Preschool, Home, and School Contexts as Determinants of the Impacts of Head Start

描述(由申请人提供)：Head Start是最大的联邦计划，为来自低收入家庭的儿童提供丰富的幼儿教育。大量的非实验和准实验研究已经将先头计划的参与与儿童发展成果的(通常是适度的)收益联系起来。然而，到目前为止，研究还没有研究先行中心的可变性如何与儿童发展结果的可变性相关，以及在先行中心之后经历的家庭和学校环境的质量如何随着时间的推移维持或削弱先行中心的影响。为了解决这一知识差距，拟议的项目超越了简单影响的问题，考虑了使Head Start或多或少有效的条件和背景。具体地说，我们将考察学前教育中心的结构和质量、育儿行为和家庭环境，以及小学的结构和质量随着时间的推移可能在多大程度上调节或缓和计划的影响。我们的跨学科团队(来自人类发展、教育、经济和社会工作领域)将利用两项大型、全国性的Head Start研究--其中一项使用了实验设计--以解决以下目标：目标1：确定Head Start质量的哪些方面以及通过什么过程在多大程度上以及通过什么过程促进儿童的认知发展、社会情感技能和身体健康；目标2：确定父母在创造和维持Head Start对儿童认知发展、社会情感技能和身体健康的积极长期影响方面的作用；目标3：考察随后的学校经历在多大程度上缓和了先行效应对儿童认知发展、社交情绪技能和身体健康的影响。该项目涉及对联邦资助的两个大型数据集的次级数据分析，即1997年《家庭和儿童经历调查》(FACES-97)和《启蒙影响研究》(HSIS)。每项研究都包括参加Head Start的具有全国代表性的3岁和4岁低收入儿童的样本，以及在HSIS等待Head Start的儿童对照组。研究问题将使用多元回归、分段回归、潜在班级增长分析和多组分析的组合来解决。特别令人感兴趣的是HSIS的治疗条件与学龄前阶段中心质量和小学阶段学校质量之间的相互作用。 公共卫生相关性：联邦Head Start计划每年为90多万低收入儿童提供丰富的幼儿教育，并为儿童及其家庭提供营养、健康和社会服务。这项拟议中的研究旨在为有关Head Start计划的全国性讨论提供信息，超越了简单的问题“Head Start起作用吗？”，以研究更复杂的问题，即Head Start如何以及在什么情况下或多或少地有效地促进儿童的认知、社交-情感和身体发展。具体地说，我们将研究学前教育中心的结构和质量、育儿行为和家庭环境，以及小学的结构和质量在多大程度上可以随着时间的推移加强或削弱学前教育的积极影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Head Start is the largest federal program providing an enriched early childhood education for children from low income families. A substantial body of non-experimental and quasi-experimental research has linked Head Start participation with (often modest) gains in children's developmental outcomes. Yet research to date has failed to examine how variability across Head Start centers is associated with variability in children's developmental outcomes, and how the quality of home and school environments experienced after Head Start might sustain, or curtail, the impacts of Head Start over time. To address this knowledge gap, the proposed project goes beyond questions of simple impact to consider the conditions and contexts which make Head Start more or less effective. Specifically, we will examine the extent to which the structure and quality of Head Start centers, parenting behavior and the home environment, and the structure and quality of elementary schools might mediate or moderate program impacts over time. Our interdisciplinary team (from the fields of human development, education, economics, and social work) will utilize two large, national Head Start studies- -one of which used an experimental design--to address the following aims: Aim 1: To identify to what extent, and by what processes, aspects of Head Start quality promote children's cognitive development, social-emotional skills, and physical health; Aim 2: To determine the role of parents in creating and sustaining positive long-term impacts of Head Start on children's cognitive development, social-emotional skills, and physical health; and Aim 3: To examine the extent to which subsequent school experiences moderate the persistence of Head Start effects on children's cognitive development, social-emotional skills, and physical health. The project involves secondary data analysis of two large, federally sponsored data-sets, namely the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, 1997 Cohort (FACES-97), and the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS). Each study included a nationally representative sample of 3- and 4-year-old low income children attending Head Start, along with one control group of children on waiting lists for Head Start in the HSIS. Research questions will be addressed using a combination of multiple regression, piecewise regression, latent class growth analysis, and multiple group analysis. Of particular interest will be interactions between treatment condition in the HSIS and center quality in the preschool year and school quality in the elementary school years. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The federal Head Start program provides an enriched early childhood education to more than 900,000 low income children per year and offers nutritional, health, and social services to the children and their families. The proposed study aims to inform the national discussion regarding the Head Start program by going beyond the simplistic question, "Does Head Start work?," to examine the more complex questions of how, and under what circumstances, Head Start is more or less effective in promoting children's cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. Specifically, we will examine the extent to which the structure and quality of Head Start centers, parenting behavior and the home environment, and the structure and quality of elementary schools might enhance, or curtail, the positive impacts of Head Start over time.