An ever-expanding body of social science research indicates that school is the single best avenue out of poverty, and educational achievement is now the most accurate predictor of a person's future economic success. Therefore, to help school districts, schools, parents, and community leaders improve the education of disadvantaged children, a wide…

One of a series of technical papers prepared for the advisory panel of the Head Start Evaluation Design Project, this paper presents information about national Head Start goals, program participants, and the Head Start delivery system. The four stages of Head Start's evolution are described in terms of changes in the characteristics of…

Development of cognitive competence and constructive patterns of motivation and behavior in the disadvantaged child are the topics of this paper. Five subjects are explored: (1) the potency of models, (2) social reinforcement, (3) intensive relationships, (4) group forces, and (5) superordinate goals. The first two subjects cover basic processes…