Head Start Teachers Research Articles

North Carolina head start teachers’ needs, resources, experiences, and priority for science education and professional development

ABSTRACT Early science learning is a part of preschool curriculum that can have positive outcomes for children’s scientific knowledge and interest. Head Start teachers are well positioned to implement quality science lessons. Through an in-depth needs assessment survey, the current study examined North Carolina preschool Head Start teachers’ responses on needs, resources, experiences with professional development, and personal priority levels for science education. Our analysis revealed that Head Start teachers mostly utilized informal teaching methods and used curricular and organizational resources, but utilizing mealtimes for teaching science had mixed responses. Teachers reported their access to resources and connections to community partnerships. Teachers preferred asynchronous or online PD formats and were motivated by compensation and continuing education credits while accessing PD. Most teachers rated science to be a very or extremely important personal priority. Differences in teacher education, experience, and position levels also influenced the findings of the study. The implication section delineates steps that can be taken toward strengthening science education within Head Start settings along with support that can be provided to teachers.

Associations between Preschool Teachers' Food-Based Learning Frequency, Level of Personal Priority and Identified Resources and Challenges: A Needs Assessment.

Food-based learning (FBL) is the use of food as a teaching tool in the classroom, which can expose children to healthy foods to improve preference and consumption. However, more research is needed on the use and perception of FBL in the Head Start (HS) preschool classroom. In an online survey, we explored associations between North Carolina HS teachers' (n = 168) experiences (e.g., resources, challenges, needs, and preferences) with FBL, how frequently teachers implemented it, and how much they prioritized it. We used frequencies and chi-square tests of independence to assess associations between study variables. Teachers reported using FBL regularly with access to FBL resources (e.g., books and center play materials) and experiencing challenges (e.g., lack of funding and material resources). Teachers partnered with parents and farmers markets and expressed a need for additional FBL professional development. Our needs assessment findings revealed specific resources, challenges, and perceptions significantly associated with how often teachers used FBL and their priority level. Additional research should investigate how to alleviate FBL challenges and strategies to create policy and environmental changes that facilitate early FBL.

Engagement with reservation-based Head Start teachers to explore their stress and coping: A qualitative study

BackgroundNative Americans residing in remote reservation communities find strength in connection to place, culture, language, and sovereignty; they also face challenges as their communities struggle with historical and contemporary traumas that have resulted in poverty, high crime and suicide rates and drug misuse. The psychological well-being of Head Start teachers who teach and support the needs of Native American children, is overlooked. MethodsQualitative interviews (n = 18) and focus groups (n = 9) were conducted with Head Start teachers, supervisors, parents, and ancillary staff to identify risk and protective factors at each level of the socioecological model (individual, relationships, community, society). Using content analysis and F4 analyse software two coders identified recurring themes. ResultsIndividually teachers are resilient, focused more on the children's well-being than their own. Family was both significant support and stressor. Community struggles with drug and alcohol misuse and homelessness were the most frequent stressors. Workplace support included their supervisors and the mentorship they provided each other. Spirituality in the form traditional cultural practices, prayer and Christen faith were important sources of support and well-being. ConclusionsThis paper provides insight into the stress and coping mechanisms of reservation-based Head Start teachers, identifying ways to protect and promote their health and well-being. It is important to provide support at all levels of the socioecological model to enable these teachers to strengthen their physical and psychological health and wellbeing so that they may support the children and families of Head Start to help strengthen Native American health overall.

Feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of a culturally informed intervention to decrease stress and promote well-being in reservation-based Native American Head Start teachers

