Project Activities
The research team will develop and validate comparable Spanish and English Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention (ASPI) forms over a four-year period. The research team will develop scale items, collect data and conduct analyses to examine the validity of the Spanish and English ASPI forms.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The study will take place in urban Head Start preschool programs in Florida.
Sample
Study participants include teachers and children from 180 preschool classrooms. The study participants are primarily African-American and Latino children from low-income backgrounds who are enrolled in center-based Head Start preschool programs.
Intervention
The products from this study will be fully developed and validated Spanish and English versions of the ASPI. The ASPI is a teacher report measure of children's emotional and behavioral (for example: aggression, inattention/hyperactivity, withdrawn/low energy) adjustment in the preschool classroom. The measure is used to provide descriptions of observable child behaviors that occur during the preschool day. The current version of the ASPI was developed to assess the emotional and behavioral adjustment of low-income children enrolled in early childhood programs in Pennsylvania. The research team will develop both Spanish and English versions of the measure for use with preschool teachers of varying literacy levels, educational background and training, and language proficiency .A Spanish and English test manual will also be developed.
Research design and methods
The research team will develop and validate comparable Spanish and English ASPI forms over a four-year period. In year 1, the research team will create initial Spanish and English ASPI forms, pilot test the measures, and conduct preliminary analyses. In years 2 through 4, the research team will collect child and teacher demographic information, direct child assessments of school readiness, and obtain child-level data collected by Head Start teachers. In years 2 and 3 of the study, the research team will conduct psychometric analyses to examine the underlying structure of the Spanish and English forms, and link and equate both forms. In year 4, the research team will conduct data analyses to evaluate the convergent and divergent validity of the ASPI, and examine whether the ASPI detects changes over time.
Control condition
There is no control condition.
Key measures
Key measures of the reliability and validity of the new Spanish forms of the ASPI includeratings of play behavior (Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale-teacher version), a language screener (Pre-LAS 2000), and academic achievement (Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement, Third Edition). The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment will be used as an assessment of children's classroom behavior. The Galileo System for the Electronic Management of Learning, an online system, will be used to track children's development and growth in eight Head Start readiness domains. Members of the research team will conduct classroom observations using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and the Supports for English Language Learners Classroom Assessment.
Data analytic strategy
The data analytic methods will include exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, bivariate and multivariate correlational analyses, and multilevel individual growth-curve modeling.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: Products include a fully developed and validated measure of the emotional and behavioral adjustment of preschool-aged Spanish-speaking English learners, and a test manual.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
