Table of Contents | Previous | Next |
APPENDIX C: EARLY HEAD START OUTCOMES IN STAFF DEVELOPMENT AT THE WASHINGTON STATE MIGRANT COUNCIL
Joseph J. Stowitschek and Eduardo J. Armijo
University of Washington
OVERVIEW
A consistent need identified by human service agencies is the recruitment and retention of qualified bilingual and culturally-sensitive personnel. Often, the persons who have the appropriate linguistic and cultural qualifications are not trained to provide the levels of services needed by families. Staff development is identified as one of the “cornerstones” of Early Head Start (along with an emphasis on children, families, and communities), and is a major component of the Washington State Migrant Council’s (WSMC) Early Head Start project. Upon receiving funding, WSMC sought to include this component as a priority for the research partnership. WSMC also felt that because of the make-up of the families being served (mostly migrant and Hispanic farmworking families) a qualified, well-trained staff with opportunities for growth and development, would be essential to ensure that the diverse needs displayed by these families are met.
The WSMC staff has received training in several areas over the course of the project, as well as educational incentives as part of an overall staff development effort. Areas of training, which were designed to help families, included: brain development, conflict and anger management, proper food preparation, disabilities training, and transition services. Much of this training was directed at refining and prioritizing focus areas to work with families, and also to enhance overall service delivery methodology.
The following is a summary of findings resulting from surveys and interviews of staff regarding personal and professional growth they feel resulted from being a part of the WSMC Early Head Start project, and how this helped shape their service delivery efforts. These findings are based on ongoing research being conducted by the University of Washington as part of the national Early Head Start research initiative.
METHODS USED
Two protocols, developed by University of Washington staff, were used to provide information: the “Staff Development Interview” and the “Family Services Information Questionnaire.” The “Staff Development Interview” provided data pertaining to: staffs’ educational goals and career aspirations; training; and incentives and disincentives for personal and professional growth. The “Family Services Information Questionnaire” provided data pertaining to service delivery focus areas and methods. The “Staff Development Interview” was completed in one-on-one interviews with WSMC Early Head Start staff, and the “Family Services Information Questionnaire” was completed by WSMC Early Head Staff during a records review process. Service delivery staff included six Home Educators and two Case Managers, the Project Coordinator, and the Project Director.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES
Staff Educational Goals/Career Aspirations. Interviews revealed that four of the WSMC staff had attained some degree of post-secondary education, another four had Associates of Arts degrees, and two had Bachelor’s degrees related to their roles. When asked what levels of education they aspired to, seven indicated that attaining a Bachelor’s degree was a goal, and six indicated that attaining a Master’s level degree was also a goal. One staff member indicated that she would eventually like to obtain a doctorate level degree.
To help staff attain these goals, WSMC offered incentives to their staff to encourage them to continue with their education. This included an education-reimbursement package (including 100% tuition, books, mileage, childcare) and flex time schedules to accommodate coursework.
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being “Discourage” and 5 being “Encourage,” Early Head Start staff uniformly rated WSMC’s efforts in this area with a “5.”
Many of the staff’s educational goals were directly related to career aspirations. When asked what position(s) they would like to hold in the future, one of the staff indicated that she would like to eventually run a certified daycare center; four would like to transition to a full-time case management position; three would like to become teachers (either with Head Start or a public school); three would like to eventually become coordinators or supervisors of a programs that serve families; one would like to become a higher-level program administrator; and one individual would like to eventually become a public school administrator.
Training. WSMC reported placing a heavy emphasis on staff development through training, both within and outside of the agency. Areas of training received included: child development (e.g., brain development, disabilities); conflict and anger management; transition services; and even proper food preparation. During a given year, staff received an average of nearly fifty-five hours of training, gaining knowledge to help in their service delivery efforts, as well as to pass on to families.
Staff were asked to rate how this training contributed to their professional skills and career advancement. A 1 to 5 scale was used, with 1 being “Not at all Contributive” and 5 being “Very Contributive.” In the area of how trainings contributed to their professional skills, staff rated this an average 4.5. In the area of how the trainings contributed to their career advancement, staff rated this an average 4.3 (see Table 1).
| Training Title | Contributes to Profession | Contributes to Career |
|---|---|---|
| Brain Development | 5.0 | 3.5 |
| YAC Brain Development | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Developing Capable People | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Conflict/anger Management | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Sharing (Early) Horizons | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Transition | 4.2 | 4.3 |
| Queso Fresco | 4.1 | 3.7 |
| Disabilities | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Infant/Toddler | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Special Quest | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Average | 4.5 | 4.3 |
| (1=Not at All Contributive, 5=Very Contributive) |
Incentives and Disincentives. Personnel were queried regarding incentives and disincentives connected with their jobs as Early Head Start staff. Areas of interest included job-related incentives (e.g., pay, outside trainings), inservice training provided by WSMC, attitudes of co-workers, and attitudes of WSMC supervisors and administrators. A 1 to 5 scale was used, with 1 being “Discourage” and 5 being “Encourage.” On the average, staff rated job-related incentives at 4.1, WSMC training at 3.9, co-worker attitudes at 3.2, and supervisors/administrators attitudes at 4.0 (see Figure 1).
![[FIGURE 1 STAFF INCENTIVE AND DISINCENTIVE RATINGS ON A 1 TO 5 SCALE]](images/pways_apdixc_fig1.gif)
|
In response to open-ended questions, Early Head Start staff in general indicated that WSMC and the Early Head Start program neither hindered nor otherwise prevented them from acquiring personal or professional goals. Indeed, as seen above, growth in these areas is strongly encouraged by the agency and program. In addition to professional growth, many of the staff feel they have been personally enriched by the program in areas such as raising their own children, reaching out to families in need, and increasing their own self-esteem and self-confidence.
DISCUSSION
The staff development features explored in this study suggest that the WSMC Early Head Start project is highly committed to the cornerstone of Staff Development. But how do the above areas relate to services being delivered to families? Early Head Start staff uniformly indicated that the incentives received as part of their jobs had a spill-over effect with the families they worked with. For example, over a three-year period staff reported 26% average increases in hours spent with families as part of regular visits, as well as over 300% average increases in hours spent training families in project-related areas (e.g., child development issues, proper food preparation). In addition, staff reported nearly 400% average increases in contact with families over the phone.
There has also been a shift in focus areas during the same three-year period. An increase in the percentage of time spent in the areas of mental health, nutrition, child language development, and father involvement was reported by Early Head Start staff. Additionally, staff reported an increase in the percentage of time spent in specific service delivery methods (both direct and indirect) during this time. Specific areas included coaching families, providing praise and feedback to families, problem solving, assessing and evaluation, verbal pointers, and arranging resources for families.
Most of the Early Head Start staff we studied were derived from the same Hispanic roots as the Early Head Start families they served, only one or two generations removed. Thus, their professional successes and advancements reflect the hopes, aspirations, and opportunities that are strived for with these younger, poorer Hispanic families. For rural Early Head Start, the demonstration of professional growth and advancement is an outcome of critically high import.
| Table of Contents | Previous | Next |