Research Findings: This qualitative case study describes early childhood practitioners' (ECPs) perspectives on their professional development as part of a large federally funded school readiness intervention project as they experienced the processes of professional growth and change in learning skills related to promoting parental engagement in…

This paper presents a case study of one local Sure Start programme's significant success in engaging large numbers of fathers with its services. The paper details both the levels of male involvement in the programme over time and the strategies found to be effective in involving men. Numbers of fathers using programme services rose to over 100 in…

Each edition of the IDRA Newsletter strives to provide many different perspectives on the issues in education topics discussed and to define its significance in the state and national dialogue. This issue focuses on Parent and Community Engagement and includes: (1) Principles of Family Leadership in Education--Putting Principles into Action…

This paper presents an overview of the Early Head Start program. The objective of the Early Head Start program is to enhance the cognitive, social and emotional development of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers, through the provision of comprehensive health,…

Florida lawmakers began a comprehensive education reform effort in 1999 combining accountability, transparency, and parental choice with other far-reaching changes. In March 2010, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released new results showing just how successful Florida's reforms have been and how futile Oklahoma's efforts…

Every day, schools and communities across the U.S. identify millions of young children as "at risk"--especially those with a minority background, who live in poor neighborhoods or are learning English as a second language. FPG's Project U-STARS-PLUS (Using Science, Talents, and Abilities to Recognize Students-Promoting Learning for…

In late 1999, philanthropist Susie Buffett wanted to make the smartest possible investment to improve public education in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. She and her then-foundation president, Dan Pedersen, spoke with Superintendent John Mackiel regarding how he would choose to use private funds to enhance opportunities for Omaha's 46,000…

Even though several attempts have been made by the government of Ghana towards its goal of eradicating child labour, poverty, and marginalisation in educational outcomes for all children, the condition of disadvantaged children remain terribly devastating compared with those of more advantaged children. This article discusses the extent to which…

The ruMAD? (are you Making a Difference?) program encourages, educates and empowers young people to enact social change within their school and community. The authors use case studies involving two schools in highly disadvantaged areas of Australia to discuss the effectiveness of the program.

Increased emphasis has been placed on children's ability to enter kindergarten ready to learn, a concept referred to as "school readiness." School readiness has been defined by the Maryland State Department of Education as "the stage of human development that enables a child to engage in, and benefit from, primary learning…

This document is one of eight reports prepared to support the development of a new learning system, a development effort that is the first step in a major initiative undertaken by the Stupski Foundation. This document synthesizes recent research and theoretical literature on effective strategies for supporting urban, underserved students'…

Using a predominantly African American Head Start sample, this study examined whether maternal self-efficacy moderated the relationships between parent involvement (comfort and endorsement of school, school-based involvement, and parent-teacher contact) and children's academic readiness, approaches to learning, and socioemotional development.…

Many intervention programs use home visiting to target enhanced parent-child interactions; however, few studies have examined specific intervention strategies, limiting the potential utility of evaluation results to guide practice, research, or policy effectively. In this paper, we recommend that researchers and program evaluators open the "black…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children and their families,…

Head Start, the federal program that provides preschool education, health, and social services for children from poor families, is one of the United States' most popular government programs. Created in 1965, it has endured as a symbol of commitment to children, serving just fewer than one million children a year in neighborhood sites across the…