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Objective: The quality of the emotional relationship between teachers and young children affects children's social and emotional development and their academic success. Little is known, however, about whether the amount of workplace stress experienced by early childhood educators impacts the quality of their relationships with the young children in their classrooms. The purpose of this dissertation was to determine whether workplace stress was associated with poorer quality teacher-child relationships in Head Start, the nation's largest federally-funded early childhood education program. Methods: Two separate but complementary studies were conducted. In Study 1, teachers from 37 Head Start programs in Pennsylvania (PA) completed the Staff Wellness Survey, an anonymous, web-based survey about workplace stress and the levels of conflict and closeness in their relationships with children in their classrooms. Study 2 data came from an existing federal data set, the 2006 Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES). In FACES, a nationally representative sample of Head Start teachers responded to interview questions about workplace stress and were observed and rated on the quality of their teacher-child relationships in their classrooms. In both studies, the association of poor quality teacher-child relationships was examined with the presence or absence of 3 types of perceived workplace stress: high demands, low control, and low support. Results: In Study 1, surveys were completed by 994 teachers (52.0% of teachers in the 37 PA programs), of whom 19.8% experienced 0 of the 3 types of workplace stress, and 23.3% experienced all 3 types. Teachers experiencing all 3 types of workplace stress were more likely than those experiencing 0 types to report high conflict in their relationships with children, even after controlling for teacher depressive symptoms and economic stressors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-3.29). Only low control was significantly associated with low closeness in teacher-child relationships after adjusting for covariates (OR = 1.50, 95% CI: 1.09-2.05). In Study 2, data were available from 325 teachers (89.0% of teachers participating in FACES), of whom 19.4% experienced none of the 3 types of workplace stress and 38.5% reported experiencing 2 or more types. Teachers experiencing 2 or more types of workplace stress were more likely to have poor quality teacher-child relationships (observed) than teachers reporting 0 types of workplace stress (OR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.22-5.90). Conclusion: In both a large sample of Pennsylvania Head Start teachers and a nationally representative sample of Head Start teachers, higher perceived workplace stress was associated with poorer teacher-child relationship quality. In light of these findings, Head Start should consider more closely examining and addressing workplace stress as part of its professional development and training activities for teachers. / Public Health

The current study used data gathered as part of the Head Start/Public School Transition Project (Virginia Site), and included only data on the children who were part of Cohort II (i.e., enrolled in kindergarten in 1993). This database was examined to determine how select child and family characteristics uniquely contributed to parents' and teachers' ratings of the children's social skills and problem behaviors. A series of exploratory factor analyses (EFA), using principal components extraction and varimax rotation, were conducted to identify from the available database underlying constructs associated with the children's development of social skills and problem behaviors. Results of the EFA were used to construct predictor and dependent variables. Separate univariate models were established at four time points and hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the unique contributions of the various predictors of parent and teacher ratings of children's social skills and problem behaviors. Of the demographic variables examined, the unique contribution of Hispanic ethnicity to parents' ratings of the children's social skills and problem behaviors was significant at all time points. Other predictors that were significant and uniquely contributed the most to parents' ratings of the children's social skills included the family's routine (beginning of kindergarten), parenting style (end of kindergarten), and attitudes about the neighborhood (end of first grade). Parents' attitudes about the behavior of children in the school was a significant predictor of parents' ratings of the children's problem behaviors. None of the predictors contributed significantly to the teacher's ratings of the children's social skills or problem behaviors. / Ph. D.

Project Head Start, a federal child development program for low-income families,serves both the mother and her children. Previous studies have emphasized Head Start's influence on the child in terms of cognitive gains, social development, and social-emotional development. A continuing problem to understanding the extent of Head Start impact on families is the absence of reliable information about Head Start's influence on the mother and how that influence transfers to the family as they work toward self-sufficiency. This study investigated two issues: (1) the experiences, perceptions, and levels of involvement of mothers who participate in Head Start social services, and (2) how these mothers describe their benefits and relate these benefits to family experiences such as increased problem-solving, coping, and parenting skills. A multiple case study methodology was selected because of its flexibility to allow the researcher to follow new leads that emerged. Participants met three criteria: (1) enrollment in a Head Start social services program for at least six months, (2) willingness to sign an informed consent form and participate in three 90-minute interviews, and (3) having at least one child currently enrolled in Head Start. A participant pool of 17 African American mothers was constituted from parents enrolled in one of three Head Start programs in the Washington, D.C. area, and a sample of eight mothers was then selected for in-depth study. Each mother was interviewed three times, and data were drawn from these interviews. The findings of this study suggest that participation in Head Start social services may have important benefits for mothers and their children. Mothers had developed increased coping and problem-solving skills as well as increased leadership and organizational skills. The findings also suggest that participation in parent group meetings had an empowering influence that prompted several mothers to become involved in certain community activities and in their children's education. / Ph. D.

