Head Start Thesaurus   December 1, 1997 (revised draft)  
  developed by: Trans Management Systems Corporation 1025 Vermont Avenue, NW Suite 1025 Washington, DC 20005  
 
  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Administration for Children and Families Administration for Children, Youth and Families Head Start Program  
 
 
  Table of Contents

Introduction

Organization of the Thesaurus

Alphabetical Hierarchical Display
 

[A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [Y]        Introduction

Founded in 1965, the Head Start program currently offers comprehensive services, including high quality early childhood education, nutrition, health and social services, along with a strong parent involvement focus, to low-income children nationwide. The overall goal of the program is to bring about a greater degree of social competence in preschool children from low-income families. Social competence refers to the child's everyday effectiveness in dealing with both his or her present environment and later responsibilities in school and life It takes into account the inter relatedness of cognitive, intellectual and social development; physical and mental health; and nutritional needs.

The Head Start Thesaurus is a compilation of standardization words and phrases used to characterize and describe the early childhood development and education, family support and community based service areas that are the focus of the head Start program. Historically, the professions of education, social work and medicine have contributed most to the development of the project. As a result, many of the descriptors are taken from these disciplines.

Terms from other fields such as management and psychology are included to cover concepts such as the administration of Head Start programs and the intricacies of human psychological and social development. The Thesaurus also contains descriptors for demographic characteristics of families, geographic locations of programs, types of organizations and professionals, research methodology, and similar topics. In addition, the Thesaurus captures descriptors unique to the field, for example, preschool education, family preservation and support, parenting education, community action agencies and home visits.

Each term in the Thesaurus represents a single concept. A term may consist of one or more words, and is usually defined by descriptions found in the ERIC Thesaurus unless it is unique to the field and defined in the literature of organizations in the field, for example, Project Head Start. Most of the terms unique to Head Start programs are defined in the Program Performance Standards. Noun forms are preferred and are pre coordinated, that is, written to exclude prepositions and conjunctions, when possible. The singular form is used for descriptors that designate processes, properties and conditioners for example, child abuse, child neglect, program administration. The plural forms is used for terms that can be quantified, for example, families, communities, nursery schools. Natural word order is preferred, as in economically disadvantaged, not disadvantaged, economically. Terms are alphabetized on a word-by-word basis, that is, a space after a word in a multiword descriptor precedes a longer version of that word. For example, parent involvement precedes parenting education.

A descriptor, or preferred term, is any term that can be used to search project databases and indexes. A term that can be looked up but cannot be used for searching the descriptor field is called a non preferred term. In the Alphabetical Hierarchical Display, non preferred terms appear with USE references directing the user to the appropriate preferred term. For example, neglected children USE child neglect.

The Thesaurus is composed of descriptors and identifiers. Descriptors refer to concepts and subject areas, rather than specific entities. Descriptors are not proper names. For example, early childhood education is a descriptor; American Indian Program is an identifier. Identifiers include the proper names of programs, agencies, public laws, organizations, projects, departments, etc. Descriptors and identifiers are listed together, in one alphabetical display.

This Thesaurus is a valuable tool for professionals who search for information about Head Start program areas. Organizations that may find the thesaurus useful include Federal, State, Tribal and local agencies; national, community and nonprofit organizations that train specific groups of service providers; Head Start program staff; and others involved in early childhood development and education, family support, and community services. The thesaurus will help users formulate search strategies using the controlled vocabulary to target and retrieve precise information quickly and efficiently. It is also a useful tool for any professional attempting to stay abreast of terminology used in the field of early child development and education.

The Head Start Thesaurus is a product of the Head Start Publications Management Center. The Center maintains and disseminates a wide range of publications covering topics related to the Head Start programs nationwide for the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
 
 

Organization of the Thesaurus  

What is a Thesaurus?

A thesaurus serves as an authority list of the terms used to index reports, memoranda, bulletins and other publications produced by an organization. Without vocabulary control, concepts and specific titles would become scattered and inaccessible. A synonym can the primary culprit when data disappears in a database or other file. It is important that the indexer and the searcher use the same vocabulary for optimal information retrieval and optimal use of an information system,

Alphabetical Hierarchical Display

The Alphabetical Hierarchical Display lists terms related to the preferred descriptor and specifies the nature of their relationships. Terms can be narrower (more specific) or broader (more general) than the preferred term. Narrower and broader describe hierarchical relationships. Terms can also be related to the preferred term, that is, allied conceptually but not in a hierarchical manner. In this display, preferred terms are listed in bold print. Broader, narrower and related terms are not. Non preferred terms appear with USE references directing the user to the appropriate preferred term. Use references are also listed in bold print.

The Alphabetical Hierarchical Display provides precise information on a descriptor's context - how the descriptor fits with other terms in that same subject category - by listing terms that are narrower, broader or otherwise related to the descriptor. This readily enables the user to refine or modify a search strategy by making use of related terms.

The display gives information about each descriptor by including, as applicable, the following reference notes:

SN (Scope Note) - A scope note provides information about the intended usage of a descriptor. It may clarify an ambiguous term, supply a definition, restrict a term's usage, or offer guidelines for indexing or searching.

Example:

Prenatal care
SN Medical, educational and social services provided or obtained during pregnancy.

The USE and UF reference solves the problems of synonyms and quasi-synonyms, abbreviations, and alternate spellings by directing the user to replace a non preferred term with a preferred term. A USE reference will always have a reciprocal Used For reference and vice versa. Only the USE reference is listed in bold print.

Examples:

ADD
 USE Attention deficit disorders

Attention deficit disorders
 UF ADD

Neglected children
 USE Child neglect

Child neglect
 UF Neglected children
 

BT (Broader Term) - The BT and NT references indicate a hierarchical relationship with the descriptor. The BT reference implies a genus species or set subset relationship. A descriptor can have more than one BT reference. However, each BT reference is only one level higher than the original descriptor.

Examples:

Individualized family service plan
BT Special programs

Behavior development
BT Individual development
 

NT (Narrower Term) - Narrower terms are the subsets of the broader set or class represented by the descriptor. A term can have more than one NT reference, however, each one is only one level below the main term.

Examples:

Development
NT Educational development
   Individual development

Special health problems
NT Asthma
   Chronic illnesses
   Lead poisoning
 

RT (Related Term) - Related terms are related conceptually, but not hierarchically, to the descriptor. An RT reference is provided when a user may benefit from a list of those terms.

Examples:

Standards
RT Assessment
   Certification
   Eligibility
   Inspection
   Licensing
 

Identifiers

In addition to the descriptors, the Alphabetical Hierarchical Display also includes identifiers. Identifiers include the proper names of programs, agencies, public laws, organizations, projects, departments, etc. These may be used to insure precise indexing and retrieval of materials relating to these names. Identifiers can be located easily in the display since they are listed with leading capital letters on each word in the name.

Examples:

Early Head Start
Head Start Reauthorization Act of 1994
Health Services Advisory Committee
On Site Program Review Instrument