Quality First Experiences Study (QUEST)

Purpose of the QUEST: We would like to invite you to participate in a research study conducted by Drs. Tracy Spinrad, Richard Fabes, and Carol Martin of the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University in collaboration with Child Trends, a research management company focused on improving the lives of children, youth, and families.

The purpose of this study is to understand how child care programs that participate in Quality First help children learn, grow and be ready for kindergarten. Quality First, a program of First Things First, helps child care and preschool providers improve their quality through coaching, funding and specialized assistance. Programs also earn a star rating based on quality standards.

This study will help First Things First show the importance of continued support of the Quality First program in Arizona. The results will be shared with potential funders, policymakers and community partners.

What the study means for you and your child?

You are eligible to participate in this study if you are:

• The parent/guardian of a child who will be entering kindergarten in Fall 2026
• 18 years or older

If you agree to participate in this research study:

• Your child, who will enter Kindergarten next school year (Fall 2026) will be asked to participate in age-appropriate activities to assess his/her social, language/literacy, and math skills. To your child, these activities will appear to be fun games on a tablet that children usually enjoy doing. For example, they may be looking at and naming pictures or playing games similar to Simon Says. This will take about 20-30 minutes.
• Your child’s teacher will be asked to answer questions about how your child is doing in school, both socially and academically.
• Once your child starts kindergarten, his/her kindergarten teacher will be asked to answer questions about your child’s adjustment to kindergarten.
• You will be asked to fill out a survey in the Fall about your child, your family, your child’s preschool experience, and your thoughts about the Quality First program. You will also be asked to fill out an additional survey in the Spring. The surveys will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. Additionally, you will be asked to provide the name of the elementary school that your child will attend in Fall 2026 and the name of his/her kindergarten teacher once that information is available.

Are there any risks?

There are no known risks beyond what your child might experience in everyday life. If your child gets tired or doesn’t want to complete the activities, your child can take a break or stop at any time. 

Are there any benefits?

Taking part in this research study may not benefit you or your child personally, but we hope to learn new things that will help other children across the state of Arizona who are attending a Quality First preschool.

Will we be paid for participating?

• You will be paid $40 electronic gift card for participating in the Fall survey. The gift card is a Tango Gift Card (that can be redeemed at a variety of retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven, and many more). You will be paid $45 electronic gift card for participating in the Spring/Summer survey.
• If you fill out the survey within two weeks of receiving each survey, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $250 Tango Gift Card (that can be redeemed at a variety of retailers, such as Amazon, Walmart, Target, 7-Eleven, and many more).
• Your child’s teacher will be paid for participating in each survey.

Will your information be kept private?

We take your privacy very seriously.

• Results of this study may be used in publications and presentations and may temporarily be shared with other members of our research team. Your name, your child’s name and any other identifying information will not be shared. First Things First will not know the identity of the programs or families who are participating in the project.
• Data will be collected via a secure, private-cloud environment called REDCap, which is managed by Child Trends, a research management company focused on improving the lives of children, youth, and families.
• First Things First will retain ownership of the data (that does not contain identifying information), even if it is temporarily shared with trained researchers.
• Results from the project will only be shared in combined form (i.e. trends among all teachers, children or programs).
• Your answers and your child’s responses will be stored securely in a protected (encrypted) system.
• Upon completion of this study, information on your identity or the identity of the children in the study may be kept for a period up to 10 years, after which it will be destroyed.
  Important Note: There is one exception to confidentiality we need to make you aware of. If, during the study, researchers see any signs of child abuse, neglect, or danger to someone’s safety, they are required by law to report it. We are not asking questions about these topics in this study. 
   

What are my child’s rights as a research participant?

Participation in this study is voluntary. You and/or your child may withdraw from this study at any time. You and your child will not be penalized in any way or lose any sort of benefits for deciding to stop participation. If you and your child decide not to be in this study, this will not affect your relationship with your child’s teacher or school in any way. 
 

Who can I contact if I have questions or concerns about this research study?

If you or your child have any questions about the study or anything you have read here, please contact: Dr. Tracy Spinrad at 480-727-7925 or by email at [email protected]

If you have any questions about your child’s rights as a participant in this research, you can contact the Arizona State University Social Behavioral Institutional Review Board (IRB) at: (480) 965-6788 or by email at [email protected].