My goal in undertaking this research was to contribute to strengthening kindergarten educational practices in Kuwait with particular focus on literacy development. I was interested in the instructional techniques, tools, methods, language activities that would make sense to Arabic kindergartners and help them learn the formal, written register (i.e., formal literary Arabic) required in Kuwait. To this end, I used part of my graduate studies in education visiting and observing several kindergarten classes in the United States. During those visits, I noted that storybook reading was given a great deal of attention. Storybook reading is the process by which the teacher shares the content of storybooks with students, while at the same time encouraging social interaction (reading, showing illustrations, and encouraging student participation and conversation). This early exposure to storybook reading appears to support early literacy for American school children. My aim in undertaking this study was to develop an appropriate and effective literacy program for young children in my country. Specifically, I wanted a case of literacy development and storybook reading that might reveal important patterns in teaching early literacy. I planned four research objectives: (1) to document and analyze a Head Start teacher's verbal explanation of literacy teaching and storybook reading; (2) to observe the teacher's practices with respect to literacy teaching and storybook reading; and (3) to examine the extent and nature of students' participation in classroom literacy activities including storybook reading. My method of data collection was ethnographic, incorporating participant observation and verbal exchanges. I used the two methods simultaneously. Participant observation (including field notes, jot notes, reflective journal, audio-tapes, video-tapes, pictures, and artifacts) gave me richer access to the internal dynamics of the storybook reading event. Verbal exchanges, including in-depth interviews and informal discussions, enabled me to examine the participants' perceptions of literacy and literacy events. In-depth interviews enabled me to probe for participants' explanation of any unusual observations. Informal discussion enabled me to probe certain situations that I did not anticipate, ask for explanations of things that just cropped up, and give the teacher and the students opportunities to share with me things they felt I should know. The Head Start teacher explained that literacy spans most other activities and is a part of every day life. According to her, literacy occurs naturally while children are engaged in everyday routines at home, school, or in the community. She added that children learn reading and writing long before formal instruction and that there is a connection between print and the visual symbols that surround it. The use of storybook reading, she said, helps children to develop a positive attitude to books and a global sense of the world. To help children acquire literacy, the teacher provides an appropriate physical environment, including storybook reading, interaction with others, extensive involvement in literacy activities, and a generous display of print. The teacher used a multi-method approach and stimuli before, during, and after reading the story. Storybook reading was used to increase children's access to books, introduce the children to book conventions, integrate literacy and other curricular activities, encourage and empower students to actively participate in their learning, and to encourage cultural appreciation, and intercultural sensitivity. The students played several important roles during storybook reading: listening, conversing, collaborating, making decisions, choosing the books to be read, making seating arrangements, and helping the teacher. The four focal children manifested different reading characteristics including play reading, reading awareness, reading skills, reading development, writing and art, writing play, writing awareness, and writing skills. The findings of this study indicate that storybook reading is not only a source of enjoyment but an important stepping-stone to other language skills and a great stimulus for creativity in young children. To extend the insights that I have gained from the study to my country, and as instructor in the Kindergarten Curriculum Instruction Department of the Kuwait Basic College of Education, I plan to model some of the most significant findings of the study in my teaching and teacher training activities. Aspects of the findings that I plan to model are: (a) integrated learning; (b) learner-centered education; (c) collaborative learning; (d) variations in method; and (e) student empowerment. In addition, I plan to implement a follow-up action research enabling my students to develop and implement a more child-centered, and more meaningful instructional practices in Kuwaiti kindergarten classrooms. Another way in which I plan to extend the benefits of this research to my country and other Arab-speaking countries is to publish this study in Arabic. / Ph. D.