BackgroundWhile benefiting from strong cultural ties to family, land and culture Native Americans residing on reservations experience psychological distress at rates 2.5 times that of the general population. Treatment utilization for psychological health in reservation-based communities is low with access to culturally appropriate care lacking. Evidence suggests that for mental health treatment, Native Americans prefer culturally informed care that respects Native perspectives on health and well-being.MethodsTo decrease stress and promote well-being in tribal Head Start teachers we adapted and implemented a culturally focused intervention within a community-based participatory research framework using mixed methods. Feasibility and acceptability of the adapted 5-session curriculum was tested in a single arm intervention study with a sample of 18 teachers on the Fort Peck Reservation. Participants completed surveys at baseline and upon completion of the intervention. Within session observations and two post-intervention focus groups (n = 8, n = 10) were conducted to elaborate and explain the quantitative results eliciting participant experience of intervention effectiveness and feasibility, acceptably and appropriateness. Implementation outcomes were assessed quantitatively using the Acceptability of Intervention, Intervention Appropriateness, and Feasibility of Intervention measures.ResultsQuantitively, attendance rate overall was 93% with no dropouts. Pretest/posttest surveys were analyzed using t-tests and Hedges g to measure effect size. Contrary to our hypothesis, self-perceived stress showed a small positive effect size, indicating that participants were more stressed post intervention. However, depression decreased, with tribal identity and resilience showing positive effect sizes. Content analysis for the qualitative data collected within session observations and post intervention focus groups revealed how lifetime traumas were affecting participants, providing some explanation for the increase in stress. Teachers reported that the sessions helped their psychological health and well-being, supporting feasibility of future interventions. Acceptability scored highest with a mean (SD) of 4.25 (.84) out of 5, appropriateness 4.18 (.86) and feasibility 4.06 (.96) supporting intervention to be acceptable, appropriate, and feasible.ConclusionUtilizing a culturally based intervention to buffer stress and support the well-being of reservation-based teachers showed promise in helping them recognize their cultural strengths, stress, and need for ongoing support. Implementation outcomes show that intervention scale-out is feasible.

Exploring professionalization in early childhood: Reflections from a veteran Head Start teacher

In early childhood education there has long been a focus on “professionalizing the field.” While professionalization initiatives can be well meaning, they can have unintended consequences that exacerbate already existing systemic inequities present in the early childhood workforce, such as restricting opportunities for teachers of color to both progress in their fields and contribute to the knowledge that is often valued in “child-centered” spaces. In this article, the authors explore the consequences of professionalization policies from the perspective of a veteran Head Start teacher, Monae, whose tenure in early childhood started as a child attendee of the Head Start grant that her mother, and several other Black women, implemented in a Midwestern rust-belt city beginning in 1967. Drawing from post-qualitative and narrative methodologies, they foreground Monae's lived experience, as she had a front-row seat to a rising tide of accountability and the ways in which professionalization efforts created structures that limited the participation of many early childhood teachers. The organization that had held the Head Start grant in Monae's community since 1967 failed to meet rising accountability requirements. Monae describes what happened next, when a local district took over the grant. Through these stories, we can learn lessons about how problematic power dynamics and inequitable district policies can weaken the relationships between teachers, families, and Head Start classrooms, as well as between Head Start and the broader community.

Assessment of knowledge and attitudes toward determinants of infant mortality in Head Start teachers, teacher aides, caregivers, and family support workers

Assessment of knowledge and attitudes toward determinants of infant mortality in Head Start teachers, teacher aides, caregivers, and family support workers

SAM on My Plate: Exploring Head Start Teachers' Use of Food to Teach Science, Mathematics, and Literacy

SAM on My Plate: Exploring Head Start Teachers' Use of Food to Teach Science, Mathematics, and Literacy

More PEAS Please! Teaching Head Start Teachers How to Integrate Food-Based Learning Into Preschool Science

More PEAS Please! Teaching Head Start Teachers How to Integrate Food-Based Learning Into Preschool Science

Early Childhood Education Teacher Stress: Qualitative understandings and insights

Previous research demonstrates teacher stress to be an impediment to physical and mental well-being, to child outcomes, as well as to the relationship between teacher and child. Teacher stress is reported to take many forms. While working conditions (e.g., low pay, lack of support) may account for some of the teacher stress experienced, distinct teaching stress (i.e., the emotionality of working with young children) is experienced by teachers in early childhood classrooms. Moreover, the current zeitgeist (e.g., COVID-19, lack of economic support, gun violence in schools) additionally burdens teachers making learning directly from teachers the sources of their stress, the means by which they abate that stress, and how they perceive children are affected by their levels of stress imperative. Methods: Adding to the literature in a manner that promotes teacher voices and positionality, the current investigation qualitatively inquired of 6 Head Start (HS) teachers in a mid-Western, urban city-center during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, asking 1) What are HS teachers’ conceptions of stress, and 2) What are the histories, stories, and lived experiences of these teachers which undergird their conceptions. Results: Using techniques of individual and focus group interviews, data were inductively analyzed to reveal HS classrooms operating as a series of competing priorities, each of which, according to the teachers of this investigation, limited the means by which they could attend to their own stress and well-being and to the stress and well-being of students. Conclusions: Implications and recommendations are discussed.

