Efficacy of the Getting Ready Intervention and the Role of Parental Depression

Preschool Programs that Help Families Promote Child Social-Emotional School Readiness: Promising New Strategies

Parents play a central role in supporting the early learning that positions young children for success when they enter formal schooling. For this reason, efforts to engage families in meaningful collaboration is a long-standing goal of high-quality early childhood education (ECE). Family-school engagement can take multiple forms; in this review, we focus on universal preschool-based outreach strategies that help parents support growth in child social-emotional and self-regulation competencies and prepare them for the transition into formal schooling. Recent research has expanded understanding of the neurodevelopmental processes that underlie child school readiness, and the impact of parenting (and the social ecology affecting parenting) on those processes. These new insights have fueled innovation in preschool-based efforts to partner with and support parents, expanding and shifting the focus of that programming. In addition, new approaches to intervention design and delivery are emerging to address the pervasive challenges of reaching and engaging families, especially those representing diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This paper reviews developmental research that underscores the importance of prioritizing child social-emotional learning (with attention to self-regulation and approaches to learning) in universal preschool-based parenting programs targeting young children. We highlight the intervention strategies used in programs with strong evidence of impact on child readiness and school adjustment based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). New directions in intervention design and delivery strategies are highlighted, with the hope of extending intervention reach and improving family engagement and benefit.

Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Teacher Efficacy for Promoting Partnership Measure Among a Sample of Head Start Educators

The current study reports the evidence for the reliability (via coefficient α, coefficient ω) and validity (via confirmatory factor analysis, correlations) of the Teacher Efficacy for Promoting Partnership measure. Participants were 255 in-service Head Start educators from all Head Start regions across the United States. Educators were sent a survey to complete with a cover letter, written consent form, survey, and compensation for their contribution. To maximize survey response rates, a follow-up post card and survey were sent. Results from the study indicated strong evidence for the reliability of the measure with both coefficient alpha and coefficient omega. Furthermore, evidence was found for convergent-related validity of the measure. The results of the confirmatory factor analyses suggest that further refinement and analysis of the measure is necessary.