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CHILD CARE QUALITY: STRUCTURAL QUALITY
NATIONAL HEAD START IMPACT STUDY
Measure: Selected “staffing and recruitment” and “teacher and staff training” items from the Center Director/Setting Interview
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 Head Start Impact Study staff developed the structural items with the assistance of child care and preschool experts. Some items were modified from the Family and Child Experiences Survey.
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, 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, 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
The center director/setting interview was administered during spring 2003 and will be administered in spring 2004 to center directors or care providers responsible for children in the 3-year old cohort.
Subscales/Components
The first year of data collection is complete, but subscales are not yet available. The majority of questions about child care quality (structural) come from two sections within the center director/setting interview: staffing and recruitment, and teacher and staff training. The questions in the staffing and recruitment section ask about the number of years that the center director has been employed in his/her current position, the number of years that the center director has worked in center-based and child care programs (e.g., Head Start, non-Head Start center-based programs, non center- based programs), the highest year of school achieved, the center director’s college degree (e.g., child development, early childhood education, elementary education), and the percentage of teachers in the center who have specialized training (e.g., CDA or state awarded preschool certificate). The section on teacher and staff training asks four questions that target structural quality in the classroom: the opportunity lead teachers have to observe other classroom settings, the existence of mentor teachers, the assistance to teachers for getting college degrees, and the frequency of provision of training for staff members.
Procedures for Administration
The center director completes the interview. The center director/setting interview takes about 60 minutes to complete.
Psychometrics/Data Quality
Psychometric data for the study is not yet available.
Languages Available
The center director/setting interview is available in English. If the respondent does not speak English, an interpreter translates the instrument into the respondent’s native language.
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).
Example Staffing and Recruitment Items
What is the highest grade or year of school that (you/the Center Director) completed? (CIRCLE ONE RESPONSE)
Up to 8th grade
9th to 11th grade
12th grade but no diploma
High school diploma
High school equivalent
Voc/Tech program after high school but no voc/tech diploma
Voc/Tech diploma after high school
Some college but no degree
Associate’s degree
Bachelor’s degree
Graduate or professional school but no degree
Master’s degree (MA, MS)
Doctorate degree (Ph.D., Ed.D.)
Professional degree after bachelor’s degree (medicine/MD; dentistry/DDS; Law/JD/LLB/etc.)
Is (your/the Center Director’s) degree(s) in … (CIRCLE ALL THAT APPLY)
Child Development or Developmental Psychology
Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Other field (specify)
The next set of questions asks for information about center staff. For the purposes of answering the questions, the “lead teacher” refers to the person in charge of the classroom. Other staff positions, such as assistant teachers and aide, refer to positions under the supervision of the lead teacher.
Approximately what percentage of lead and assistant teachers in your center have a(n):
Child development associate (CDA) credential or state-awarded preschool certificate
Teaching certificate or license
Associates degree
Bachelors degree or higher
Example Teacher and Staff Training Items
Are lead teachers offered the opportunity to observe other classroom settings for learning purposes?
Are there any efforts to used to help lead teachers or assistant teachers get their college degrees, CDAs (child development associate credential), or early childhood certification?
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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