The authors analyze bills, congressional records, agency reports, and newspaper articles to trace the evolution of Project Head Start, by far the nation’s largest federal early childhood program, beginning with the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Their analysis is organized around the policy goals embedded in the program and the governance structures and policy instruments designed to achieve those goals. Findings reveal that the life of Head Start has been marked by periods of policy expansion and relative stasis. Expansion has occurred most notably in the policy instruments through which services have been delivered while stasis has characterized program governance.
Administration for Children and Families. ( 2004). Early Head Start Almanac. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services.
2.
Anderson, K. ( 1981). Wartime women: Sex roles, family relations, and the status of women during World War II. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
3.
Cicirelli, V. ( 1969). The impact of Head Start: An evaluation of the effects of Head Start on children’s cognitive and affective development. Ohio University andNew York: Westinghouse Learning Corporation.
4.
Cobb, R., & Elder, C. ( 1983). Participation in American politics: The dynamics of agenda building (2nd ed.). Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press.
5.
Cohen, A.J. ( 1996). A brief history of federal financing for child care in the United States. The Future of Children, 6(2), 26-40.
6.
Cohen-Vogel, L. ( 2005). Federal role in teacher quality: "Redefinition" or policy alignment? Educational Policy, 19(1), 18-43.
7.
Cohen-Vogel, L., & McLendon, M. ( 2009). New approaches to understanding federal involvement in education. In D. Plank, G. Sykes, & B. Schneider (Eds.), Handbook of education policy research: A Handbook for the American Educational Research Association (pp. 735-748). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Coleman, J. ( 1966). Equality of educational opportunity. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
9.
Conniff, R. ( 2002). Edward Zigler: The progressive interview with one of the founders of the Head Start program. The Progressive. Retrieved from http://www.progressive.org/node/1546
Gall, M. ( 1991). Opportunities for improved management efficiency of the Head Start Program: Performance evaluation and high risk determination. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services .
12.
Gish, M. ( 2005). Head Start: Background and issues (Report from the Congressional Research Service to Congress). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
13.
Gish, M., & Butler, A. ( 2003). Head Start issues in the 108th Congress (CRS Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, RL30952). Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.
Government Accounting Office. (2005). Head Start: Further development could allow results of new test to be used for decision making. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05343.pdf
16.
Harrington, M. ( 1962). The other America: Poverty in the United States. New York: MacMillan.
17.
Head Start Act as amended (Title VI Subtitle A, Chapter 8, Subchapter B of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, PL 97-35. 42 USC 9801 et seq. ACF Regulations, 45 CFR, Part 1301 (August 13, 1981).
18.
Head Start Act of 1984 § 635, 42 USC 9801 (1984).
19.
Head Start Bureau. (2007). Head Start Program performance standards. Retrieved from http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/Program%20Design%20and%20Management/Head%20Start%20Requirements/Head%20Start%20Requirements/1304
20.
Henry, G., & Rickman, D. ( 2006). Do peers influence children’s skill development in preschool? Economics of Education Review, 26, 100-112.
21.
Hill, W.M. ( 2003). The National Reporting System: What is it and how will it work? Head Start Bulletin, 76, 7-9.
22.
Hutcheson, R. ( 2003, July 8). Bush outlines Head Start plan; he would give states new flexibility. Critics say he is trying to dismantle a program that works. Philadelphia Inquirer, p. A04.
23.
Jensen, A. ( 1969). How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement? Harvard Educational Review, 39(1), 1-123.
24.
Johnson, L.B. ( 1964). Public papers of U.S. presidents, Lyndon B. Johnson, 1963-64. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
25.
Kagan, J. ( 2002). Empowerment and education: Civil rights, expert-advocates, and parent politics in Head Start, 1964-1980. Teachers College Record, 104, 516-562.
26.
Kingdon, J.W. ( 1984). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies. Boston: Little, Brown.
27.
Kingdon, J.W. ( 1995). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Collins.
28.
Kuntz, K. ( 1998). A lost legacy: Head Start’s origins in community action. In J. Ellsworth & L. Ames (Eds.), Critical perspectives on Project Head Start (pp. 1-48). Albany: State University of New York Press.
29.
La Paro, K.M., & Pianta, R.C. ( 2000). Predicting children’s competence in the early school years: A meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research , 70(4), 443-484.
30.
Mallett, C., & Allen, B. ( 2005). Block grant Head Start? Devolution’s potential negative impact on children and families. NHSA Dialog, 8(1) 135-153.
31.
McDonnell, L.M. ( 2009). Repositioning politics in education’s circle of knowledge. Educational Researcher, 38(6), 417-427.
32.
McGuinn, P.J. ( 2006). No Child Left Behind and the transformation of federal education policy, 1965 -2005. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
33.
McLendon, M., & Cohen-Vogel, L. (2008). Understanding education policy change in the American states: Lessons from political science. In B. S. Cooper, L. Fusarelli, & J. Cibulka (Eds.), Handbook of educational politics and policy (pp. 30-51). Oxford , UK: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.
34.
Meisels, S.J., & S. Atkins-Burnett .2004. Public policy viewpoint. The Head Start national reporting system: A critique. Young Children, 59(1), 64-66. Retrieved from www.journal.naeyc.org/btj/200401
35.
