Engaging in Research With Head Start Teachers: Contemplations on the Role and Purposes of Inquiry

• In Event: 42.068 - Examining Head Start: The Role of Curriculum, Nutrition, Assessment, and Research Engagements

Abstract

Objectives:
This paper is based on research conducted over one year in three Head Start centers located in the Southwest region of the U.S. The primary goal of the research was to examine pedagogical engagements of teachers, including curriculum development and instructional strategies. Throughout inquiry, close attention was paid to the purposes of the research and the role of the researcher, leading to an eventual shift in the methodological approach, from distance observer to participant observer. This provided new insights and contemplations about inquiry in early childhood contexts.

Framework:
Collins’ (2008) Black feminist thought theoretically informed the research. As an epistemology grounded in the lived experiences of women of color, Black feminist thought provided useful insights for research with teachers and children of color. Furthermore, it allowed for examination of complex social relations within not only the research project itself (focusing on teachers’ pedagogy) but also related to how one approaches inquiry. Identity intersections, power relations, and participant empowerment, all foundational to Black feminist thought, were particularly useful for such methodological contemplations.

Methods, Techniques or Modes of Inquiry:
Observation and interviews were the primary methods used for inquiry. As a pilot study, observations in the fall term took place in three classrooms across different centers. The teachers were observed for one hour each week over four weeks and interviewed. Based on preliminary findings, an in depth study continued in the spring in one classroom, in which the researcher became participant observer and engaged in a series of interviews over the course of the semester.

Data Sources and Analysis:
Data sources included observation and interview data, teacher and student artifacts, and other artifacts found to be central to curriculum development such as assessment materials. Constant comparison of the data (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985) provided generation of emergent themes, and from these themes, mapping with Clarke’s (2005) situational analysis was employed. This allowed for analysis of data as complex and at times contradictory. Situational mapping and reflexive journaling also allowed for examination the inquiry process itself, prompting questions about the role and purpose of the research.

Results and Points of View:
The most poignant finding from the research was how assessment guided most aspects of teachers’ pedagogy and curriculum development, limiting opportunities for authentic instruction or emergent curriculum design.

When examining the approach to inquiry (the main focus of this presentation), findings include how shifting the way one engages with participants can foster meaningful relationships, producing a very different view of the data and purposes for the research. Specifically, it was found that once the researcher became part of the classroom community, data was not only richer, but it was also interpreted from a different vantage point, revealing details that were not previously accessible as a distant observer.

Scholarly Significance:
This study provides an important point of discussion on the role of assessment in pedagogy and curriculum development. It also prompts a rethinking of how one approaches research when working with teachers and children in early childhood settings.

Author

• Michelle Salazar Perez, New Mexico State University