Clinical trial NCT03705377: Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2014)
Official title: Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) 2014-2018
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Head Start Participation
Keywords: child care
child development
child health
child nutrition
child rearing
children
curriculum
early childhood education
families
Head Start
parenting skills
parents
school readiness
Lead sponsor: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Department of Health and Human Services
name: Children's Bureau - Administration for Children and Families
name: Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation
First posted: 2018-10-15
Enrollment: 5193
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 3
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: OTHER
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Head Start children (and their families), Head Start programs, Head Start centers, Head Start classrooms/teachers, Head Start family service staff

Brief summary: For nearly two decades, the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) has been an invaluable source of information on the Head Start program and the children and families it serves. FACES 2014-2018 is the next phase of this important endeavor. Mathematica Policy Research and its partners, Juárez and Associates, Educational Testing Service, and consultants Margaret Burchinal and Martha Zaslow, developed the instruments and data collection procedures to assess the school readiness skills of 2,400 children and survey their parents and Head Start teachers in fall 2014 and spring 2015 (Classroom + Child Outcomes Core) and conduct observations in 720 Head Start classrooms and survey Head Start staff in spring 2015 and spring 2017 (Classroom Core).

Detailed description: The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014-2018, or FACES 2014, is the sixth in a series of national studies of Head Start, with earlier studies conducted in 1997, 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2009. It includes nationally representative samples of Head Start programs and centers, classrooms, children and their families. Data from surveys of Head Start program and center directors, classroom teachers, and parents provide descriptive information about program policies and practices, classroom activities, and the background and experiences of Head Start staff and families. Classroom observations are used to assess the quality of Head Start classrooms. Children in the study participate in a direct assessment that provides a rich picture of their school readiness skills at different time points.

FACES 2014 uses a new study design that differs from earlier rounds of FACES in several important ways: (1) it includes larger program and classroom samples, (2) all data are collected in a single program year, (3) the baseline sample of children includes both children enrolled in their first and second year of Head Start, and (4) several special studies are conducted along with the main or Core study to collect more detailed information about a given topic, to study new populations of Head Start programs and participants, and to evaluate measures for possible use in future rounds of FACES. For example, the Family Engagement Plus study in spring 2015 collected information from parents and staff (teachers and family services staff) on family engagement efforts and service provision in Head Start programs. Additional Plus topic modules in spring 2017 gathered information on program functioning from teachers and directors.

The Office of Head Start, the Administration for Children and Families, other federal agencies, local programs, and the public have depended on FACES for valid and reliable national information on (1) the skills and abilities of Head Start children, (2) how Head Start children's skills and abilities compare with preschool children nationally, (3) Head Start children's readiness for and subsequent performance in kindergarten, and (4) the characteristics of the children's home and classroom environments. The FACES study is designed to enable researchers to answer a wide range of research questions that are crucial for aiding program managers and policymakers. Some of the questions that are central to FACES include:

1. What are the demographic characteristics of the population of children and families served by Head Start? How has the population served by Head Start changed?
2. What are the experiences of families and children in the Head Start program? How have they changed?
3. What are the cognitive and social skills of Head Start children at the beginning and end of the program year?
4. Has Head Start program performance improved over time?
5. What are the qualifications of Head Start teachers in terms of education, experience, and credentials?
6. What is the observed quality of Head Start classrooms as early learning environments, including the level and range of teaching and interactions, provisions for learning, emotional and instructional support, and classroom organization? How has quality changed over time? What program- and classroom-level factors are related to observed classroom quality? How is observed quality related to children's outcomes and developmental gains?

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* The Head Start programs participating in FACES 2014 were a probability sample selected from among 2,900 study-eligible programs on the 2012-2013 Head Start Program Information Report (PIR). To be eligible for the study, a program had to be
* In one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia
* Providing services directly to children ages 3 to 5
* Not be in imminent danger of losing its grantee status.

Within those classrooms, eligible classrooms needed to

-have at least one Head Start child enrolled

Exclusion Criteria:

* American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start programs (Region XI) or Migrant and Seasonal Worker Head Start programs (Region XII) were not eligible. Other ACF studies (AI/AN FACES-NCT03842111 and MSHS-NCT03116243) focus on those programs.

Primary outcomes:
measure: English proficiency
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Language-English receptive vocabulary
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Language-Expressive vocabulary
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Language-Spanish receptive vocabulary
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Literacy-Letter word knowledge/early writing
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Literacy-Letter sounds knowledge
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Mathematics
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Mathematics
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Children's physical health
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: General health status
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Executive function
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Social-emotional development
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Social-emotional development-cognitive/social behaviors
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Social-emotional development - Approaches to learning
timeFrame: 1 year
measure: Classroom quality-teacher child interactions
timeFrame: One-day observation in March-May 2015, March-May 2017
measure: Classroom quality-global classroom environment
timeFrame: One-day observation in March-May 2015, March-May 2017
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Washington
country: United States
facility: Mathematica Policy Research
state: District of Columbia
Study officials:
affiliation: Mathematica Policy Research
name: Lizabeth Malone, Ph.D.
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
affiliation: Mathematica Policy Research
name: Nikki Aikens, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Mathematica Policy Research
name: Louisa Tarullo, Ed.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: