Supporting optimal child development through Early Head Start and Head Start programs: Reflections on secondary data analyses of FACES and EHSREP

• Published in: Early childhood research quarterly Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 708 - 715
• Main Authors: Chazan-Cohen, Rachel, Halle, Tamara G., Barton, Lauren R., Winsler, Adam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Child Development; Data Analysis; Data Collection; Disadvantaged Youth; Educational Research; Head Start; Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey; Head Start programmes; Low-income; Methodology; Preschool Education; Reflection; Research Methodology; Statistics; Surveys; Methodology; Low-income; Head Start
• ISSN: 0885-2006; 1873-7706
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.09.002

► Background on Head Start research. ► Overview of the large-scale Head Start and Early Head Start datasets that are available for secondary analysis. ► Comment on the papers in this special issue from a methodological and statistical standpoint. ► Recommendations for future large-scale data collection efforts and future research on Head Start and Early Head Start programs. We are delighted to reflect on the 10 papers highlighted in this important special issue of Early Childhood Research Quarterly devoted to recent secondary data analyses of the FACES and EHSREP datasets. First, we provide some background on Head Start research and give an overview of the large-scale Head Start and Early Head Start datasets that are available for researchers to analyze. Then, we comment on the papers in this special issue from a methodological and statistical standpoint. Finally, we reflect on themes that stood out across the various papers. Throughout, we make recommendations for future large-scale data collection efforts and future research on Head Start and Early Head Start programs.