Since this course I have been thinking a lot about research and utilizing children in the research, so I took it upon myself to search studies on the Internet on children and families. I came upon a research called The FACES Study.
Head Start launched the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) in 1997. FACES is an ongoing, national longitudinal study of the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of head start children; the characteristics, well-being, and accomplishments of families; the observed quality of head start classrooms; and the characteristics and opinions of head start teachers and program staff.
A random sample of 3200 children and families in 40 head start programs were studied at entry of program and assessed again after a year or two in head start and lastly after kindergarten and 1st grade.
Findings from the 1st FACES study showed head start narrowed the gaps between disadvantaged students and all other children and their families in many ways.
Some of the benefits found:
~ vocabulary and writing skills during program
~ children who scored low and cognitive measures at beginning show greater gains than those who scored high at the beginning
~ Language-minority shows gains n school readiness skills and in their knowledge of English by the end of head start
~ Gains in social skills, including improvement in peer interactions and complex play.
This study determined evidence of areas in head start program quality and staff development that needs to be improved.
This study to me was very interesting to read about and its purpose was to improve the children's well-being and education. I believe studies such as these are well worth the time and effort because it highlights areas that needs to be worked on and areas that are helping the children advance in language and other skills. Studies such as these are very important because as teachers and child care professionals we want to provide children with the best education possible so they can succeed in life and in the workforce. There were also more studies that they talked about on this site. Here is all the information if anyone would like to read more on this study or others dealing with school readiness.t
Tarullo, L.B., Zill, N., Hubbell-McKey, R., Resnick, G., & The FACES Research Team (2002). A National Picture of Head Start: The FACES Study. The Head Start Bulletin, 74. Retrieved from
http://edkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/nslc/resources/ECLKC_Bookstore/PDFs/2C72F6BF4DF338535DD338BDAD07206C.pdf
Hi Britinie,
ReplyDeleteI actually had a student this year who was part of this kind of study. I have to admit thinking the study was rather odd at first. I couldn't figure out why they were waiting until April to assess this student since there was no way of knowing if Head Start helped or if it was kindergarten. Your information revealed that they are tracking these students through the various stages which makes far more sense. As a teacher though, I would have liked more information from them other than a consent form filled out by the parents and a note about when they were dropping by to assess the student.
Hi, Britanie,
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting, and I agree with you, we do need more studies like this so we can help meet the needs of the children we work with. Thank you for the great info!
This was great information. I was not aware of the FACES survey available through Head Start. The outcome shows how beneficial the Head Start program is to children and families. These types of studies are crucial to understanding programs and the impact it has on families.
ReplyDeleteBritanie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the information on the resarch you found. I agree that these types of research projects are essential to helping early chldhood professionals provide high-quality effective programs.