Sprout School Research & Evaluation A University-Community Partnership to Measure and Improve Outcomes for Young Children in Richmond, VA

Presentation Overview Introductions Approach to research Benefits Research Design Our Strengths and Roles Ethical Considerations

Photo credit: Scott McLeod (CC BY 2.0) Please ask questions and offer comments at any time! Collaboration and input from all members of the research team are highly valued.

Let’s Meet our Research Team: Linda Tissiere, CEO, YWCA Kathleen Eastman, Director of Early Childhood and Family Development, YWCA Shannon Venable, President/CEO, CMoR Jenna Petrosino, Education Manager, CMoR Serra De Arment, Ph.D., VCU Yaoying Xu, Ph.D., VCU And others…

How should we approach this work? Let’s discuss our ideas!

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) collaborative research research with the community, not on the community community-identified need(s) equitable involvement from all members of research team co-learning among all members of research team collaborative partnerships across all phases of the research

How can we all benefit from this approach?

Benefits of CBPR Shared learning and consideration of new perspectives Development of relationships to support current and future work Networking and enhanced professional development for all Understanding value of community experiences for improving research process Research design to strengthen credibility of results Other benefits?

Our CBPR Research Design

Embedded Mixed Methods Research Design Guided by the overall CBPR approach Mixed methods: quantitative (numeric) data collection and analysis AND qualitative (narrative) data collection and analysis Embedded: qualitative processes proceed within quantitative processes Research design: systematic consideration of how to achieve credible findings to address our shared research and evaluation questions

Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Embedded Mixed Methods Research Design: Community-based Participatory Research Quantitative: pre-post within and between group comparisons Interpretation Qualitative: Pre-post questionnaires and focus groups

One approach to collecting and understanding information is not enough… Quantitative (numeric data) Qualitative (narrative data) Child-level outcomes early language and literacy early math early science social and emotional skills Existing measures plus additional tools for comprehensive assessment Teacher, parent/family and museum staff perceptions and experiences questionnaires focus groups See shared Google Doc for specific measures linked to research questions.

What are our strengths? What are our existing practices?

What else should we consider? Research Team Roles Community Partners University Partners Data collection existing measures distribution of teacher, family, and museum staff questionnaires focus group facilitation and participation Interpretation of results Dissemination of Findings Data collection new child-level measures Data analysis Interpretation of results Dissemination of findings What else should we consider?

Ethical Considerations Ongoing of assessment of burden placed on children, families, teachers, museum staff What is plan B? Plan C? Participant-researchers How do we control bias? Assess burden? Understand our individual and collective perspectives? Ensuring fidelity to “treatment” (i.e., Sprout School approach) and to assessment (need for additional trained assessors)

Photo credit: Tmazuu (CC BY –NC-ND 2.0) retrieved from Flickr Sprout School: Let’s see what grows! Photo credit: Tmazuu (CC BY –NC-ND 2.0) retrieved from Flickr

Thank you! Additional comments and questions are welcome. Photo credit: Doug Shaw, retrieved from Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Questions or Comments Later? Contact Us! Serra De Arment, Ph.D.: 804-828-7783, dearmentst@vcu.edu Yaoying Xu, Ph.D., 804-828-5298, yxu2@vcu.edu