Human Development & Quantitative Methodology

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2248

The departments within the College of Education were reorganized and renamed as of July 1, 2011. This department incorporates the former departments of Measurement, Statistics & Evaluation; Human Development; and the Institute for Child Study.

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Head Start

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    The Protective Role of Home Learning Activities in the Development of Head Start Children's School Readiness Skills: A Longitudinal Analysis of Learning Growth Rates from Preschool Through First Grade
    (2008-11-17) See, Heather M.; Klein, Elisa L.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Children's early learning experiences in the home have a significant impact on their readiness for school and future academic success. However, children in poverty often lack a high-quality home learning environment, and consequently, are more likely than their economically advantaged peers to be at risk for failure in school. In this study, data were analyzed from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey of 1997 (FACES), a national longitudinal study of children and families participating in the federal Head Start program. A latent growth model estimated children's growth trajectories in vocabulary, numeracy, and writing skills from Head Start through first grade, and the influence of engagement in home learning activities on children's skills. On average, children demonstrated skills that scored significantly below national norms. By first grade, children caught up on basic numeracy skills; however, they persisted to demonstrate significantly weaker vocabulary skills and slightly weaker writing skills. Risk factors, such as low income-to-needs, low parent education, a non-English home language, and multiple children age five and under in the home, were associated with weaker skills. Children who entered Head Start with the weakest skills grew at a faster rate than children with stronger skills, thus demonstrating the greatest gains over time. Moreover, families engaged in various home learning activities with their children during Head Start. A factor analysis produced three activity factors: Academic Stimulation, Community Enrichment, and Family Entertainment. Academic Stimulation was associated with stronger vocabulary, numeracy, and writing skills, while Community Enrichment was not associated with child outcomes, and Family Entertainment was negatively associated with numeracy and writing skills. Engagement in activities varied by child and family characteristics. Families with low income-to-needs engaged in significantly fewer activities across all three factors. This study advances our knowledge of the significant influence of family income-to-needs on children's early learning experiences and their development of fundamental cognitive readiness skills. The results further substantiate the need for family intervention programs designed to improve the quality of low-income children's home learning environments. Additionally, the findings illustrate the utility of latent growth modeling in estimating children's school readiness trajectories.
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    Teacher-child relationships: Examining the relations among children's risk, relationships, and externalizing behaviors in Head Start
    (2008-04-29) Vick, Jessica Erin; Jones Harden, Brenda; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Early externalizing behaviors can have significant and persistent impacts on young children's developmental trajectories (Campbell, 1994; 1995; Moffitt, 1993). High-quality teacher-child relationships have the potential to protect children living in high-risk family environments from developing externalizing behaviors. Using Bronfenbrenner's bioecological framework, the current study explored the impact of family risks and teacher-child relationship quality on children's externalizing behaviors. Specifically, the goals of the study were to: (a) investigate the associations between family risk factors and children's externalizing behaviors, (b) examine the associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's externalizing behaviors, (c) examine whether teacher-child relationship quality moderates the impact of family risk on children's externalizing behaviors, and (d) investigate the associations among teacher, student, and classroom characteristics and teacher-child relationship quality. Data were gathered from 100 Head Start children, their parents, and their teachers. Controlling for children's age and gender, results revealed that two family risk factors, parent-child dysfunctional interaction and family cohesion, significantly predicted child noncompliance. All of the teacher-child relationship quality variables including conflict, cohesion, dependency, and positive interactions significantly predicted children's externalizing behaviors, with conflict being the strongest and most consistent predictor. Finally, analyses on the interactions between the family risk and teacher-child relationship quality variables revealed that teacher-child conflict moderated the impact of family cohesion on child noncompliance. This finding suggested that low teacher-child conflict protects children from the impact of low family cohesion on child noncompliance, and high teacher-child conflict intensifies the impact of low family cohesion on child noncompliance. Overall, the results from this study suggest that teacher-child relationship quality may serve as both a risk and protective factor in the development of young children's externalizing behaviors. The findings presented have important implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in understanding how to strengthen teacher-child relationships as a means to promote Head Start children's competence in the behavioral domain.
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    Pathways between exposure to violence, maternal depression, family structury [i.e. structure] and child outcomes through parenting: A multi-group analysis
