From Horizontal to Vertical Management Styles: A Qualitative Look at Head Start Staff Strategies for Addressing Behavior Problems

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on naturally-occurring strategies used by Head Start staff to address children's emotional and mental health needs. Focus groups with 23 staff members from five Head Start centers in two large cities met multiple times to discuss staff approaches to coping with children's inappropriate behavior. Discussions were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative analysis methods that focus on grounded theory were used to identify themes and patterns in the data. Using a qualitative analysis computer program (NUD*IST), the transcripts were analyzed for illustrations of both directors' and teachers' strategies for managing children's problematic behaviors in Head Start programs. Two different management styles emerged from focus groups in this small sample of Head Start centers. Horizontal centers used a more collaborative approach to addressing children's problematic behaviors with contributions from center directors, staff, and mental health consultants. A second model for addressing children's mental health needs, the Vertical Model, was more hierarchical in management and in working with parents. Findings also show that teacher strategies for addressing behavior problems, including interactions with other teachers, directors, mental health consultants, and parents, varied within the context of management model. Directions for future research are discussed.