separately from the rest of the children), in small groups of 3–8 children, or in the whole group (entire class).
- Do not check more than one activity item for any given play or learning activity you observe.
- Do not code routine activities (i.e., snack, lunch, toileting, nap) or transitions between activities (i.e., cleanup).
Psychometrics/Data Quality
Psychometric data for the study is not yet available.
Languages Available
Observation instruments are in English.
Items Included
The measure is not reproduced in full in this document, but examples are given. The measure can be requested by contacting the Head Start Impact Study Project Director (Ronna Cook, ronnacook@westat.com) or the ACF Project Officer (Dr. Michael Lopez, milopez@acf.hhs.gov).
| Teacher-Directed Activity Item | Group Type | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Attention | Small Group | Whole Group | |
| a. Reading stories | |||
| b. Teaching visual arts such as drawing, painting, modeling, play dough, sand-play | |||
| c. Naming colors | |||
| d. Leading a discussion about where things come from, how everyday events occur, etc. | |||
| e. Giving instruction in health, hygiene, or nutrition (not part of daily routines) | |||
References and Source Documents
Research design documents for the National Head Start Impact Study are available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html
Other available reports include the following:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2003, March). Building futures: Head Start Impact Study frequently asked questions. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, March). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan (updated version).Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001, January). Building futures: The Head Start Impact Study research design plan. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2002, June). National Head Start Impact research: Second report to Congress. Washington, DC: Author.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999, October). Evaluating Head Start: A recommended framework for studying the impact of the program. Washington, DC: Author.
Ongoing and updated information about the National Head Start Impact Study is available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hs/impact_study/index.html.
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