This National Head Start Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for preschool-age children served by Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start. Data categories include: (1) Funded Enrollment; (2) Funded Enrollment by…

This analysis examined key protective factors among preschool children in low-income, rural areas. Teacher-reported Devereux Early Childhood Assessments for Preschoolers were completed for 182 Head Start children (54% female, 46% male) from seven rural, midwestern communities. The majority of children were in the typical range for each protective…

Many preschool agencies nationwide continue to experience closures and/or conversions to virtual or hybrid instruction due to the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the importance of understanding young children's learning and development during the COVID emergency, limited knowledge exists on adaptable practices for…

This paper presents findings from stage two of a wider Constructivist Grounded Theory study of parental perceptions of their involvement in Early Years (EY) settings in Northern Ireland (NI). Stage two involved semi-structured interviews with mothers attending a single targeted EY service in a rural community: Sure Start (SS). The impact of…

This literature review aims to understand who is and is not being served by Head Start among families experiencing adversity; the range of recruitment, selection, enrollment, and retention (RSER) strategies that programs use with families experiencing adversity; the factors that shape the use of RSER strategies; and the effectiveness of specific…

Research Findings: We examined low-income children's temperament (regulatory and reactive) as a predictor of their self-regulation, and teacher-child relationship (closeness and conflict) as a moderator of associations between child temperament and self-regulation. This study involved 291 children (132 girls) (Mage = 53.88 months, SD = 6.44…

This study examined the direct and indirect associations of teachers' depressive symptoms with children's math achievement through teachers' reports of family-teacher relationships and children's approaches to learning (ATL) in Head Start. This study included 3- and 4-year-old 1,547 children (49% female; 27% White, 24% Black, 41% Hispanic/Latino,…

A successful school start is possible with a long and collaborative transition process. In this action research, the one-week transition program in preschool education in Turkey was extended to 8 months and supported with teacher--parent communication to examine children's transition experiences during the process. The data were collected from 23…

This paper describes the research protocol for the Educational and Developmental Gains in Early Childhood (EDGE) Study, which will examine the implementation of two years of funded kindergarten prior to the first year of school in Victoria, Australia. EDGE will examine whether children's language, cognitive, social-emotional, and behavioural…

Head Start, the largest early learning program in the United States, provides free federally funded, high-quality early learning for children alongside wraparound supports for parents. Its mission includes helping families achieve self-sufficiency and economic security, such as by helping parents access and succeed in college and workforce…

In 2011, the "Let's Count" professional learning program was developed into an elective distance education subject offered at Charles Sturt University. The resulting subject, EMC101: Let's Count, has been offered every year since 2012, and has to date been completed by 796 students. This paper details the subject design and provides…

This Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) Services Snapshot summarizes key data on demographics and services for children from birth to age five and pregnant women served by all Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs. The data in this Snapshot is a subset of the annual Program Information Report (PIR) submission to the Office of Head Start.…

Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers' kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before…

Purpose: This research note evaluated the collaboration, recruitment, enrollment processes, as well as outcomes of an online, self-managed parent training program (Success With Stories [SWS]) concurrent with a Head Start school curriculum. Method: This case examination presents the research processes used to examine an online program concurrent…

The interrelationships between math and behavioral skill development prior to school entry are not well understood, yet have important implications for understanding how to best prepare young children for kindergarten. This study addresses this gap by utilizing a sample of 1,750 children (53% male; 47% White, 16% Black, 16% Hispanic, 8% Asian, and…