The Birth of Head Start: Preschool Education Policies in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations

218 Pages·2008·11.138 MB·English

by  Maris A. Vinovskis

THE BIRTH OF HEAD START

Preschool Education Policies in the Kennedy
and Johnson Administrations
MARIS A. VINOVSKIS
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO AND LONDON
The University ofChicago Press, Chicago 60637
The University ofChicago Press, Ltd., London
©2005by The University ofChicago
All rights reserved. Published 2005
Paperback edition 2008
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 2 3 4 5 6
isbn-13: 978-0-226-85671-1(cloth)
isbn-13:978-0-226-85672-8(paper)
isbn-10:0-226-85671-2(cloth)
isbn-10:0-226-85672-0(paper)
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vinovskis, Maris.
The birth ofHead Start : preschool education policies in the Kennedy
and Johnson administrations / Maris A. Vinovskis.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-226-85671-2(cloth : alk. paper)
1. Head Start Program (U.S.)—History. 2. Project Head Start (U.S.)—
History. I. Title.
lc4091.v56 2005
372.21(cid:2)0973—dc22
2004021033
(cid:2)(cid:3)The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements ofthe
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence ofPaper
for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1992.
ForDailaKuhrandEdwardVinovskis

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments / ix
ListofAbbreviations / xi
Introduction / I
ChangingViewsofPoverty
andEarlyChildDevelopment / 5
2 Education,Poverty,andEarlySchooling
intheKennedyAdministration / 12
3 EducationPolicy,theWaronPoverty,
andthe1964Election / 35
4 OrganizingOEDandPassingESEA / 60
5 Implementing,Evaluating,andImproving
HeadStartPrograms / 87
6 CongressionalandAdministrationDebates
aboutTransferringHeadStart / 119
Conclusion / 145
Notes / 157
Index / 195

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Myinterestinthehistoryofearlychildhoodeducationbeganwiththestudy
ofinfantschoolsinearlynineteenth-centuryAmericaandcontinuedwithan
investigation of the ways Puritans educated theiryoung. Many individuals,
includingCarlKaestle, DeanMay, andGeraldMoran, havebeeninstrumen
talinhelpingmepursuethoseinterestsovertheyears.
Thepresentstudybuildsonmyearlierinterestinthechangingpatternsof
childhood education andmerges itwith myincreasedinvolvementwithna
tional education policy since the early1990S. As the research adviser to the
Office of Education and Research Improvement underAssistant Secretary
DianeRavitchintheadministrationofGeorgeH.W BushandAssistantSec
retarySharonRobinsoninthe Clintonadministration, Ihadtheopportunity
toresearchandwriteaboutearlychildhoodeducationandtheNationalEdu
cation Goals. Subsequently, the Centerfor the Improvement ofEarly Read-
.ingAchievementattheUniversityofMichiganundertheleadershipofSusan
Neuman commissioned me to write an analysis of the Carter administra
tion'sattemptstotransferHeadStarttotheU.S. DepartmentofEducationin
thelate1970S.
IamdeeplygratefultotheSpencerFoundation'sSmallGrantProgramfor
funding this investigationofHeadStart's origins. The grantprovidedfunds
forextensive travelandphotocopyingatarchivesandforthehiringofTanya
HartandElizabethLeimbach,whoprovidedinvaluableeditorialassistancein
the earlyphasesoftheproject.Archivistsatvariouslibrarieswereextremely
generousandhelpfulthroughouttheentireproject.