Examining the Associations between Teacher Job Satisfaction, Workplace Climate, and Well-Being Resources within Head Start Programs

ABSTRACT Research Findings: Teachers in early care and education (ECE) face tremendous challenges, which can lead to poor well-being, low job satisfaction, and high turnover rates. Thus, it is essential to understand the factors related to job satisfaction as well as the well-being resources that teachers need. The study used multilevel modeling to examine the associations between organizational factors and teachers’ job satisfaction among 166 Head Start teachers. Results indicate that organizational climate and diversity climate within the centers were positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction. However, the availability of well-being resources was not significantly related to teachers’ satisfaction with their job. Teachers identified higher wages, less paperwork, and support for managing children’s behaviors as the most needed resources for their well-being. Practice or Policy: The study addresses the importance of a positive work climate for policymakers and program leaders to consider as a way of improving ECE teachers’ job satisfaction. It also emphasizes the most needed well-being resources identified by teachers, especially those working with children in poverty.

Integration of Food-based Learning With Science in the Preschool Classroom: Implementation Gaps and Opportunities

ObjectiveTo explore Head Start teachers’ use and integration of food-based learning (FBL) with science learning in the Head Start classroom. DesignPhenomenological approach using in-depth semistructured telephone interviews. SettingNorth Carolina Head Start preschools. ParticipantsThirty-five Head Start lead and assistant teachers. Phenomenon of InterestAll interviews were transcribed verbatim. Authors coded interview data for emergent themes. AnalysisEleven primary themes were identified during analysis and inductively organized using the Systems Thinking Iceberg Model. ResultsTeachers described most frequently using FBL during mealtimes. Teachers stated they felt successful when children were engaged and willing to try a new food. However, they struggled to connect food to science concepts. Teachers reported several motivators (eg, improving health) and barriers (eg, food waste) to integrating FBL. Teachers prioritized preparing children for kindergarten, but most teachers did not see how FBL could help them achieve this goal. Conclusions and ImplicationsHead Start teacher professional development programs could impact all 4 levels of the Systems Thinking Model to improve teachers’ perceptions, underlying structures, and mental models regarding integrative FBL. Additional research is warranted to investigate the adoption, implementation, and potential impact of FBL on academic outcomes.

The Pre-implementation Process of Adapting a Culturally Informed Stress Reduction Intervention for Native American Head Start Teachers

Head Start is a federally funded program for children (3–5 years) from low-income families. In the Fort Peck Native American Reservation, tribal Head Start teachers have reported high stress in supporting children experiencing adverse childhood experiences. Thus, we adapted the Little Holy One intervention (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04201184) for the teachers’ context and culture to enhance psychological health and well-being. Within a participatory framework, the eight-step ADAPT-ITT methodology was used to guide the adaptation process: assessment; decision; adaptation; production; topical experts; integration; training; and testing. For Step 1, we purposive sampled 27 teachers, ancillary staff, and parents to understand teachers’ stress, support mechanisms, and interest in an intervention via focus groups (n = 9) and individual interviews (n = 18). Qualitative data underscored teachers’ experiences of stress, depression, and need for support (Step 1). Iterative feedback from a tribal advisory board and Little Holy One designers rendered selection of five lessons (Step 2, 5), which were adapted for the teachers via theater testing (Step 3, 4). Community capacity assessment revealed their ability to implement the intervention (Step 6). Testing of this adapted intervention in a feasibility trial (steps 7, 8) will be reported in a future publication. A rigorous systematic process within a participatory framework allowed intervention adaption based on community input. Leveraging “culture as treatment” may be useful for enhancing psychological health outcomes for Native Americans who historically underutilize existing psychological services.

