Developmental Profiles in Head Start Children: Factors Associated With Stability and Change

• In Event: Factors Contributing to Children's Development

Abstract

This paper is part of a larger research-practice partnership study currently underway with a large, urban HS program in the central United States. The research-practice partnership works to codevelop research questions to generate actionable results to drive the program’s continuous improvement. The current paper describes person-centered analytical approach used to describe and explore developmental profiles of children enrolled in HS. We further consider the stability and change of children’s profiles across one academic year in HS, and explore to what extent children’s characteristics are associated with the likelihood that they transition from one developmental profile to another from fall to spring. Implications for practice and additional research will be discussed.

Authors

• Sherri L. Castle, Child Trends

• Shinyoung Jeon, University of Oklahoma

• Elizabeth Frechette, The University of Oklahoma

• Kyong-Ah Kwon, University of Oklahoma