Poster #178 - Highlighting Centers of Excellence: Case Studies of High Performing Programs from a Citywide Pre-K Evaluation

• In Event: 3-206 - Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Section - School Readiness/Childcare

Integrative Statement

Growing evidence points to a positive relationship between pre-K program quality and child developmental outcomes (e.g. McCoy et al., 2017; Yoshikawa & Zaslow, 2013). In response to this evidence, federal, state, and local preschool systems have placed an increased focus on quality in programs that receive public funding. This focus on quality includes measuring and documenting program quality and providing supports for quality improvement. To inform these efforts, researchers have studied the predictors of program quality and the outcomes of interventions to support program quality (Mashburn et al., 2008). Case study research is another approach to understand the program processes that support high quality. This poster summarizes results of a qualitative case study that examines the approaches and practices used in programs identified as “centers of excellence,” based on high performance on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS, Pianta, 2008) tool.
The study used a qualitative case study approach to address the following research questions. Among PreK programs with consistently high CLASS scores:
which program models and classroom practices do administrators and teachers adhere to?
how do administrators’ and teachers’ definitions of quality align with the CLASS instruments?
how do administrators and teachers engage in efforts to support high quality in the classroom?
The sample of programs included in the case study was selected from a pool of approximately 240 programs participating in a citywide pre-K evaluation that includes annual CLASS observations. Researchers have identified threshold scores on the CLASS, a point above which CLASS scores are more strongly associated with child social and academic outcomes (Burchinal et al, 2010). To identify programs with consistently high CLASS scores for the case study, the study team flagged 16 programs in the pre-K evaluation that met or exceeded thresholds on each CLASS domain for two years in a row, and used purposive sampling to select 6 programs for the case study that represented diverse characteristics of programs in the city.
Researchers conducted telephone interviews with teachers and administrators in each program, and used a directed content analysis (Hsieh and Shannon, 2005) approach to analyze themes related to processes that support program quality.
The study revealed that Pre-K programs with consistently high CLASS® scores engage in a variety of efforts to support high quality in the classroom, including coaching, use of data for quality improvement, and providing a supportive environment for teachers. In addition, high scoring programs engaged in practices that include building strong relationships with children and their families, using positive reinforcement in the classroom, supporting language development in intentional ways, and individualizing instruction to meet the needs and interests of each child.
Illustrating the kinds of practices that are common in high- performing programs, supports stakeholders in understanding what high quality programs look like beyond the types of adult-child interactions measured in the CLASS® instrument.

Authors

• Sherylls Valladares Kahn, School Readiness Consulting
  Presenting Author

• Laura Hawkinson, School Readiness Consulting
  Non-Presenting Author

• Dori Mornan, School Readiness Consulting
  Non-Presenting Author