Nonverbal supports for word learning: Prekindergarten teachers’ gesturing practices during shared book reading

Children learn words through recruiting cues from verbal and nonverbal input, yet research in early childhood classrooms has focused almost exclusively on linguistic input. Nonverbal input, such as gestures, supports word learning for young children, particularly those with less linguistic knowledge, through capturing children's attention and enhancing semantic input. The present study investigates Head Start teachers’ gesturing practices as a means for bolstering children's word-learning during shared book reading sessions. Teachers used an evidence-based curriculum supported by professional development. Using multimodal analysis of thirty-three videos of shared book reading, we coded five types of gestures: iconic, beat, representational, deictic, and behavioral. Our analyses controlled for children's nonverbal intelligence and linguistic input from the teacher and the text read aloud. Results from multi-level models indicate teachers gesture frequently, and that total gestures and meaning-focused gestures are related to children's end-of-year receptive vocabulary scores as measured by the PPVT. Teachers are providing additional support and scaffolding for word learning and meaning-making through nonverbal means above and beyond the provided linguistic input. Our results indicate a need to further utilize multimodal analysis to study the role of nonverbal supports during shared book reading to better support young word learners.

The well-being of head start teachers: a scoping literature review

ABSTRACT Attention to students’ socio-emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes raises important considerations for the psychological well-being of teachers, especially Head Start teachers who often work with underserved families. This scoping review summarizes current literature on Head Start teacher psychological well-being and identifies 1. how teacher well-being is conceptualized and measured, 2. Which interventions exist to promote Head Start teacher psychological well-being or help them manage stress and 3. directions for future research. The review resulted in 32 articles (29 peer-reviewed and three gray literature). Findings highlight that research is primarily descriptive using cross-sectional surveys and secondary data. Evidence suggests that although resilient and committed as educators, Head Start teachers struggle to cope with the stressors involved in supporting early childhood education. Interventions to decrease stress and promote the psychological well-being are few but teachers indicate interest in such interventions. Autonomy, feeling valued for their work, collegiality between staff, and a supportive supervisor help improve job satisfaction, retention, and psychological well-being. Future research should be guided by conceptual models that prioritize Head Start teachers’ input, use of validated measures of psychological well-being with consideration of cultural and structural factors that influence well-being.

“I woke up to science”: Teacher narratives of growth in a culturally sustaining preschool STEM program

The study reported in this paper was conducted as part of a collaborative research project designed to develop a culturally sustaining approach to science, technology, and engineering education in preschool classrooms. Readiness through Integrative Science and Engineering (RISE) is an integrated approach to providing professional development support to Head Start teachers. Our strengths-based sociocultural approach is centered on best practices in preschool science, technology, and engineering (STE) pedagogy and intentional engagement of families through a home-school connections (HSC) perspective. Two forms of narrative analysis were integrated to generate multidimensional profiles of teachers that were then categorized into three groups representing variation in the teachers’' pathways to understanding and appropriating the RISE approach.

Early Childhood Education Teacher Well-Being: Performativity as a Means of Coping.

Detrimental circumstances (e.g., poverty, homelessness) may affect parents, parenting, and children. These circumstances may lead to children being labeled “at risk” for school failure. To ameliorate this risk, more school and school earlier (e.g., Head Start) is offered. To improve child outcomes, Head Start teachers are expected to bolster children?s academic readiness in a manner that is beneficially warm, circulating warmth in their classrooms to sustain positive teacher-child relationships and the positive climate of the classroom. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008) is one tool by which these domains of warmth are assessed. There are, however, significant personal and professional stressors with which Head Start teachers contend which the CLASS (Pianta et al., 2008) does not consider in its scoring methods. Uplifting the voices of six Head Start teachers, the present study implemented individual and focus group interviews during the summer and fall months of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, asking (a) What were the stories, histories, and lived experiences of these Head Start teachers with regard to stress and warmth in a time of crisis? and (b) How did these teachers understand and approach the CLASS (Pianta et al., 2008) and its measures of their warmth? Data demonstrated Head Start teachers engaged in a type of performativity to 1) mask their stress, potentially worsening their levels of stress in order to maintain warmth for their students’ sake, and 2) outwit the prescribed CLASS (Pianta et al., 2008) observations. Implications and insights are discussed.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10643-022-01387-2.

