Instrument 11: BSC Implementation Staff and Faculty Focus Group Discussion Guide

Instrument 11: BSC Implementation Staff and Faculty Discussion Guide

Culture of Continuous Learning Project: A Breakthrough Series Collaborative for Improving Child Care and Head Start Quality

Respondents	Time of Data Collection
BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff	Midpoint (T2) Follow-up (T4)

Note: Respondents are implementation faculty and staff members.

Questions will be selected based on relevance at time of data collection such that the length of the focus groups is no more than 90 minutes.

Thank you very much for agreeing to participate in this discussion. Your participation is very important to our research.

1. We are conducting a research study for the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation at the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this study is to learn about the options for integrating a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) into early care and education quality improvement systems. The BSC is a specific training approach designed to support learning and improvement among practitioners at all levels of an organization, from directors to teachers who work in a classroom with children. This BSC aims to support children's social and emotional learning practices among staff who work in child care and Head Start settings. The intended use of the information collected is to study whether a BSC can enhance existing Head Start and child care training and technical assistance activities to support social and emotional learning practices.

2. Our conversation will last approximately an hour and a half and will focus on facilitators and barriers of implementing the BSC and your thoughts about what changes you’ve noticed in BSC participants through their participation in the BSC.

3. There is a chance that you may feel uncomfortable answering some of our questions. Being part of this discussion is completely voluntary. You can choose to skip any question or leave the focus group at any time. Additionally, there is no direct benefit to participating in this discussion. We hope the information you provide will benefit the early child care and education field.

4. We would like to record this conversation for note-taking purposes only. We will delete the recordings after the notes have been cleaned. We will separate your name and personal information from our notes and transcripts. Your identity and the information you share will be kept private by the research team, but because this is a group discussion, we cannot guarantee confidentiality. To respect the privacy of other participants, we ask you to please not repeat anything that is said during the discussion. This will also help everyone feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences with the group. Our report will describe the experiences and viewpoints expressed, but comments will not be attributed to specific individuals. No individuals will be quoted by name. Information shared during this conversation may be made available to other researchers for future study. However, your identity will be kept private and no comments will be able to be attributed to you.

5. Data files from the research component of this project may be stored in a trusted online location where they could be made available to other researchers who commit to keeping the data secure. Any personal information that could identify you will be removed before files are shared with other researchers. No research findings will include any personal information. This research is also covered by a Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. This means that researchers cannot release or use information that may identify you in any way unless you say it is ok.

6. [For questions:] If you would like a copy of this information or have questions, please email us at ktout@childtrends.org or the IRB at irbparticipant@childtrends.org or by phone at 1-855-288-3506.

7. [Send comments:] Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to Kathryn Tout, ktout@childtrends.org or Child Trends, 708 N 1^st Suite #333 Minneapolis, MN 55401 Attention: Kathryn Tout

8. [PRA statement:] A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and no individual or entity is required to respond to, nor shall an individual or entity be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. The OMB number for this collection of information is 0970-0605 and the expiration date is 03/31/2026.

Are you willing to participate in this discussion and be recorded? [Yes/No]

Topic	Subtopic	Type of Respondent
Factors that may have helped or hindered BSC participation	Impression of programs’ readiness to participate in a BSC Perceptions of things that helped/hindered their role in BSC implementation Ideas/plans to address challenges differently moving forward in this BSC (T2)/in other BSCs (T4) to meet participants’ needs more effectively Perceptions of existing ECE program-level supports that facilitate individual participant’s involvement in the BSC (i.e., paid planning time, supportive leadership in terms of PD opportunities, organizational culture of quality improvement and readiness for change) Perceptions of areas where more support is needed at the ECE center-level Perceptions of state or regional factors that facilitate BSC implementation and allow for center participation (i.e., perception of state focus on quality improvement) Barriers to individual’s participation in the BSC that differ by role, identity or personal circumstances, and ways implementation staff and faculty can improve equitable access to BSC participation in this (T2) and future BSCs (T4)	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff
Perception of participant goals, needs, and expectations of the BSC	Perception of participant clarity of the goals and expectations of the BSC Perceptions about whether the BSC is meeting participant needs and expectations of QI training Reflections on ways the BSC may be adapted or modified to better address participants’ needs and expectations Reflections on the level of flexibility of the implementation staff and faculty and the BSC to be responsive to differing needs of participants Perception of shifting power dynamics and equity processes within BSC teams [as defined by the BSC implementation staff and faculty]	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff
Reflection of BSC implementation thus far	Activities that have gone well so far Activities that are the most beneficial to participants Activities that were challenging Perception of meaningful contribution of each participant Ways to improve implementation of activities Overall opinions of BSC implementation thus far Extent to which BSC teams have discussed equity, implemented equitable practices in their programs, & assessed the equity of those practices Appropriateness of BSC implementation staff and faculty staffing for success in implementing a BSC Clarity of roles for each member of the BSC implementation staff and faculty in BSC implementation	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff
Perceived and observed changes for BSC participants	Changes in BSC participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and/or practices aligned with the collaborative change framework. Examples are below, but these are subject to change as the implementation team finalizes the change framework: Relationships and environments Social skills and emotional competencies Family partnership Racial equity and cultural responsiveness Organizational capacity and support Changes in participants’ methods to track children’s progress in SEL growth and ability to communicate that progress to parents Biggest observed change in BSC team(s) so far (T2)/overall (T4)	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff
Sustainability of Outcomes	Tools provided to the BSC team to support sustainability of outcomes short- and long-term Necessary state, system, and program-level resources (financial and otherwise), buy-in, and supports to maintain and scale BSC implementation Tools and knowledge provided to BSC teams to recognize and address instances where positive outcomes may be faltering Suggestions for ways to support sustainability of outcomes more effectively in the future Feedback received about the continued use of BSC QI practices since the end of the BSC (T4) Feedback received about the reach of the information presented in the BSC beyond the BSC team	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff
Cost	Estimation of the time it took faculty/staff member to participate in the various BSC-related activities	All BSC Implementation Faculty and Staff