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[Acknowledgments]
Early Childhood Reform in Seven Communities - October 1996
The Studies of Education Reform project was initiated by the Office of Education Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, to examine the implementation and effects of twelve significant education reform strategies, including student assessment, parent community involvement, uses of technology, and early childhood services. Twelve research projects were funded to analyze local examples of successful implementation of reforms, to inform practitioner and policy audiences. This research on early childhood reforms was conducted by the National Association of State Boards of Education and the Harvard Family Research Project.
The project design involved analysis of past research and recent policy trends and the preparation of seven case studies of local early childhood initiatives. To reflect the diversity of providers of programs for young children and their families, case study sites included Head Start grantees, local school districts, and child care agencies. All projects serve children from low- to moderate-income, ages birth through age five; involve sponsorship by one or more state or federal programs; and include a significant component of outreach, involvement, and service to parents and other family members.
Chapter I provides an Executive Summary which distills the project purposes, questions, findings, and implications for improving practice and policy. Chapter II sets this study in a research context by summarizing recent research on child care and education program strategies, initiatives aimed at strengthening and serving parents and families, and analyses of public policies in the early childhood sector. Chapter III provides a summary of the research strategy and key questions examined in this project. Chapter IV provides background information on the seven case studies which formed the basis for our analysis, including data on program organization, funding, forms of services for children, family support and involvement strategies, and approaches to collaboration with other community agencies.
Chapter V conveys the major research findings across the case study sites in strategies for supporting child development; strategies for serving and involving families; management strategies in fundraising and providing leadership in program quality; and observations about how state and federal policies influence the work of these seven local agencies. Chapter VI describes evaluation strategies and data on outcomes from the case study sites. Chapter VII provides an analysis of the fiscal, managerial, and staff resources necessary to implement high quality early childhood programs.
Chapter VIII analyzes the implications of this research for efforts to improve public policy for young children and families, in terms of fiscal strategies, approaches to enhancing local program quality, and strategies in federal-state-local government relationships. The Chapter goes on to outline challenges for improving local program practices, in terms of improving child development and learning, strengthening families, and improving program management. Chapter IX concludes the report by describing implications for further research.
Two additional volumes provide additional information. Volume II contains seven narrative case studies, providing detailed description of the community context, service strategies, organizational and fiscal attributes, and outcomes of each initiative. Volume III describes our research design and methods, including our strategy for selecting case study sites and copies of interview guides used in our field work.
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