skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Teacher-Child Racial/Ethnic Match and Parental Engagement With Head Start
Parental engagement is central to Head Start’s two-generation mission. Drawing on research linking teacher-child racial/ethnic match to educational outcomes, the present study explores whether teacher-child match increases parental involvement in Head Start activities designed to support children and families. Using data from the 2006 and 2009 waves of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, we estimate the relationship between teacher-child racial/ethnic match and parental involvement both across and within Head Start centers. Findings suggest that match enhances parental engagement and decreases student absences, particularly among Hispanic families, suggesting that family engagement may be one potential mechanism by which racial/ethnic match improves educational outcomes. Findings also have implications for policies that reduce the diversity of the Head Start workforce.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1749275
PAR ID:
10184852
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
American Educational Research Journal
ISSN:
0002-8312
Page Range / eLocation ID:
000283121989935
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; (, Frontiers in Education)
    IntroductionThis article investigates an early STEM family engagement program offered during the pre-kindergarten (pre-k) year. Pre-k is an important juncture for community organizations to support children’s STEM engagement and parental involvement in informal STEM learning. We evaluated a program called Teaching Together STEM, which offers a series of museum outreach and family events at schools with the aim of broadening access to early STEM for children experiencing poverty. We replicated program content previously delivered using in-person events but shifted to a hybrid delivery approach that combined two virtual and two in-person events with linguistically diverse families of 3- and 4-year-olds. We evaluated whether attending events improved parent outcomes, such as involvement in STEM activities at home, and child outcomes, such as engagement in a STEM task. MethodsThe analytic sample included 59 families—35 randomly assigned families took part in the treatment and 24 families were assigned to a waitlist control group. Developed in Spanish and English, the informal STEM program was hosted by local children’s museum educators for 21 pre-k classrooms using these components: (a) a series of four family education “funshops;” (b) parent tips and reminders via text message; (c) nine thematically related, take-home STEM extension activity kits; and (d) a family museum field trip for each school, as well as individual family museum passes. ResultsThere were no significant impacts on primary outcomes of parent involvement (effect size [ES] = −0.03) or child STEM engagement/enthusiasm (ES = −0.73). There were improvements in some aspects of parents’ STEM attitudes (e.g., math expectancy ES = 0.58), but other distal parent and child outcomes were not significantly changed. DiscussionThe hybrid delivery approach showed promise in terms of attendance and parent satisfaction but likely was not intensive enough to increase parent involvement. We discuss implications for other community-based family engagement programs focused on broadening participation in informal STEM. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Journal of Education)
    We used the generalized propensity score method to estimate the differential effects of five Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) experiences (Prekindergarten, Head Start, Center-based Child Care, Home-based Child Care, and Parental Care) in reducing math and reading achievement gaps between boys versus girls, Latinx versus Whites, and Blacks versus Whites. Findings revealed differential effects of ECCE in reducing gender and racial achievement gaps. However, results indicated that significant gender and racial gaps still exist despite ECCE experiences and that these gaps widen throughout the elementary and middle school years. 
    more » « less
  3. (, Advances in child development and behavior)
    Henry, D. A. (Ed.)
    Racial/ethnic disparities in socioeconomic status (SES) persist in the United States. These disparities perpetuate the intergenerational transmission of inequality. Although families of color vary significantly in socioeconomic standing and evidence suggests the links between SES and child development may differ by race/ethnicity, we know relatively little about how race and SES interact to shape children's social contexts and developmental outcomes. This chapter draws theoretical insights from sociocultural perspectives on development and intersectionality theory to understand how and why family life and child development may play out in complex ways at the nexus of race and SES. 
    more » « less
  4. (, AERA Open)
    Teachers in early childhood education (ECE) settings are central to providing children with high-quality experiences that promote both early development and long-term well-being; unfortunately, rates of teacher turnover are high in ECE settings. There are strong theoretical reasons to assume turnover is negatively linked with children’s academic and socioemotional development, but few empirical studies test this hypothesis. Using an econometric fixed effects approach in two waves of data from the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey, this study provides the first national estimate of the relationship between within-year lead teacher turnover and children’s development in Head Start. I find an annual within-year turnover rate of ~9%, about twice that of K–12, and that turnover is negatively associated with children’s language outcomes alongside suggestive evidence for behavioral outcomes. 
    more » « less
  5. (, AERA Open)
    null (Ed.)
    Students belonging to marginalized groups experience positive impacts when taught by a teacher of the same race, ethnicity, and gender. The unique nature of standardized, asynchronous online course taking allows for greater separation of any possible educational benefits of student versus teacher-driven mechanisms contributing to these improved outcomes. Using a student-by-course fixed effect strategy on data from a large urban school district, I examined associations between whether students experienced racial/ethnic or gender congruence with their remote instructor and both engagement and learning outcomes. Students who identified as Black demonstrated higher rates of engagement, although no difference in achievement, within lessons taught by a same-race remote instructor. I find that representation is associated with engagement even when instructors follow closely scripted lessons, representation occurs in only small doses, and instruction occurs in an impersonal setting. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email