About this session

Saturday, 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Experiences in Early Head Start: Continuity in Teachers, Relationships and Family Wellbeing

Consistent, positive experiences and interactions with caregivers shape early childhood development. Early Head Start (EHS) works in partnership with low-income families with infants and toddlers to promote child development and family wellbeing. The goal of this symposium is to advance research by identifying patterns of continuity in positive experiences for children participating in EHS. The papers all analyze data from the EHS Family and Child Experiences Study (Baby FACES), a cross-sectional nationally representative study of EHS collected in 2018 and 2022. Each paper applies a different approach and methodology to examining continuity. Paper 1 examines continuity of care, a best practice involving children and teachers staying together over time. The findings indicate variability in continuity of care across centers with potential implications for relationship quality and child development. Paper 2 identifies constellations of toddler-caregiver relationship quality across EHS center and home settings and how family engagement with EHS is linked to continuity in cross-context relationship quality. Paper 3 leverages data from 2018 and 2022 to compare continuity in family stress and wellbeing pre- and post-COVID-19, and how these family experiences are associated with continuity in EHS services. The discussant is a well-recognized expert on caregiver relationships and EHS. Collectively, these papers advance understanding of variability and consistency in experiences of EHS children, families and teachers with clear implications for best practices to support children in EHS and other ECE programs.

Paper #1
Title	Continuity of Care Practices and Relationship-Based and Child Outcomes in Early Head Start
Presenting author	Dr. Jennifer Ann Mortensen, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno, United States

Paper #2
Title	Relationship Quality Continuity in Early Head Start Classrooms and Homes: The Role of Family Engagement
Presenting author	Melissa A. Barnett, Ph.D., University of Arizona, United States

Paper #3
Title	The continuity and change of Early Head Start families’ well-being and stress pre- and post-COVID-19
Presenting author	Maria Abdul-Masih, The Ohio State University, United States

View all paper details

Session chair
Melissa A. Barnett, Ph.D., University of Arizona, United States

Discussant
Dr. Ann M. Mastergeorge, Ph.D., Texas Tech University, United States

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