WHITLOWE R. GREEN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Doctoral Proposal Defense Announcement
An Examination of the Impact of Federal Head Start Programs on
Disciplinary Behavior in Early Elementary School Years
(Summer 2015)
Michelle Lockwood-Snodgrass, BBA Lamar
University; M.Ed., Prairie View A&M University
Chair of Advisory Committee: Patricia Hoffman-Miller, Ph.D.
It is an unforgiving truth that there is a growing number of children in the United States
who exhibit disruptive, or externalizing behavior (also referred to as antisocial, challenging,
defiant, noncompliant, aggressive, and acting-out behavior), beyond the occasional minor
incidents typical of most children during the normal course of their development. Such behavior
is one of the most pressing issues in schools today (Bullock, Reilly, & Donahue, 1983; Evans &
Evans, 1985; Hranitz & Eddowes, 2013. Some view behavior problems as a major issue in
American schools with concern expressed continuously about the safety of students and teachers.
These issues can also lead to other more serious problems, all interfering with daily learning.
Forty-eight percent of teachers of young children indicated students exhibit severe disruptive
behaviors in the classroom, and 41% reported a decrease in time devoted to learning due to
attending to these behavioral problems (Deming, D. 2009).
This research focuses on the impact that a Federal Head Start program, currently
operating in a Southeast Texas school district, has on student behavior during a student’s early
elementary school years. The Federal Head Start program is defined as “a comprehensive
program to meet the emotional, social, health, nutritional and psychological needs” designed for
“preschool children of low-income families” aged up to five years, as a strategic measure “to
help break the cycle of poverty” (Office of the Head Start, 2014). The late President, Lyndon B.
Johnson lunched the program in 1964, during his State of the Union speech in which a
declaration of the War on Poverty was delivered.
McWayne, Cheung, Wright, Hahs-Vaughn, and Thomas, (2012) exemplify the critical
need for Head Start programs in the United States by citing the complex process of advancing
children from a pre-school setting to an elementary school setting. According to McWayne et al.
(2012), a child faces monumental developmental challenges when graduating to kindergarten and
the readiness for such a transition is determined by patterns of readiness used up to that point.
This study will compare the rates and significance of school discipline referrals of early
elementary students participating in the Head Start program, and students who did not participate
in the Head Start program. This comparative analysis will measure the Head Start program’s
impact on subsequent behavioral problems of students as they transition from Head Start to
Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third Grades.
The following research questions will guide this study:
1. Is there a statistically significant difference in the numbers of disciplinary referrals
between those who participated in Head Start and those who did not participate?
2. Is there a statistically significant difference in the severity of referrals between those
who participated in Head Start and those who did not participate?
3. Are differences in the number of disciplinary referrals moderated by gender?
4. Are differences in the severity of disciplinary referrals moderated by gender?
5. How does the relationship between the number of disciplinary referrals and
participation in Head Start change over time?
6. How does the relationship between the severity of disciplinary referrals and
participation in Head Start change over time?
7. Is the longitudinal relationship between Head Start participation and numbers of
referrals moderated by gender?
8. Is the longitudinal relationship between Head Start participation and severity of
referrals moderated by gender?
A quantitative research design will be used in identifying if there is a difference in the
numbers and severity of disciplinary referrals received between those who participated in the
Head Start program and those who did not participate in the program. This study utilizes the
principle of the Developmental Timing conceptual framework. Developmental Timing was
initially proposed by Ramey and Ramey (1998) and subsequently expanded on application by
Ramey and Ramey (2006). At the beginning of 1998, Ramey and Ramey adopted a theoretical
perspective to review four decades of theoretical studies on the “early intervention and early
experience” among “children of poverty and children with developmental disabilities” focusing
on establishing what “can yield significant improvements in cognitive, academic, and social
outcomes” (p. 109).
The purpose of this research study will be to investigate the behavioral problems
documented by school discipline referrals, in an attempt to investigate the impact of Head Start
on behavioral problems of children as they transition from kindergarten to third grade. It will
further investigate the rate, severity, and significance of school discipline referrals received by
early elementary students attending the Head Start program and those received among those
students not attending the Head Start program.
References
Brooks-Gunn, J., Love, J., Raikes, H., & Chazan-Cohen, R. (2013). What Makes a Difference:
Early Head Start Evaluation Findings in a Developmental Context (pp. 121 – 138). New
York: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bullock, L., Rielly, T., & Donahue, C. (1983), School violence and what teachers can do about
it. Contemporary Education, 55(1), 40-43.
Campbell, S., & von Stauffenberg, C. (2008). Child characteristics and family processes that
predict behavioral readiness for school. In A. Crouter, & A. Booth (Eds.). Early
disparities in school readiness: How families contribute to transitions into school (pp.
225–258). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Currie, J., & Thomas, D. (1995). Does Head Start make a difference? American Economic
Review, 85(3), 341-364.
Deming, D. (2009). Early childhood intervention and life-cycle skill development: Evidence
from Head Start. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(3), 111–134.
Evans, S. E., & Evans, W. H. (1985). Frequencies that ensure skill competency. Journal of
Precision Teaching, 6(2), 25-35.
Fraenkel, J. R., Wallen, N. E., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in
education (8th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Hranitz. J. R., & Eddowes, E. A. (2013). Violence: A crisis in homes and schools Childhood
Education, 67(1), 4-7.
McWayne, C., Cheung, K., Wright, L., Hahs-Vaughn, D., Thomas, D. (2012). Patterns of school
readiness among Head Start children: Meaningful within-group variability during the
transition to kindergarten. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(3), 862-878.
Office of the Head Start (2014). History of Head Start. Administration for children & families,
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Ramey, C., & Ramey, S. (1998). Early intervention and early experience. American
Psychologist, 53(2), 109-120.
Ramey, C., & Ramey, S. (2006). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention
make a difference? In N. Watt, C. Ayoub, R. Bradley, J. Puma, & Ayoub, R. Bradley, J.
Puma, & W. Lebeouf (Eds.). The Crisis in Youth Mental Health: Critical Issues and
Effective Programs - Early Intervention Programs and Policies. Vol. 4 (pp. 291 - 317).
Westport: Praeger Press.
Date: July 23, 2015___________
Department: Educational Leadership and Counseling
Time: 10:00 AM_____________
Location/Room: _DELCO 220_____________________
Dissertation Chair: _____Patricia Hoffman-Miller, PhD_.______________________________
Dissertation Committee Members: __Douglas Harmon, Ph.D.____
__Lisa Thompson, Ph.D.____
__Samuel S. Sampson, Ph.D.___
_ Bennie Graves, Ph.D._____
Revised: May 14, 2012