Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2008. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-42).

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / This study focuses on the attitudes of twenty five mothers, residing in two housing projects, whose children attended the Operation Headstart Program at the Cambridge Neighborhood House during the summer of 1965. The purpose of this study was to discern the mother's role in her child's response to a program which offers a major solution to the problem of cultural deprivation. The study chose to examine the mother's role because of the importance which the family, and the mother particularly, plays in terms of providing the foundation for the child's emotional, social, and physical development. The housing projects were chosen because they represent another of society's major attempts to deal with the problems of the underprivileged. The group chosen for this study are residents of two housing projects in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These housing projects are located across the street from the Cambridge Neighborhood House. Names of subjects were obtained from the Neighborhood House, and were then contacted by letter. All interviews were conducted on a home visit basis. / 2031-01-01

Three questions are explored in this dissertation. The first is whether the executive functions of Head Start participants are improved in comparison to those of children who did not attend center-based care before attending kindergarten. By matching and comparing the outcomes of a nationally representative cohort of kindergarten children (ECLS-K:2011) grouped by the type of childcare they received in the year preceding school entry, I find that Head Start participants exhibit slightly higher cognitive flexibility scores (as well as reading and math outcomes) in comparison to highly similar children who did not experience center-based care before starting school. Children who participated in Head Start demonstrate working memory skills that are not significantly different from those of closely-matched children who experienced no center-based care, but their skills in this area are slightly weaker than those of similar children who attended school-based public pre-k or other center-based care. The second question is how math content level during kindergarten affects children with different early care experiences, with focus on Head Start participants. The use of piece-wise linear growth curves to analyze children’s development in working memory, cognitive flexibility, reading and math reveals that advanced math content in kindergarten does have a positive relationship with math and reading achievement for Head Start participants, but these students do not gain as much on average from this instructional approach as more advantaged groups do. More basic math content, such as counting has a negative association with growth in math for more advantaged groups of children. Finally, any increases in kindergarten growth rates resulting from math content do not appear to persist through first and second grades. The third question asks whether there are significant differences in the trajectories of Head Start participants according to parent nativity. In analysis using piece-wise linear growth curve models to analyze Head Start (HS) participants’ development in working memory, cognitive flexibility, reading and math, results indicate that HS participants with immigrant parents exhibit an additional surge in EF development in the period between the spring of kindergarten and the spring of second grade, later than the average kindergarten increase for all HS participants. Additionally, HS participants with immigrant parents exhibit slightly higher average growth rates in reading during kindergarten when compared to HS participants with non-immigrant parents.

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 individuals examine their thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. This self-examination results in changes in self-perception that can impact lives in many unexpected ways. Through interviews with 20 families, who had participated in Healthy Start for at least 6 months, families reported both anticipated and unanticipated changes in their lives. It was found that Healthy Start influences a variety of positive outcomes for families. Previous quantitative findings were supported. According to the parents interviewed, Healthy Start is achieving its intended outcomes and goals. Parents reported greater ability to access health care services, improvements in their home learning environment, and improved interactions with their child. Parents also indicated increased knowledge of child development and community resources. Findings also provided support for the occurrence of transformative learning. Interviewed parents indicated that their involvement with Healthy Start impacted more than just their parenting. Through a supportive relationship and goal setting, the participants were able to reach beyond basic parent education. The interviews suggest that the mechanism for transformative learning lies in the supportive, non-threatening relationship that develops between parent and home visitor. This supportive relationship, in addition to guided goals setting, enhances a parent's feelings of self-efficacy and increases their ability to make life changes and persist in the face of challenges. Parents reported improved relationships with others, increased feelings of confidence, and the ability to accomplish otherwise unattainable things. / Graduation date: 2002

An experimental comparison was made of the effects of teacher participation, teacher probing behavior, and nonparticipation by teachers during the sociodramatic play sessions of three groups of Head Start preschool students (twelve subjects). A combination of the multiple baseline and multielement single-subject designs was employed to study the effects of teacher participation in sociodramatic play on the amount of language production exhibited by Head Start students. A Placheck method was utilized to record student language production at the end of each 10-second interval throughout each 10-minute session. Thirty play sessions were observed and recorded by both the researcher and a videocamera. Students were selected by their teachers, and all play sessions took place within the children's own classroom. Subjects included six males and six females.The study was divided into three phases. The Baseline phase included the alternation of the conditions of teacher participation and nonparticipation. At the end of this phase, teachers were trained in the use of probes, or questions to which the answer is not known by the teacher. During the Probe phase, teachers participated in play sessions daily and utilized frequent probes. During the Multielement Manipulation phase, the conditions of teacher participation alone and teacher participation emphasizing the use of probes were randomly alternated. Graphic representations of subject performance data were used to portray intersubject and intrasubject variability.Results indicated that rates of student language production increased for 10 out of 12 students (83%) when exposed to the condition of teacher probing during the Probe phase of the study. When the effects of teacher participation and teacher participation emphasizing probing were compared, it was found that 11 out of 12 students (92%) exhibited higher rates of language production during the condition of teacher probing.It was concluded that the use of teacher participation in the sociodramatic play of Head Start students, particularly with an emphasis on probing behavior, proved to be most beneficial in enhancing the amount of language production of the students. The findings of the present study lend support to the concept that teacher participation in the sociodramatic play of low-income preschool children can result in increased student language development.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-199). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-199). Also available on the Internet.

This paper examines various ways Head Start has been measured across states. The contribution to the literature is to look at new variables, the role they play, and the contribution they make to measuring the effectiveness and enrollment numbers of Head Start Programs across states. / text

Shows handicapped pre-school children at the White Mountain Apache Head Start Program and the services available at Head Start.

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