![]() Key Statistics on Dual Language Learners in Head Start Increasing Enrollment of Dual Language Learners These hurdles include inadequate assessment tools and professional development, the discontinuity between early childhood and K-12 education, and the longstanding challenges associated with supporting the involvement of low-literate and linguistic-minority parents in the education of their children. It examines how recently proposed regulatory changes may affect this population and considers how the challenges Head Start faces echo those confronting early childhood and educational policy for DLLs more generally. This article discusses Head Start’s importance as an early childhood education model for the children of immigrants, particularly Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Initially conceived as an eight-week program, Head Start has expanded to encompass year-round programs and has also extended services to pregnant women and toddlers (Early Head Start), American Indian and Native Alaskan populations, migrant children (Migrant and Seasonal Head Start), homeless children, and children with disabilities. To date, more than 33 million children have gone through the Head Start program. From an initial enrollment of 561,000, Head Start has grown steadily over the years, and by 2015 enrolled nearly 1 million children. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start was designed specifically to help children ages 5 and under from low-income families surmount deep social and educational disparities. Indeed, cultural and linguistic responsiveness has always been a key ingredient in the program’s effort to provide preschool learning to diverse communities.īeginning as a summer pilot program as part of President Lyndon B. These data were the first to provide evidence for the direct, causal relationship between fantastical pretend-play and cognitive development, such that engaging in fantastical pretend-play may be one of many ways to directly enhance cognitive development (i.e., equifinal development).Since its inception a half century ago, Head Start has become a model for early childhood education programs nationwide and has made serving the needs of immigrant populations and linguistic minorities a central focus. In other words, certain types of imaginative behaviors such as those that are highly fantastical may be even more beneficial than others. In addition, children who were highly fantastical demonstrated the greatest gains in cognitive abilities. Some children play highly imaginative games (e.g., pretending to fly to the moon) while other children play non-imaginative games (e.g., follow the leader). Results revealed that children who participated in pretend-play showed improvements in cognitive functioning (i.e., working memory, attention shift) whereas children who engaged in non-imaginative play did not. In this study, children between the ages of 3 and 5 have the opportunity to participate in 5-week randomized controlled pretend-play intervention. However, these studies do not tell us if pretend-play, specifically fantastical, imaginative pretend-play, causes improvements in cognitive abilities. ![]() Previous research indicates that children who engage in high levels of pretend-play display enhanced cognitive function. ![]() This project is funded by the Imagination Institute via The John Templeton Foundation (2015-2017).
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