Introduction
This technical report and accompanying brief examine data from three successive cohorts of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (2006, 2009, and 2014) for trends in observed classroom quality and some teacher characteristics. We also examine whether changes in some teacher characteristics (such as education and professional development activities) are associated with changes in classroom quality.
Findings suggest some overall increases in average classroom quality from 2006 to 2014 and from 2009 to 2014, as well some positive changes in selected teacher characteristics. Changes in the teacher characteristics examined accounted for 15% of the trends in observed classroom quality.
The technical report includes detail about the study design, method, and analytic approach.
The brief summaries the key findings from the report by addressing four research questions:
- Has the observed quality of Head Start classrooms changed from 2006 to 2014, or from 2009 to 2014?
- Are there changes in mentoring in Head Start programs from FACES 2006 to 2014? Specifically, how many teachers report that they have a mentor? Who provides mentoring?
- Have the levels of education of Head Start teachers changed from FACES 2006 to 2014?
- Are changes in observed classroom quality across cohorts explained by changes in selected teacher characteristics (prevalence of mentoring, who provides mentoring, and level of education)?