Sydnor Kim Dobson, Holt Mackessa, Headen Gayle, Moore Sonya, Yates Dana, Gee Tara
Morgan State University School of Public Health and Policy, USA.
Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2007 Summer;1(2):133-41. doi: 10.1353/cpr.2007.0015.
The national Head Start Program uses a comprehensive, family-centered approach to foster healthy development for low-income children. Over a 1-year period, a university-local Head Start research team developed and implemented a pilot project to explore the impact of the Head Start's parental support services and other program activities. The interest was in determining any lasting effects on parents after Head Start.
To assess the change in and impact on education, employment, and personal development for Head Start parents using a community-based participatory approach.
This retrospective study involved 30 parent-child pairs randomly selected from graduate class lists. Face-to-face structured interviews conducted with parents focused on life changes and parent impact 2 years after Head Start. The focal areas included changes in and impact on education and employment, as well as the lasting effects of Head Start services and activities. Change was assessed using parametric and nonparametric tests.
Descriptive analysis showed changes in education and employment, but none were statistically significant. The program impacted education through financial and emotional support. For employment, educational support facilitated the changes noted. The results also show three other areas of parental impact-personal development, family relationships, and health education.
These findings suggest that there are longer term parental outcomes that could be incorporated in assessments of Head Start effectiveness.
全国性的“领先开端计划”采用全面的、以家庭为中心的方法来促进低收入儿童的健康发展。在一年的时间里，一个大学与当地“领先开端计划”研究团队开发并实施了一个试点项目，以探索“领先开端计划”的家长支持服务和其他项目活动的影响。研究兴趣在于确定“领先开端计划”结束后对家长的任何持久影响。
采用基于社区的参与式方法，评估“领先开端计划”家长在教育、就业和个人发展方面的变化及影响。
这项回顾性研究从研究生班级名单中随机选取了30对亲子。对家长进行的面对面结构化访谈聚焦于“领先开端计划”结束2年后的生活变化和家长受到的影响。重点领域包括教育和就业方面的变化及影响，以及“领先开端计划”服务和活动的持久影响。使用参数检验和非参数检验评估变化情况。
描述性分析显示了教育和就业方面的变化，但均无统计学意义。该项目通过经济和情感支持对教育产生了影响。对于就业，教育支持促进了所指出的变化。结果还显示了家长受到影响的其他三个领域——个人发展、家庭关系和健康教育。
这些发现表明，存在一些长期的家长成果，可以纳入对“领先开端计划”有效性的评估中。
