2015-2020
Within the Office of Head Start, the Regional Office for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) is responsible for Head Start programs that specifically serve the children and families of migrant and seasonal farmworkers. The Design for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Survey provided extensive information about the unique characteristics of the MSHS programs and the appropriate methods for studying the programs. It was essential that the MSHS Study use culturally and linguistically appropriate measures, gather meaningful information about children age zero to five years of age, and be able to flexibly schedule for the unpredictable program season of MSHS centers.
In 2015, the Administration for Children and Families funded a new study—the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Study (MSHS Study)—to focus on MSHS programs and the families they serve. The MSHS Study planned a sample to examine the characteristics of the whole population of MSHS programs, centers, families and children across the United States (a nationally representative study). The study provides much-needed information on MSHS programs and centers, as well as the migrant and seasonal farmworker families they serve.
The MSHS Study gathered information from:
- Programs and centers—collected from surveys of program and center directors
- Classrooms—collected through classroom observations and from surveys of teachers and assistant teachers
- Families—collected from interviews with parents
- Children—collected from direct assessments, assessor ratings, and parent and teacher ratings of children
Although the study gathered a range of program, practice and family information, a central theme of the data collection focused on language practice and the language skills and abilities of the children served. This provides a unique opportunity for researchers interested in the context of dual language learner development.
Research Questions:
- What are the characteristics of MSHS programs, centers, staff, families, and children?
- What services does MSHS provide, and what are the instructional practices and general classroom quality of MSHS classrooms?
- What are the associations between MSHS characteristics and child/family well-being?
Data are archived at the Child and Family Data Archive Visit disclaimer page .
The contract for the MSHS Study was awarded in September 2015 to Abt Associates, with their partners the Catholic University of America and Westat.
Point(s) of contact: Wendy DeCourcey.
Information collections related to this project were reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970L0493 which expired 07/31/2018.