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2 - Methods
This chapter describes the methodology used in this study, including descriptions of the data sources, data collection and analytic strategies.
Data sources included the annual Head Start Program Information Report (PIR), a mail-administered written survey of grantees, and site visits to 30 Head Start programs (58 classrooms). Analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data was used to document the cultural and linguistic diversity of children and families served by Head Start, as well as the response of programs to this increasing diversity.
In 1993, surveys were conducted and PIR data were analyzed in order to describe both the population served and program responses to this population. In the spring of 1995, in-depth site visits were conducted in 30 Head Start programs. These site visits form the primary focus of this report as they provide rich descriptions of how Head Start programs have responded to an increasingly diverse population of children and families. To illustrate the dynamic nature of the Head Start population, PIR data from 1998-1999 are also presented.
Research Questions
The current study addresses research questions related to the diversity of those served by Head Start, the challenges that programs face in serving these populations, and the solutions and innovations used by programs to meet the challenges. Following is a list of the study questions:
- How diverse is the Head Start population?
- What services have programs developed (i.e., classroom curricula, parent involvement components, etc.) to address the unique service needs of children and families from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds?
- What are the various types of cultural, logistical, and administrative barriers which Head Start programs face in attempting to serve these populations?
Consultants
The Technical Advisory Panel served as a regular source of guidance and feedback throughout the study. Panel members provided guidance on the evaluation design, hypotheses, sampling plan, development/selection of data collection instruments, data collection strategies, data analysis, and synthesis of the study findings. They facilitated awareness of issues and concerns regarding program practices, and ensured that appropriate contacts and authorizations were made with Head Start staff, Head Start officials, and a host of extended organizations.
ACYF selected Technical Advisory Panel members who are experts in the fields of multicultural early childhood education with considerable experience with the workings of Head Start programs. The membership included the following people:
- Dr. Margo Gottlieb, Director of Assessment and Evaluation, Illinois Resource Center;
- Dr. Luis Laosa, Principal Research Scientist, Educational Testing Service;
- Dr. Carol Brunson Phillips, Executive Director for the Council on Early Childhood Professional Recognition; and
- Dr. Marlene Zepeda, Professor, California State University, Los Angeles.
Mr. Gilbert Garcia, of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs (OBEMLA), U.S. Department of Education, also attended the meetings of the Technical Advisory Panel to provide insight and information from OBEMLA's perspective.
In November 1993, the Technical Advisory Panel assisted in finalizing the survey questions and in May 1994, members made suggestions about site visits and the ways in which they would be carried out. The members were also asked for their input on the format of this report and the reporting of project results applicable and useful to ACYF and to practitioners.
The research team also consulted with several persons outside of ACYF, including Ms. Mary Lewis, a retired program officer from the Head Start Bureau, who provided in-depth knowledge of bilingual and multicultural Head Start programs. In her previous position, Ms. Lewis was instrumental in developing ACYF's Multicultural Principles and in overseeing six specially funded Head Start bilingual and multicultural demonstration projects. Ms. Lewis reviewed the data collection instruments, suggested changes in wording to make these more familiar to Head Start staff and recommended interviewing other relevant staff.
The research team met with bilingual and multicultural grantee representatives at a Head Start conference in San Francisco, California, to: (1) identify what instruments were used to examine multicultural issues in their centers; (2) identify important multicultural domains; and (3) explore resources available to Head Start staff in implementing the Multicultural Principles. Also consulted were seven education component coordinators from the Texas Migrant Council and approximately 70 Head Start administrators from Region IX. These meetings afforded an opportunity for the research team to explore issues related to multicultural practices and to pretest the instruments.
Draft reports were reviewed by a board which consisted of the following professionals: Ms. Parker Anderson, Assistant Director, Professional Development, National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); Dr. Linda M. Espinosa, University of Missouri; Dr. Margo Gottleib, Illinois Resource Center (also on the Technical Advisory Panel, supporting and guiding the research efforts from the beginning); and Dr. Patton Tabors, Harvard University, Graduate School of Education.
Data Collection
To obtain information on the ethnicity and primary languages of children, services provided to them, challenges and successes encountered while providing those services, and lessons learned from programs, three sources of data collection were utilized
- Start Program Information Report (PIR) data, based on annual
self-reported surveys of all programs, was used to determine the
characteristics of the Head Start population (including geographic
distribution, ethnicity, and home languages). As indicated earlier,
population characteristics are reported from spring of 1993, when
the study was begun and the surveys were completed. The 1998-1999
PIR data is also presented as an update and to demonstrate the increasing
diversity in the Head Start population.
