For researchers who are interested in surveying or connecting with the Head Start field as part of their work, NHSA has three conditions: membership; value; and reciprocity.
Membership
The researcher’s organization must be a member of NHSA. Researchers mostly fall under the Associate membership category.
Value
NHSA must determine that the research will contribute significant value to the Head Start field.
Reciprocity
The researcher must agree to produce a one-page, practitioner-friendly summary of the findings to share back with the Head Start field once the work is complete. NHSA reserves the right to recommend edits to make sure the summary is accessible to practitioners. NHSA will help with a wide distribution of the summary.
Research on Head Start should be framed by the goal of improving the early education environment and developmental opportunities of children in poverty.
Research on Head Start that examines any element of the program must consider the whole child, whole family approach that is at the heart of Head Start, rooted in the federal-to-local funding that enables communities to design programs based on local resources and needs.
Head Start programs and practitioners should be integrally involved in the framing of research questions, the design of studies, the data sets and sources, and the adaptation of lessons from research for daily practice.
Research should consider that families and communities vary in their resources and needs and therefore require individualized interventions and respond differently to particular services.
Head Start programs serve diverse children and families including American Indian and Alaska Native communities, migrant and seasonal workers, immigrants, refugees, and more; efforts to understand these programs should be as inclusive as possible.
This partnership aimes to change the culture of health in Head Start by creating and testing an evidence-based wellness program for diverse staff and leaders.
NHSA is partnering with experts at the Kennedy School and Stanford University to study the impact of reappraisal training on Head Start staff and parents.
NHSA supports the Morehouse School of Medicine’s National African American Child and Family Research Center to advance high-caliber research focused on African American children and families.
NHSA engages regularly with the NRCEC to encourage collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to build the evidence base for policy and practice.
A research practice partnership aimed at providing resources and strategies for coding and problem-solving activities that are grounded in research, aligned with Head Start core values, and support broadening participation.
NHSA supports two ongoing surveys designed to gather essential information regarding the needs, health promoting behaviors, and wellbeing of young children (age 0-5) and their families during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.