Poverty is a social context that has direct impact on students' performance since the conditions associated with poverty (brain development, social interactions, nutrition, and emotional environment) all play a role in developmental outcomes. Head Start is an early intervention program designed to address the unique needs of students from poverty. The Head Start Impact Study (DHHS, ACF, 2012) and other research (Lee, Brooks-Gunn, and Schnur, 1988; Ramey and Ramey, 2004) indicate that the academic achievement of low-income students who participated in Head Start is mixed as they move through elementary school. The purpose of the Head Start program is to prepare students with skills so that they begin kindergarten on an even playing field with their more advantaged peers (DHHS, ACF, 2013). Although students who participate in Head Start begin kindergarten with the appropriate readiness skills, initial gains are not maintained as they move through elementary school (Burkham and Lee, 2002).
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effects of the Head Start program as its students move through kindergarten and first grade. In the study, I analyzed data to find relationships between student performance on the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) (University of Virginia, 2010) and classroom practices that led to high achievement. Two Title I schools were studied. PALS scores were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVAs and multiple regressions. Reading performance in second grade was measured using scores from the Developmental Reading Assessment (Beave, 2006). Qualitative data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and document reviews. These data were utilized to make connections between the results of PALS and reading scores and the best practices being used in schools that showed strong results for the kindergarten and first grade students in the study. By triangulating data, I uncovered relationships between best practice strategies being used in high performing schools and achievement of former Head Start enrollees. / Ed. D. / In the United States, it is often the case that populations who are non-white, low-income, nonEnglish speaking, disabled, or elderly are disproportionately burdened by our transportation systems. These populations are more likely to be displaced by highways, exposed to transportationrelated air, noise, water, or land pollution, denied high-quality public transportation, suffer a drop in land values due to transportation infrastructure, and a number of other factors. These issues are called “environmental justice” or “EJ” issues. The reasons behind these trends are complicated, deeply rooted in our history and development patterns, and out of the scope of this thesis. This thesis instead focuses on the <i>measurement</i> of these disproportionate burdens and benefits. It is a federal requirement for transportation planners to consider environmental justice, but there is little guidance on how exactly to do this. Without this guidance, planners resort to ineffective assessments or mere “checking of boxes.” Many academic theorists have created models to measure individual effects such as air quality or water quality, but few have combined those models to create an easy-to-use “toolkit” for planners to use in assessing a full range of environmental justice effects. This thesis presents EEJAT 2016, an environmental justice assessment toolkit designed for Roanoke, VA, that attempts to meet the needs of EJ populations, transportation planners, and state and federal enforcement agencies. This toolkit was created based on a literature review of environmental justice theories and models, federal and state requirements, and decision theory, analysis of former Roanoke EJ assessments, GIS and statistical analyses of the Roanoke area, and engagement of EJ advocates and stakeholders. The toolkit includes GIS maps of EJ populations, a Community Profile, a flowchart that guides planners to the “tools” to use to assess the specific project at hand for EJ benefits and burdens, prompts for engagement of EJ populations, and checks on bias to help the planners understand their own biases in assessing EJ.Conditions associated with poverty (brain development, social interactions, nutrition, and emotional development) all play a role in a child’s developmental outcomes. Head Start is an early intervention program that addresses the unique needs of children from poverty. The purpose of the Head Start program is to prepare students with skills so that they begin kindergarten on an even playing field with their more advantaged peers (DHHS, ACF 2013). Although students who participate in Head Start begin kindergarten with the appropriate readiness skills, initial gains are not maintained as they move through elementary school (Burkham & Lee, 2002).
The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the effects of Head Start programs as its students move through kindergarten and first grade. In the study, I analyzed data to find relationships between student performance on the <i>Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening</i> (PALS) and classroom practices that led to high achievement. Reading performance at second grade was assessed using the <i>Developmental Reading Assessment</i>. Interviews and focus groups with principals, reading teachers, and teams of teachers from kindergarten and first grade at two Title I schools provided qualitative data regarding school practices. Results indicated that Head Start students begin kindergarten with strong early literacy skills but performance in early elementary school decreases over time. Further research is needed to determine effective practices for educators to address the needs of low-income students to ensure these students maintain the initial gains seen when they enter kindergarten.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/73320 |
| Date | 24 October 2016 |
| Creators | Groover, Daria |
| Contributors | Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, Patrizio, Kami M., Guth, Nancy D., Mallory, Walter D., Glenn, William Joseph |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
Page generated in 0.0025 seconds