- A national survey of all Head Start grantees was conducted in
order to gather information on the population served and the range
of services available to culturally and linguistically diverse children
and families. The survey included information on the language and
ethnicity of children and staff, brief descriptions of waiting lists,
materials and innovative services. The survey was mailed in the
spring of 1993 to all 2,006 Head Start programs. A response rate
of 71 percent was achieved for the survey (n=1413).
- The research team visited 30 programs to gather qualitative data on services designed to meet the needs of diverse ethnic and linguistic groups. Interviews, focus groups, and site observations were used to collect this information. All 58 classrooms in these programs were also observed. Site visits lasted from three to four days. The sample of 30 programs was selected based on an analysis of the survey data and consultations with Head Start staff and Regional Offices. Sites were selected on the basis of diversity of children and families; diversity of staff; innovative classroom materials and curricula; and staff training in multicultural awareness, sensitivity and procedures. The site visits allowed for an even greater in-depth understanding of the challenges and solutions to serving diverse populations. A more detailed description of the site visits is presented below.
Site Visits
These in-depth case studies describe practices and challenges in a variety of Head Start programs. The site visits provided a deeper understanding of the nature of the challenges faced by Head Start staff. Observations focused on processes and procedures and went beyond collecting simple frequencies of incidence. Thus, the site visits allowed for examination of the need for cultural sensitivity as well as documentation of how individual Head Start programs have responded to that need. The qualitative methodology consisted of: observations in the community; interviews with Head Start directors, component coordinators and teachers; focus group interviews with parents; and observations to describe the site, classroom context, and multicultural component services.
Sites were selected through careful analysis of the survey data and consultations with Head Start staff and Regional Offices. Selected sites included self-reported multicultural programs from the mail survey respondents, which a) served diverse groups, b) had staff that spoke the language of their enrollees, c) had diverse materials, and d) provided training in multicultural awareness, sensitivity, and procedures.
Site characteristics are presented in Tables 2.1 through 2.4. The chosen sites represent a broad array of geographic locales, sizes, agency auspices, and populations served. Larger programs were somewhat over-represented as large urban programs tended to serve a more diverse population. However, programs ranged from very small (less than 200 children) to large (over 1,000 children enrolled). Of the agencies visited, ten were public/private non-profit, nine were Community Action Agencies, six were school-based programs, and four were run by local governments. Programs tended to serve children with a variety of home languages. Eight programs had between eight and ten languages, and five programs had more than ten languages.
| Area |
Site Location |
|---|---|
| NE |
TOTAL = 8 |
| SE |
TOTAL = 4 |
| NW |
TOTAL = 6 |
| SW |
TOTAL = 6 |
| CENTRAL |
TOTAL = 6 |
| TOTAL SITES |
30 |
| Total Funded Enrollment |
Number of Programs |
|---|---|
| Less than 200 |
7 |
| 201 - 400 |
5 |
| 401 - 600 |
4 |
| 601 - 800 |
4 |
| 801 - 1,000 |
2 |
| Over 1,000 |
8 |
| TOTAL |
30 |
| Agency |
Number of Programs |
|---|---|
| School System |
6 |
| Non-Profit Organization |
12 |
| Community Action Agency |
9 |
| Local Government Agency |
4 |
| TOTAL |
30 |
| Number of Languages Represented |
Number of Programs |
|---|---|
| English Only |
2 |
| English + 1 Language |
2 |
| English + 2 Languages |
4 |
| English + 3 Languages |
4 |
| English + 4 Languages |
2 |
| English + 5 Languages |
2 |
| English + 6 to 10 Languages |
9 |
| English + Over 10 Languages |
5 |
| TOTAL |
30 |
Site Visit Instruments
Due to time and resource constraints of data collection efforts (two-person teams for 3 to 4 days at each site), research staff had to quickly focus upon the identification of innovative multicultural practices being used in the Head Start programs. Therefore, the following instruments were developed for carrying out the in-depth site-visits for the descriptive study:
- Interviews
- Center Coordinator Interview. The team interviewed the individual who was directly responsible for the day-to-day management of the selected center. The interview focused on: profile of children (ethnicity and language proficiency) served by the center; parent participation in center activities; community support for bilingual/multicultural services; the program (ages served, facilities, funding for special services, in-service training, teacher turnover); and bilingual and multicultural services (types of services, language abilities of staff-teachers; credentialing and in-service training).
