Gary Lacy - Head Start Social Services: How African American Mothers Use and Perceive Them

G ARLAND S TUDIES ON

CHILDREN OF POVERTY

STUDIES IN THE EFFECTS OF SINGLE PARENTHOOD, THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY, AND HOMELESSNESS

edited by

STUART BRUCHEY

A LLAN N EVINS P ROFESSOR E MERITUS C OLUMBIA U NIVERSITY

HEAD START SOCIAL SERVICES

HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN MOTHERS USE AND PERCEIVE IT

GARY L. LACY, Ed.D

First published by Garland Publishing, Inc.

This edition published 2011 by Routledge:

Routledge

Taylor & Francis Group

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New York, NY 10017

Routledge

Taylor & Francis Group

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Published in 1999 by

Garland Publishing Inc.

A Member of the Taylor & Francis Group

19 Union Square West

New York, NY 10003

Copyright 1999 by Gary L. Lacy

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.

Project Head Start, a federal child development program for low-income families, serves both the mother and her children. Previous studies have emphasized Head Starts influence on the child in terms of cognitive gains, social development, and social-emotional development. A continuing problem to understanding the extent of Head Start impact on families is the absence of reliable information about Head Starts influence on the mother and how that influence transfers to the family as they work toward self-sufficiency. This study investigated two issues: (1) the experiences, perceptions, and levels of involvement of mothers who participate in Head Start social services, and (2) how these mothers describe their benefits and relate these benefits to family experiences such as increased problem-solving, coping, and parenting skills. A multiple case study methodology was selected because of its flexibility to allow the researcher to follow new leads that emerged. Participants met three criteria: (1) enrollment in a Head Start social services program for at least six months, (2) willingness to sign an informed consent form and participate in three 90-minute interviews, and (3) having at least one child currently enrolled in Head Start. A participant pool of 17 African American mothers was constituted from parents enrolled in one of three Head Start programs in the Washington, D.C. area, and a sample of eight mothers was then selected for in-depth study. Each mother was interviewed three times, and data were drawn from these interviews. The findings of this study suggest that participation in Head Start social services may have important benefits for mothers and their children. Mothers had developed increased coping and problem-solving skills as well as increased leadership and organizational skills. The findings also suggest that participation in parent group meetings had an empowering influence that prompted several mothers to become involved in certain community activities and in their childrens education. The author cautions readers to consider several concerns regarding the dissertation research:

First, Head Start mothers were not selected randomly. The sample included 17 mothers who volunteered to participate and were motivated to tell their story about Head Start social services. A purposeful sampling logic, based on the researchers professional judgment about which mothers could provide the richest descriptions of the phenomena under study, influenced the selection of eight mothers from this volunteer pool. Therefore, the need for caution in generalizing the current studys findings to a larger population is stressed. However, in terms of race, children enrolled, marital status, and income, the mothers selected are representative of the families served by Head Start programs (National Head Start Association [NHSA], 1995).

Second, the study aimed to learn, from the mothers perspective, how she has benefitted from Head Start social services. Triangulation, such as the use of multiple sources of information, is suggested by Yin (1989) as a method to strengthen the conclusions drawn from a case study approach. In this dissertation research, triangulation could have meant the use of other sources of data. For example, teachers, friends, and relatives could have been asked to report on their perceptions of how mothers had benefitted from Head Start social services. The researcher decided against using other informants because this action might have been misconstrued by the mothers, and he did not want them to fear that they were being checked-on with friends, relatives, and teachers. The researcher believed that building a trusting relationship with the mothers was more important than the possible risk associated with including other sources to corroborate information. Therefore, assertions about benefits derived and changes that have occurred because of the mothers participation in social services cannot be validated. Nevertheless, the researcher believes that trusting relationships were established with the mothers, and that honesty was a significant feature of those relationships.

The researchers gender may have had some influence on the Head Start mothers response rates. The researcher is an African-American male who expressed a genuine interest in the mothers and in their stories. The high level of interest by the researcher coupled with the positive regard he showed for them, may have had an influence on how they responded.

Finally, the selection of the site for interviews was left to the mothers. In all but one case, the interviews occurred in the mothers homes. Spouses and boyfriends were briefed about the purpose of the study and they were all invited to participate, however, none did. Occasionally, the boyfriend or spouses presence limited the mothers ability to be candid about issues such as stressful situations and coping strategies. Future research interviews should be conducted at another convenient location such as a Head Start facility.

Many people have provided guidance and emotional support during the past four years. This support allowed me to complete this major product of my graduate education. However, it is not the final product because this experience has also allowed me the opportunity to develop new insights into the subject area to which I hope to continue to make research contributions. To each of you, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude.

My foremost encourager before her death was my mother, Ruby. She cheered and encouraged me to believe in myself. My wife, Terry has been a firm supporter throughout the process. She has listened, offered suggestions and helped me to maintain a balance of theory and practice. More than anything, she has lived through my dissertation anxiety and paranoia. My children, Detra and Xavier are survivors of the dissertation process, and I hope that despite my periodic moments of insanity and obsession, they too, may strive for higher levels of academic excellence.