    (2007-07-27) Westbrook, T'Pring R.; Jones-Harden, Brenda`; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Arguably one of the greatest influences on a child's development is the parenting he or she experiences. With that perspective, family stress theory posits that children in low-income families are affected by poverty-related stressors through their effect on their parents. The present study used family stress theory as a framework to study the impact of proximal (i.e., family structure, maternal depression) and distal (i.e., community violence) risk factors, or stressors, on parenting characteristics which were in turn hypothesized to impact child social-emotional functioning. Data from the FACES 2000 study of children enrolled in Head Start and their families were used to conduct the analyses. The sample consisted of 1417 African American, Latino, and White mothers of preschool children. The present study hypothesized that exposure to violence, family structure, maternal depression, and parenting styles measured at time 1 would affect child social-emotional functioning at time 2. Moreover, it was hypothesized that a SEM model wherein violence exposure, family structure, and maternal depression's influenced parenting characteristics, which then impacted the child outcome, would fit the data. Finally, it was hypothesized that these findings would be consistent across African American, Latino, and White subgroups. The data revealed that the study variables were significant predictors of the child outcome. Although few of the key variables significantly contributed to the regression models or had significant pathways in the SEM models, the cumulative effect of the variables resulted in significant models that accounted for 21-37% of the outcome. The multi-group analysis revealed that despite differences in the amount of variance explained, the causal pathways were consistent for the groups analyzed. Findings support theories such as the family stress model that suggest that poverty related stressors negatively impact children's development by first negatively impacting parenting behaviors. This pattern of influence was consistent across race/ethnicities. It may not be practical to expect practitioners to address the myriad of potential risks factors encountered by low-income families, but parents can be equipped with mental health services, parent education, and other such assistance to help them maintain positive parenting practices in the face of life's challenges.
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    An Evaluation of Best Families, a Parenting Education Intervention Program for Head Start Families: The Effects on Child-rearing Style, Affirming Communication, and Children's Behavior
    (2005-12-16) Sang-Blodgett, Janet; Robertson-Tchabo, Elizabeth A.; Human Development; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: AN EVALUATION OF BEST FAMILIES, A PARENTING EDUCATION INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR HEAD START FAMILIES: THE EFFECTS ON CHILD-REARING STYLE, AFFIRMING COMMUNICATION, AND CHILDREN'S BEHAVIOR. Janet Sang-Blodgett, Ph.D., 2005 Dissertation Directed By: Chair: E.A. Robertson-Tchabo, Ph.D.EDHD The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of parents' participation in the Best Families program on the parents' child rearing style, parent-child communication, and parents' and teachers' ratings of the children's behavior. The Best Families program was a four-week, parenting education program designed specifically for economically disadvantaged parents of 4 - 5 year old children enrolled in early childhood assistance programs in a mid-Atlantic state. Thirty parent volunteers whose children attended a Head Start summer session at one of three Head Start centers participated in the study. Two of the parent participants were fathers, and 28 were mothers. Nineteen of the parents were African American, eight were Hispanic Americans, and three were Caucasian. Nineteen of the participants were parents of boys, and eleven of the participants were parents of girls. The Best Families program included four components: social problem solving, verbalizing emotions, parent-child communication, and utilization of social support. The program was delivered once a week for four consecutive weeks. Participants were directed to apply the skills that had been addressed during the following week and to discuss with the group the relative success of the strategies. Personal interviews were conducted prior to the intervention program and immediately after participation in the parenting education program. A participant's child-rearing style and social problem solving was measured by the Child Rearing Style Interview (Shure, 1998). All but one of the 30 participants moved up the child rearing style continuum in the direction of a social problem solving style. Parent-child communication was measured by the Problem Solving Communication Index (McCubbin, McCubbin, and Thompson, 1988). There was a statistically significant increase in the frequency of affirming communication. Children's behavior was measured by parent and teacher ratings using the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). There was a statistically significant reduction in the frequency of externalizing behaviors of both boys and girls as rated both by parents' and by teachers' ratings. The children exhibited fewer aggressive and impulsive behaviors and generally were more compliant.
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    Literate Behaviors in African American Head Start Families: A Multiple Literacies Perspective
    (2004-04-30) Daniels, Janese Kerr; Jones-Harden, Brenda; Human Development
    Low literacy and illiteracy have been documented among low-income African American children. The problems associated with low literacy and illiteracy often extend into adulthood, with potentially devastating consequences. Low-income African American caregivers are frequently portrayed as devoid of any interest in their children's literacy development and achievement. Additionally, it has been suggested that these caregivers provide homes that are literacy impoverished, often without any literacy activities (e.g. shared book reading, visits to the library) occurring on a routine basis. Qualitative researchers have documented specific literacy practices in which low-income families engage. Frequently, these literacy practices are a function of the context in which the family is currently embedded. Although a qualitative literature exists regarding these literacy practices, its utility is limited due to small sample sizes and lack of quantitative documentation on their contribution to children's language and literacy development. This study attempted to bridge the gap between the qualitative and quantitative literatures. Fifty-one low-income African American mother-child dyads participated in this exploratory family literacy study. The contribution of multiple literacy practices, both traditional and non-traditional, was examined in relation to child language and literacy outcomes. It was found that most low-income African American families engaged in multiple literacy practices. Analyses revealed that although the quality of the home literacy environment contributed to children's language and literacy development, child receptive language explained most of the variance in children's preschool literacy development. Recommended areas for future research directions included standardization of an instrument to capture literacy practices that have been highlighted in both the qualitative and quantitative literatures. Additional recommendations for practitioners included providing parent training that encouraged families to use non-traditional literacy practices to help facilitate their children's literacy development.