- Parent Involvement Coordinator Interview. The person responsible for the design, implementation, and supervision of all parent involvement activities was the source for this interview information. These activities included parents working as volunteers, attending training courses (such as health education, job skills, and parenting), and participating as members on Head Start committees. Interview questions focused on types of services and opportunities provided, and the extent and type of parent involvement from different linguistic and cultural groups.
- Social Services/Outreach Coordinator Interview. The research team interviewed persons responsible for recruitment, selection, provision of social services and with linking Head Start families with services related to literacy and job training, health services, and programs serving other special needs. Interviews focused on types of services, recruitment practices, community participation and support, language and cultural characteristics of service providers, and participation of Head Start families.
- Health/Nutrition Coordinator Interview. The primary objectives of Head Start's health services are to provide a comprehensive health program covering medical, dental, nutrition, and mental health services to preschool children, including those with disabilities; to promote preventative health care; and to provide health education and community linkages to a health care system. Interviews included questions on the types of health services, language and cultural characteristics of service providers, local outreach techniques, and materials provided for parents.
- Education Coordinator Interview. The educational component provides for individual programming to meet the needs of children and families from ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The interview complemented classroom observations by focusing on the educational philosophy of the program, types of parent involvement, staff training, and resource materials.
- Teacher/Aide and Home Visitor Interview. The research team interviewed the lead teacher and aides in each observed classroom. This interview provided data on: educational background of the teachers; staff training; linguistic/cultural composition of the children in each classroom; the language use of teachers, aides, parents and children in the classroom; grouping of children; and services provided. Where appropriate, this same section was used to interview persons responsible for carrying out home visits.
- Head Start Bilingual Specialist Interview. In sites having
an individual with responsibilities for coordinating services or
consulting with teachers and aides about bilingual and multicultural
services provided to children, that person was interviewed. The
interview focused on: the goals and objectives of the services;
the population served; the types of services (dual-instruction,
language separation, ESL, Afrocentric, etc.); enrichment programs
available (libraries, computer); program history; and materials
or curricula used.
- Disabilities Coordinator Interview. The Disabilities Services
Coordinator designs, coordinates and implements the services and
recruiting of disabled children. In sites with this position, the
research team interviewed that person. The interview focused on:
the organization of the handicapped services, including recruitment,
enrollment, diagnosis and provision of services; the coordination
of an interdisciplinary team (if one exists) to support services;
staffing; services provided by community agencies; training for
staff and parents; specialists employed to work with the disabled
children; advocacy work; and the technical assistance needs of the
program.
- Parent Focus Groups
- Observation Forms and Note Taking
Interview schedules were designed for key individuals at each site. A core set of common questions was asked of all interviewees. In addition to these core questions, there were questions on specific component areas (i.e., health and nutrition, education, social services, and parent involvement). In cases where a person occupied more than one position at the site, he or she responded to the core questions and to the sections relevant to his or her specific responsibilities. Highly trained field workers knowledgeable in the organization and characteristics of Head Start programs conducted the interviews using a format containing largely open-ended questions for each interviewee. The questions were consistent for a given type of respondent, and permitted the collection of comparable data across study sites. Following are descriptions where the grantee had a number of Head Start centers to administer, the research team interviewed the individual who had direct responsibility for coordinating bilingual and multicultural services. The interview focused on: grantee interpretations of Head Start mandates; financial issues; grantee policies and resultant guidelines for providing services; other child development services available in the community; and the number and demographic characteristics of the students receiving services within the grantee catchment area.
Research staff conducted focus groups with Head Start families participating in bilingual and multicultural services. Convening groups of parents provided information on how the strategies employed by the Head Start program were seen by the actual recipients.
Observers used both checklists and running notes to capture the richness of activities in the sites. Checklists are an efficient means of collecting data, and were used to determine the range of services provided at a given site. Classroom observations were conducted using a running log of naturally occurring activities. Research staff prepared a list of all persons in the room before an observation began. Then, they described the behavior of each person for each activity. Such note-taking, focused on specific activities, allowed for an accurate estimate of services provided in an individual classroom.
Analytic Strategy
The analytic strategy is primarily descriptive. The research team looked for information across the three sources that could illuminate promising practices in Head Start programs. Again, the goal of this report is to describe what Head Start programs have been doing to address the needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse population, what constraints programs have faced. Simple frequencies from the PIR and survey data will be presented along with narrative descriptions of information gleaned from the site visits.
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