Study of Coaching Practices in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE), United States, 2019-2021

Résumé 0

The Study of Coaching Practices in Early Care and Education Settings (SCOPE), funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), aimed to examine the range of coaching options utilized in the early care and education (ECE) field. Data collection occurred in two phases, with initial data collection occurring in 2019 and follow-up data collection occurring in 2021 (referred to as SCOPE 2019 and SCOPE 2021, respectively). SCOPE 2019 examined how the prevalence, implementation, combination, and tailoring of coaching features vary across center-based classrooms and family child care (FCC) homes serving preschool-age children. In addition, the study explored programmatic and systems-level factors related to the implementation of coaching. SCOPE 2021 aimed to understand the practice and processes of coaching--and professional development more broadly--in supporting ECE settings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and how those practices and processes have been adapted or changed in the context of the pandemic. The SCOPE 2021 surveys expanded the focus on remote versus in-person coaching strategies. The SCOPE project was a mixed-methods study. SCOPE was conducted in seven states, and used a purposive sampling approach. The study included centers and FCCs that served preschool-age children from families with a low income. It primarily included settings funded through a Head Start grant or serving children with Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies, though settings also used other forms of funding. From February through July 2019, the project implemented web-based surveys with center directors, center teachers, FCC providers, and coaches. From July to October 2021, the study implemented follow-up web-based surveys with center directors, FCC providers and coaches who responded to the survey in 2019, and additionally conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with a subset of these respondents.