Description:
In September 2010, the Office of Head Start (OHS), in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (ACF), awarded 17-month Early Learning Mentor Coach (ELMC) grants to 131 Head Start grantees. In March 2011, ACF's Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation awarded a contract to American Institutes for Research, and its partners MEF Associates and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, to conduct a descriptive study of the ELMC initiative. This study was guided by three key goals: Goal #1. Describe the implementation of the ELMC grants in HS programs. Goal #2. Examine the implementation factors of the ELMC efforts. Goal #3. Examine the factors that appear to be related to perceptions of successful coaching. This report provides detailed findings from: grantee census survey to collect information on a final respondent pool of 121 grantees (93 percent response rate); coach census survey to collect information on a final respondent pool of 384 coaches (84 percent response rate); coach telephone interview with 54 coaches (83 percent response rate); and staff telephone interview with 80 staff members who received coaching (73 percent response rate). The study findings are presented according to seven practical aspects of coaching that are aligned to a conceptual framework of coaching in early care and education settings: context of coaching (e.g., size of grantee, population served, professional development resources); basic dimensions (e.g., goals of coaching, whom to coach, whom to hire as coaches, and how long to provide coaching); structural dimensions (e.g., logistics relating to where coaching will take place, coach and staff travel demands, scheduling, workload, and supervision of coaches); procedural dimensions (e.g., identifying staff needs, establishing staff goals, engaging in focused observation, providing feedback ); outputs of coaching (e.g., staff openness, coach-staff relationship); ? perceived outcomes of coaching; implementation successes and challenges; and sustainability of coaching program after the end of ELMC funding. The report concludes with a conceptual framework and implications for future research. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Executive Summary
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