P035 COVID-19’s Impact on Head Start Teachers’ Relationships, Health Behaviors, and Stress Levels

BackgroundEarly care and education (ECE) workers experience physical and mental barriers to health. The novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) worsened ECE workers' physical health, emotional stress, and financial burdens. These measures of well-being are important as they have also been linked to ECE workers' relationship with children in their classrooms.ObjectiveExamine the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of North Carolina (NC) Head Start (HS) teachers with an emphasis on their personal/professional relationships, personal health behaviors, and stressors.Study Design, Setting, ParticipantsA cross sectional convenience sample of NC HS teachers were recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected from teachers across all three regions of North Carolina September 2020-March 2021 using an online 27-item survey.Measurable Outcome/AnalysisResearchers analyzed demographic information and quantitative survey data using basic descriptive statistics. Two researchers coded participants’ open-ended responses using basic thematic analysis.ResultsSurvey respondents (n = 88) were predominantly female (97.6%), Black/African American (46.6%) or White (43.2%), with an average age of 43 years old. Teachers reported increased challenges to maintaining relationships with coworkers (57.9%), children in their classrooms (84.4%), and the children's families (81.1%). Half (50.6%) reported COVID-19 impacted their health. Over 70% indicated COVID-19 made physical activity challenging, 61.5% experienced weight gain, and 59% increased their snacking. Teachers expressed an increase in six psychological distress indicators; nervousness (88.9%), hopelessness (54.3%), restlessness (72.4%), sadness (50.6%), everything is an effort (58.4%) and worthlessness (31.2%).ConclusionsSurvey results furthered the understanding of COVID-19’s effects on HS teacher health. In a workforce overburdened with stress, COVID-19 compounded and created barriers to wellness. Future research should explore avenues to reduce health barriers for all ECE workers during the ongoing pandemic.FundingNIH

P113 Head Start Teachers’ Needs, Assets, and Resources for Food-based Learning in the Classroom

P113 Head Start Teachers’ Needs, Assets, and Resources for Food-based Learning in the Classroom

Head start teachers act their way into new ways of thinking: Science and engineering practices in preschool classrooms

AbstractHow teachers' changes in their science teaching practices unfold over time remains unclear. We need greater understanding of the processes at work in professional development (PD) and how to sustain those processes that are effective over time. Effective PD processes are seen as those that recognize teacher change is multidimensional—taking an integrated view of the affective, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of teacher change. In this article, we report on what we learned about the teacher change process during a 2‐year preschool PD intervention effort with Head Start teachers that was focused on a science, technology, and engineering curriculum. The present study sought to further address gaps in our understanding of teacher change, by examining in more detail the multidimensional relations among Head Start teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward science teaching and learning (representing the cognitive domain of change) and their science and engineering practices (representing the behavioral domain). Forty‐eight teachers (n = 30 Intervention, n = 18 Control) from a large urban Head Start program in the northeastern US participated in this study. Results revealed that teachers' initial attitudes and beliefs had little effect on their science and engineering practices, whereas their science and engineering practices throughout the time of the project had a significant effect on their later attitudes and beliefs. In addition, teachers' science and engineering teaching practices were related to their ratings of children's overall engagement, though their attitudes toward and beliefs about teaching science were not.

Comparing Louisana and Pennslyvania Head Start Teachers' Physical and Mental Health

Racial disparities have been found to exist within the health care setting; this paper investigates the existence of such differences among Head Start (HS) staff in terms of health and wellness. The purpose of the study was to compare physical health indicators from a Louisiana HS sample to a previously published data set of Pennsylvania HS staff (Whitaker et al., 2013). We surveyed a predominately Black (85.6%) group of HS teachers (N = 195) using a modified questionnaire developed by a Pennsylvania research team. The responses were analyzed against a national reference and Pennsylvania group of HS teachers (Whitaker et al., 2013). Results indicated that HS teachers have a higher prevalence of health-related problems than the national sample. However, our sample of Black teachers in HS start classrooms experienced worse physical health than White women with similar characteristics (age, marital status). These results have profound implications regarding health disparities and the physical well-being of HS teachers.