Factors Associated with Head Start Staff Participation in Classroom-Based Professional Development

Abstract

Factors associated with Head Start staff participation in a classroom-based professional development project to promote their use of evidence-based child learning opportunity practices and evidence-based responsive teaching procedures were examined in a study of 36 teachers and teacher assistants in 19 different classrooms. The factors constituting the focus of investigation included work climate, staff belief appraisals (career aspirations, personal motivation, Developmentally Appropriate Practices beliefs), staff receptiveness to the professional development training, staff judgments of the social validity of the practices constituting the focus of training, and staff background characteristics (age, education, years of experience). Results showed that Head Start staff members' personal beliefs, receptiveness to the training, and their judgments of the social validity of the classroom practices constituting the focus of training were related to staff judgments of their participation in the training which in turn were related to their active engagement in learning to use the classroom practices. The implications of the findings for practice are described in terms of the need to use methods and procedures that actively engage staff in professional development opportunities.

Does Capacity-Building Professional Development Engender Practitioners’ Use of Capacity-Building Family-Centered Practices?

“…The findings, taken together, provided support for the hypothesis that more frequent provision of or engagement in evidence-based capacity-building professional development engenders early childhood intervention practitioners' use of family-centered participatory practices (Dunst, 2017b;Espe-Sherwindt, 2008). The results also indicate that early childhood intervention practices that are judged as important and acceptable are more likely to influence the relationship between capacity-building professional development and practitioner use of family-centered practices in a manner consistent with previous findings (Strain et al, 2012;Strohmeier, Mule, & Luiselli, 2014;Trivette, Raab, & Dunst, 2014).…”

Practitioner Appraisals of Their Desired and Current Use of the 2014 Division for Early Childhood Recommended Practices

“…This type of relationship was found in a study of PD provided to a group of Head Start teachers. The social validity ratings given to an intervention practice taught during the PD influenced the teachers’ responsiveness to learning the intervention practices (Trivette, Raab, & Dunst, 2014).…”

Early Childhood Practitioner Judgments of the Social Validity of Performance Checklists and Parent Practice Guides

“…In a study of Head Start teachers, practitioner social validity ratings of practices constituting the focus of professional development were found to be related to how engaged the practitioners were in the professional development (Trivette, Raab, & Dunst, 2014). In another study of parents' judgments of the social validity of interest-based child language learning practices, results showed that social validity was not only directly related to the parents' fidelity of use of the practices with their children but indirectly related to the rates of changes in child language development mediated by the frequency of child engagement in interest-based language learning activities (Dunst, Raab, & Hamby, 2016).…”