National Association for Regulatory Administration, & National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center. ( 2006). The 2005 child care licensing study: Final report. Retrieved from: http://nara.affiniscape.com/associations/4734/files/2005%20Licensing%20Study%20Final%20Report_Web.pdf
36.
National Head Start Association. (2003, May 28). Head Start advocates: Bush administration is using ‘scare tactics’ to silence critics of dismantling Head Start; National rally today in NYC held to protest attempt to ‘chill’ 1st Amendment rights; NHSA to seek legal action if no clarification is forthcoming by next week. PR Newswire. Retrieved from www.lexisnexis.com
37.
National Head Start Association. (2004, January 14). Legislative fact sheet on S. 1940-Major issues and recommendations for real reform. Alexandria, VA: Author.
38.
National Head Start Association. (2005). Head Start: The nation’s pride . . . Celebrating 40 years of success . Alexandria, VA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.paheadstart.org/UserFiles/File/General_History.pdf
39.
Parker, F.P., Piotrkowski, C.S., Kessler-Sklar, S., Baker, A.J., Peay, L., & Clark, B. ( 1997). The impact of parent involvement in Head Start on parents and children. New York: National Council of Jewish Women Center for the Child.
40.
Porter, H. ( 1951). The Lanham Act. History of Education Journal, 3(1), 1-6.
41.
Rich, S. ( 1978, April 15). Education proposal submitted; President submits plan for education department; Carter asks hill for new department. The Washington Post, p. A1.
42.
Rose, E. ( 1998). A mother’s job: The history of day care, 1890-1960 . New York: Oxford University Press .
43.
Ross, C.J. ( 1979). Early skirmishes with poverty: The historical roots of Head Start. In E. Zigler & J. Valentine (Eds.), Project Head Start: A legacy of the war on poverty (pp. 21-42). New York: Free Press.
44.
Sabatier, P., & Jenkins-Smith, C. (1999). The Advocacy Coalition Framework: An assessment. In P. Sabatier (Ed.), Theories of the policy process (pp. 117-166). Boulder, CO: Westview.
45.
Shriver, S. ( 1966, March 8-10 and 15-16). Testimony during hearings before the Subcommittee on the War on Poverty Program of the Committee of Education and Labor (1966 Amendments to the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964). Washington, DC: House of Representatives.
46.
Sroufe, G.E. ( 1994). Politics of education at the federal level. In J. D. Scribner & D. H. Layton (Eds.), The study of educational politics (pp. 75-88). Washington, DC: Falmer Press.
47.
Steinfels, M.O. ( 1973). Who’s minding the children: A history of politics of day care in America. New York: Simon and Schuster.
48.
Head Start out. (1978, June 14). The New York Times , p. A24.
49.
Tough start to the school year. (2003, August 31). The New York Times, p. 8.
50.
True, J., Jones, B., & Baumgartner, F. (1999). Explaining stability and change in American policy making: The punctuated equilibrium model. In P. Sabatier (Ed.), Theories of the policy process (pp. 97-115). Boulder, CO: Westview.
51.
U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. ( 1975). Administration for children, youth and families. Head Start Performance Standards (OCHD, Notice N-30-364-4). Washington, DC: Author.
52.
U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. ( 1997, March 25). Press release: Head Start expansion initiative will help children learn, parents earn. Retrieved from http://archive.hhs.gov/news/press/1997pres/970325.html
53.
Vinovskis, M. ( 2005). The birth of Head Start: Preschool education policies in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
54.
Wilson, C. ( 2000). Policy regimes and policy change. Journal of Public Policy, 20, 247-274.
55.
Wilson, J.Q. ( 1989). Bureaucracy: What government agencies do and why they do it. New York: Basic Books.
56.
Wirtz, W.W. ( 1964, August 2-6). National Urban League Conference Press Release (Milwaukee Urban League Papers). Madison : State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
57.
Wisensale, S. ( 1997). The White House and Congress on child care and family leave policy: From Carter to Clinton. Policy Studies Journal , 25, 75-86.
58.
Woolley, J.T., & Peters, G. (n.d.-a). Remarks at a White House ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of Head Start by George Bush on May 24, 1990. The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=18520
59.
Woolley, J.T., & Peters, G. (n.d.-b). Special message to the Congress on education reform by Richard Nixon on March 3, 1970. The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2895
60.
Woolley, J.T., & Peters, G. (n.d.-c). Department of Education message to the Congress transmitting proposed legislation by Jimmy Carter on February 13, 1979. The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=31906
61.
Woolley, J.T., & Peters, G. (n.d.-d). Remarks following a roundtable discussion with early childhood education experts in media, Pennsylvania by George W. Bush on April 2, 2002. The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Retrieved from http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=72969
62.
Zeller, S. ( 2003, May 29). Head Start advocate accuses administration of using scare tactics. Government Executive.com. Retrieved from http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0503/052903sz1.htm
63.
Zigler, E., & Muenchow, S. ( 1992). Head Start: The inside story of America’s most successful educational experiments. New York: Basic.
64.
Zigler, E., & Styfco, S. ( 2004). Head Start’s National Reporting System: A work in progress. Pediatrics, 114, 858-859.
65.
Zigler, E., & Valentine, J. (Eds.) (1979). Project Head Start: A legacy of the war on poverty. New York, NY: The Free Press.
