An ethnographic methodology was used to investigate Head Start as a setting for adult education. Using grounded theory to analyze the data, the following interpretation emerged. Teaching and learning were affected by the sociopolitical context of the program, as depicted by three interrelated concepts: "Capacity," "Power," and "Connection." Capacity describes the way staff and parent interactions were shaped by resources and expectations. A lack of resources affected both staff and parents' expectations about parent involvement. Similarly, expectations affected the level of resources that were applied to the teaching and learning effort. Power relations were expressed in the withholding or allocation of programmatic resources, and functioned to either impede or promote participation. Only when staff and parents shared a mutual understanding about roles and power in the program did personal connections develop between them. This personal connection was essential to both participation and learning.
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