Results From a Research and Stakeholder Collaboration to Increase Pre-Kindergarten Quality

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Impacts of Data Use in Early Childhood Settings

Abstract

In recent years states and municipalities have funded early childhood educational initiatives. This presentation will discuss a researcher-stakeholder collaborative partnership of a municipality-funded pre-k program. This collaborative partnership has included capacity building efforts for use of evaluation results and realignment of outcome expectations based on purported theories of change for program outcomes. Moreover, the external evaluation team, with support from organizational stakeholders, has provided transparent meaningful results to the program and local community demonstrating the value of this program in the context of a political and scrutinized program. In particular, classroom quality measures were collected in every classroom in the first five years to inform continuing teacher professional development and program improvement. Results indicate improved teacher-student interaction quality over time.

Authors

• Emily A. Diaz, Westat

• Lauren Elizabeth Decker-Woodrow, Westat

• Gay Lamey, Westat

• Donald Barfield, Westat, Inc.