Head Start's impact is contingent on alternative type of care in comparison group.

F Zhai, J Brooks-Gunn, J Waldfogel - Developmental psychology, 2014 - psycnet.apa.org
Developmental psychology, 2014psycnet.apa.org
Abstract Using data (n= 3,790 with 2,119 in the 3-year-old cohort and 1,671 in the 4-year-old
cohort) from 353 Head Start centers in the Head Start Impact Study, the only large-scale
randomized experiment in Head Start history, this article examined the impact of Head Start
on children's cognitive and parent-reported social-behavioral outcomes through first grade
contingent on the child care arrangements used by children who were randomly assigned to
the control group (ie, parental care, relative/nonrelative care, another Head Start program, or …
Abstract
Using data (n= 3,790 with 2,119 in the 3-year-old cohort and 1,671 in the 4-year-old cohort) from 353 Head Start centers in the Head Start Impact Study, the only large-scale randomized experiment in Head Start history, this article examined the impact of Head Start on children’s cognitive and parent-reported social-behavioral outcomes through first grade contingent on the child care arrangements used by children who were randomly assigned to the control group (ie, parental care, relative/nonrelative care, another Head Start program, or other center-based care). A principal score matching approach was adopted to identify children assigned to Head Start who were similar to children in the control group with a specific care arrangement. Overall, the results showed that the effects of Head Start varied substantially contingent on the alternative child care arrangements. Compared with children in parental care and relative/nonrelative care, Head Start participants generally had better cognitive and parent-reported behavioral development, with some benefits of Head Start persisting through first grade; in contrast, few differences were found between Head Start and other center-based care. The results have implications regarding the children for whom Head Start is most beneficial as well as how well Head Start compares with other center-based programs.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
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