Head start
Head Start is a compensatory education program in the United States. Above all, it should improve the educational opportunities for children from socially disadvantaged families and increase their resilience . Head Start was started in 1965 as part of Great Society Social Reform by President Lyndon B. Johnson and with the assistance of Daniel Patrick Moynihan .
The follow-up project Follow Through of the US Office of Education and Office of Economic Opportunity was the largest study in education worldwide to date. It began in 1967 as part of President Johnson's war on poverty and lasted until 1995.
The program
Head Start is one of the oldest compensatory education programs in the world; it is also one of the largest and most expensive programs of its kind.
The aim of Head Start is to support underprivileged children and children from educational backgrounds and disadvantaged neighborhoods in order to reduce educational disadvantage and create more equal opportunities. In addition, social problems such as crime, drug use, alcoholism, social welfare dependency etc. should often be combated, sometimes with the involvement of the parents. Special programs target disadvantaged groups, such as children with a history of migration.
So far, a total of around 24 million preschoolers have participated in the United States (as of April 2007). In 2006, more than 909,000 children and families in care took part in Head Start; the budget was more than 6.7 billion US dollars . There are a total of over 200,000 paid head-start supervisors and over 130,000 volunteer supervisors. A total of around 1,600 head start projects are currently taking place in the USA.
Various head start programs
There are three different head start programs that are geared towards different problems. They differ as follows:
- Early head start
- Supports expectant mothers from the lower class already during pregnancy , small children and siblings from underprivileged families. It can be organized as a day care center or home visits + group meetings. : There are education courses for mothers / fathers and counseling courses for parents, e.g. B. with drug or alcohol problems. Parents should be strengthened in their parenting skills and learn more about the needs of their child. Head-Start employees also advise on problems in the partnership, financial and health problems.
- Head start
- Provides support for children from underprivileged families. This includes help with homework, visits to museums and cultural events, reading afternoons, cooking afternoons and much more.
- Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
- Provides head-start programs for children of migrants and seasonal workers .
Efforts to transfer to Germany
In the 1970s, the Berlin school psychologist Schüttler-Janikulla tried to find similar problem children with his preschool folders, not only in Kreuzberg. The 1st German television broadcast the program with the mouse with the same intention.
Successes and criticism
Head Start's successes are not without controversy. For example, it was emphasized that a long-term effect of promoting children through the Head Start program only arises if the family situation and relationships with the neighborhood are improved at the same time. Several studies and independently conducted studies in the USA led to different evaluations:
- Studies viewing Head Start as unsuccessful
- The economist Steven Levitt and the journalist Stephen J. Dubner see Head Start in their book Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything (2005) as unsuccessful. No long-term successes from Head Start could be proven.
- Studies with mixed results
- Magnuson, Ruhm, and Waldfogel (2004) conclude that Head Start increases math and reading skills, but also leads to behavioral problems. They also find that the math and reading skills of Head Start children tend to equate towards the end of first grade with those of children who did not take Head Start; the behavior problems persist.
- It has been shown that the greatest success through Head Start is achieved with the children who receive the least help at home.
- Currie and Thomas (1995) found stronger and longer lasting effects in white children than in black and Hispanic children.
- Studies that see Head Start as a success
- Datta (Datta, 1976; and Lee et al., 1990) summarized 31 studies on Head Start. They came to the conclusion that the IQ of the Head Start children was significantly higher than the IQ of comparable children who did not take part in Head Start. After the children started school, the difference narrowed but persisted. The American government referred to this study among other things in its evaluation of Head Start.
- Werner (1997) rated Head Start as a success. It reduces learning problems among younger children as well as drug addiction and delinquency among adolescents.
- Congressional Impact Study
- This study was carried out on behalf of the American Congress (currently 2005). Head-start children were found to have small to medium-sized advantages over children attending another preschool program. The earlier a child participated, the more benefit they got from the program.
See also
literature
- Wassilios E. Fthenakis: Pedagogical Approaches in Kindergarten. Beltz, Weinheim / Basel 2000, ISBN 3-407-62408-5 .
- Valora Washington, Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey: Project Head Start: models and strategies for the twenty-first century. (= Garland reference library of social science. 827). Garland, New York et al. 1995, ISBN 0-8153-0800-0 . (English)
- Jeanne Ellsworth, Lynda J. Ames (Eds.): Critical perspectives on Project Head Start: revisioning the hope and challenge. (= Suny series, youth social services, schooling, and public policy ). State University of New York Press, Albany (New York) 1998, ISBN 0-7914-3928-3 . (English)
- Valora Washington, Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey: Project Head Start: past, present, and future trends in the context of family needs. (= Garland reference library of social science. 377). Garland, New York et al. 1987, ISBN 0-8240-8521-3 . (English)
Web links
- Online presence of the US Department of Health and Human Services (English)
- Information about a US kindergarten that works after Head Start
- New Head Start Studies Raise Question on Help: Should Fewer Get More?
Individual evidence
- ^ US Department of Health and Human Services: Head Start Program Fact Sheet. ( Memento from October 19, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) accessed on February 15, 2008 (English)
- ↑ Handbook that summarizes the results of the social pedagogical family support project in the Federal Republic of Germany from 1994 to 1997: Handbook, Chapter 9.4.2 What is the importance of the family for child welfare, what is parental upbringing? ( Memento of the original from April 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner: Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything. Reprint, 1st edition. Morrow, New York 2005, ISBN 0-06-073132-X , pp. 167, 169, 170, 174. (English)
- ^ E. Werner: The value of applied research for Head Start: A cross-cultural and longitudinal perspective. In: National Head Start Association Journal of Research and Evaluation. 1997. (English)