The infant feeding practices and associated environment of 49 infants (6-23 months) of migrant farm laborers in Northern Colorado were investigated during the summer of 1987. Information was collected on 1) breastfeeding practices, 2) introduction of foods and liquids, 3) nutrition and health practices and inadequacies, 4) home living environment, 5) health history, and 6) demographics. Data on the sources of food and nutrition information was collected regarding the 1) utilization of community food and nutrition programs and 2) input of relatives. A review of data results indicates that a number of nutrition education needs exist among migrant farm laborers concerning the feeding of their infants. Recommendations are made to help meet the nutrition education needs of migrant parents in Northern Colorado. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to provide an intervention to Appalachian Head Start families that provided novel ways of thinking about their children\'s development, while also arming them with effective strategies and tools they could use to build engaging and enriched interactions. The intervention curriculum was developed based on a theory of mentoring in the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978; Wiles, 2008). This research effort sought to answer the following research questions: (a) Do adults\' descriptions of their children as mental beings and perceptions about their children as individuals with minds of their own change due to participation in the intervention condition as compared to those in the control condition?; (b) What are the effects of this intervention on adults\' use of scaffolding and guided participation strategies in the shared reading activity over time?; (c) Does participation in the intervention condition affect the child\'s outcomes on standardized tests?; and (d) What qualitative differences in the way adults and children interact in the shared reading activity can occur as a result of the intervention? A randomized controlled trial including 50 parent-child dyads, were videotaped answering a mind-mindedness interview question and reading with their children at three time points over the Head Start school year. A Mixed-methods approach was implemented in the study\'s design, implementation, data collection, and analyses. Quantitative analyses revealed significant differences in both mental descriptions of participants\' children and the type and frequency of scaffolding techniques as a result of participation in the intervention. Triangulation of the qualitative and quantitative analyses indicated the need for a new theoretical construct to explain what occurs in optimally functioning interactions. Mindful-mindedness describes and explains adults\' metastrategic scaffolding technique selection in a mindful and mind-minded style, and then their application of these techniques in a serial process creates a multiplier effect on the efficacy of scaffolding. Implications for policy and practice, limitations of the current study, and directions for future research are also provided. / Ph. D.

This is a qualitative study of women whose children are or have been enrolled in a Head Start program in the midwest. Head Start is an educational program designed to provide a wide range of services to disadvantaged children and their families. Part of the program’s goals is to encourage parental participation in order to provide low-income parents a possibility of enriching their lives and empowering themselves through education. Using symbolic interaction as the initial theoretical perspective, I examine the experiences of mothers and how their involvement in the Head Start program has impacted their lives. Through interviews and observation, I investigate how Head Start as a formal organization designed to be part of the solution to the officially defined social problem of poverty affects the lives of Head Start mothers. As a former Head Start mother, I use my experiences as the starting point for the study. From the mothers' accounts of their experiences with Head Start, I found several factors which may lead to changes in self-concepts and personal empowerment. The women identified "mother" as a very important self. Head Start is able to provide an arena where the women can see their self as mother in a positive light. Parental involvement in the program is both expected and appreciated. The mothers indicated that through their work as volunteers, they feel important and needed for the program's operation and feel good about the things they do in Head Start. Among the factors identified which may lead to changes in self, empowerment, and self-concepts were the Federal mandate calling for maximum feasible participation of the parents, the transformation of clients into volunteers, the appreciation and encouragement shown to the mothers, the acknowledgement of the parents as primary educators of their children, and their peer relationship with the Head Start staff. Through participation in various Head Start activities, the women reported positive changes in their "selves." / Ph. D.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between family characteristics and parent involvement in Head Start, and the differences between parents who participated in Head Start parent involvement activities and parents who did not participate, as to their behaviors and attitudes concerning education, their children, their communities, and their children's academic achievement. This study analyzed existing data collected for a national parent involvement study. The sample consisted of 2,051 parent-child pairs (1,443 Head Start and 606 non-Head Start). Findings indicated a significant relationship between numerous family characteristics and parent involvement in Head Start, with variables related to a higher level of education of the mother or primary caregiver being the most dominant. Significant differences were found between the parents who participated in Head Start activities and parents who did not participate. The involved parents felt more strongly about teachers needing knowledge of their children's families, parents having knowledge worthy of sharing with their children's teachers, and parents wanting advice or input from their children's teachers. They reported a higher frequency of behaviors such as talking, reading, and playing with their children, trying to teach their children basic concepts, and having materials available for their children's use. Involved parents rated their level of participation, acceptance, and influence in their communities to be greater than did the uninvolved parents. Also, they had higher expectations concerning their children's education. The involved parents and the non-Head Start parents had heard of the resources available in their communities more than the uninvolved Head Start parents had; however, both groups of Head Start parents had used the resources more than the non-Head Start parents had. The children of the involved parents and the non-Head Start parents scored significantly higher on the Preschool Inventory than did the children of the uninvolved Head Start parents.