DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36852.v1
title: Early Learning Mentor Coach Study (ELMC), 2010-2012 [42 States]
title: Version 1

description: The ELMC Study collected data to describe the objectives, activities, approaches, strategies, and other aspects of the Early Learning Mentor Coach (ELMC) initiative from the perspectives of Head Start grantees, coaches, and staff. In October 2010, the funds to support the ELMC initiative were distributed to 130 Head Start grantees in 42 states and the District of Columbia for a seventeen month period. Grantees used the funds to hire coaches to provide on-the-job guidance, training, mentoring and technical assistance to Head Start staff. The grant recipients reflected the diversity of Head Start programs, including Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and American Indian and Alaskan Native Head Start grantees. Data was collected using a mixed-methods design (qualitative and quantitative) and the following data collection instruments: a grantee census survey; a coach census survey; coach telephone interviews; and staff telephone interviews with staff who received coaching. <strong>At this time, only the quantitative data are available via ICPSR</strong>.
description: This study described the implementation of the Head Start coaching initiative and identified variations in approaches. Research questions included:

How are grantees implementing the mentor coach initiative?
What are grantee administrators, coaches, and staff perceptions of coaching?
What are implementation challenges and perceived areas of satisfaction?

The information collected in this study is extensive and achieves the primary purposes of
describing many practical details of the initiative from the viewpoints of the primary
stakeholders: grantee administrators, coaches, and program staff.
description: Achieving the goals of this study, within the time constraints of the ELMC initiative, required the
rapid design of an effective comprehensive strategy to collect information across the
administrators, coaches, and program staff members who were involved in the initiative. Thus, the
study utilized a mixed-methods design that employed both quantitative and qualitative data
collection and analysis methods. At this time, only the quantitative data is available via ICPSR.
Quantitative survey
methods were used to examine the prevalence of an array of coaching features among the
grantees and the coaches, and the sampling strategies allowed the research team to describe the ELMC
population of grantees and coaches and to make generalizations beyond simple, chance
occurrences.
Two instruments collected descriptive information about initiative experiences from the
population of ELMC grantees, the population of coaches, and from a matched sample of coaches
and the staff members they coached. The final quantitative data collection protocols were as follows:

Grantee census survey: This 40-question online survey was designed to collect descriptive data about
the overall approach to professional development used by the grantees (i.e., the
professional development context), the goals and objectives, the operation of the ELMC
initiative, the coaching approach and implementation, any perceptions about the
effectiveness of coaching, any reflections about the challenges of coaching, and the plans
for sustaining coaching.
Mentor coach census survey: This 63-question online survey required was designed to collect descriptive data
about the background and the experience of the coaches, preparation for the ELMC
initiative, the approach to coaching, the goals and the content for coaching, any
perceptions about the effectiveness of coaching, and challenges and facilitating factors
about coaching.
description: Response Rates: Item-level response rates for the survey questions were generally high for most of the survey
questions, although the range of the response rates was wide. For the grantee survey, the item
response rates ranged from 40.5 percent to 100 percent, with an average response rate across the
questions of 97.3 percent. For the coach survey, the item response rates ranged from 54.3 percent to 100 percent, with an average response rate across the questions of 95.5 percent.
description: The entire ELMC grantee and coach populations were recruited to complete the surveys.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Grantee Data
DS2: Coach and Staff Data
description: 42 states containing either a Head Start or Early Head Start program.
description: web-based surveyUsers should note that due to limitations in SAS, Stata, and SPSS, string variables with lengths greater than 244 characters are available in Microsoft Excel format only.