Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Head Start and Immigrants

Head Start is a program that focuses on assisting children from low-income families and was created in 1965, making it the longest running school readiness program. Besides traditional educational skills, it focuses on health, parenting skills, and nutrition. Although it is often considered for its impact on African American and Latino households, the focus here is on its relationship with immigrant households.

Legislative Background

Antipoverty programs were initiated in 1965 as a vehicle to provide the foundation on which the poor could alleviate their suffering and gain a foothold toward achieving self-sufficiency. Federal programs under the umbrella of the Economic Opportunity Initiative (EOPI) included programs such as Head Start, the Community Action Agency, and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). Head Start targeted women and children in low-income communities. Its mission was to provide early childhood intervention to facilitate the transition of poor children to public schools. Open to immigrants and citizens alike, the use of this public service program by women has been pivotal in providing mechanisms for women to escape poverty and access the resources of the larger society.

The prevailing message conveyed to parents urged them to take a prominent role in their children's education and to change their attitude about themselves so that they could present a more positive role model to their children. Parents are strongly encouraged to volunteer in the classroom as a means to reinforce the positive message of learning. Learning is seen to be a lifelong process that does not end when the school day ends. When immigrant parents volunteer, they are active participants in their children's learning process and can continue to stress the importance of education. This message, as conveyed by Head Start staff members, is not only for the children but also for the parents.

Public services such as Head Start, which target poor women and children, attempt to create a means for them to overcome the encumbrance of poverty. In trying to redress poverty, public services have often had the effect of changing family forms. As a part of participating in Head Start programs, parents are required to become involved in program services and policy decisions. This challenge becomes more profound when parents are migrant farmworkers.

Migrant Head Start Programs

Migrant Head Start programs must comply with the same performance standards as do all Head Start programs, and they have the additional challenge of trying to keep migrant parents involved despite the long hours and other challenges consistent with agriculturally based seasonal employment. To address their needs, methods of communication must include multiple options such as visits to migrant camps, personal rather than impersonal written invitations, and interactions with bus drivers and aides. With increased interactions between parents and Head Start workers, several themes became clear to the Head Start researchers.

First, parents have a deep respect for education, and the educators and are hesitant to make any changes. Second, parents who become increasingly involved in the program were demonstrated to be more active in their children's education and encouraged other parents to do so by offering rides to meetings and motivating them. Third, as advocates for their children, parents gain the experience to serve as trainers and advocates for other families. Finally, all of these themes serve to empower the parents toward self-advocacy in other parts of their lives.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution