Early
Head Start and Research Evaluation Project
Being an early childhood professional has enabled me
to recognize issues that involve young children and how they learn, grow,
develop and progress. All children are
different and have different learning styles.
I believe that the Head Start Program is a good opportunity for young
children to begin the development and learning process.
An article that I found very interesting was The
Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. The project involved 3,001 children and
families in 17 sites; half received early head start services, while the other
half were randomly assigned to a control group that did not receive early head
start services, even though they were free to used other services in the community. Parents and children were assessed when the
children were 14, 24, and 36 months old.
Families were also interviewed about their use of a wide range of
services at 6, 15, and 26 months after enrollment. The 17 sites were selected to reflect the
array of all Early Head Start programs according to geographic region,
racial-ethnic status, urban-rural location, and program experience in serving
infants and toddlers. Implementing the
Head Start Program Standards early and fully is important in order to maximizing
impacts on children and the families.
Findings showed that the program had an impact
across a wide range of child and parenting outcomes that bode well for children’s
future school success. The broad impacts
on child development, combined with changes and literacy provided a foundation
that subsequent programs can build on in order to continue the early head start
gains.
Reference
Early Head Start Benefits Children and Their
Families (Research)
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/ehs/ehs_resrch/index.htm.
Head-start is a great program. I strongly feel that head-start positively impact children and helps them to have a strong foundation in their learning process. I feel that it helps them to be ready for kindergarten.
ReplyDeleteKesha,
ReplyDeleteI truly enjoyed reading your blog on Early Head Start. I personally have observed an Early Head Start program it was a great experience in which "play" was a significant part of their learning. The children in this class loved to come to school and learn I am a big advocate for Head Start programs.
Kesha,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your discussion of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. I believe that projects like this one are important for the development of programs and for our profession. Some people undervalue the impact that early education can have on children, especially at risk children. Hopefully people will begin to see the information that these research projects are collecting and funding for programs will increase. I have never understood why some people do not support early childhood education. This is the beginning of the educational careers and why would we want children to start behind?
Thanks for your comments,
Amanda
Hi Kesha,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Head Start programs have proven to work for disadvantage youth for years but is is tragic that the funding for this program keeps getting cut. this is another glaring example of how legislators don't value educating the very poor.