HEAD START
INTRODUCTION Head Start is a major early childhood education program (Federal Program) introduced by the United States government in 1965. Since its establishment until 2003, Head Start has provided services to 21 million economically disadvantaged children. It started as a summer program and eventually grew into a comprehensive program for children. Head start has strong support and encouragement from policy makers in the United States. According to Zigler and Muenchow 1992, Head Start is known as "the most important social and educational experiment of the second half of the twentieth century". THE GOAL OF THE HEAD START PROGRAM. Head Start has broad objectives in the development and learning outcomes of children who come from low-income families. The four main domains emphasized are social, emotional, cognitive and physical. Head Start tries to produce children who develop holistically. In addition to that, the main goal of the Head Start program is to build children's readiness for school by improving cognitive and social development through health, education, nutrition, social services and other needs that are deemed necessary. Several program improvements have been made such as the use of performance standards that aim to ensure children achieve the minimum expected standard which is mastering the phonemes in the language, printed materials, numeration, communication well, being able to use vocabulary well and mastering the English language well for children who use it as a second language.
In 2000, the Head Start Bureau introduced the Child Outcome Framework which contains 8 main domains, 27 element domains and 100 indicators of skills, abilities, knowledge and behavior for children aged 3-5 years. CURRENT ORGANIZATION AND SCOPE OF THE HEAD START PROGRAM In 2002 the Head Start program served 912,345 children from 50 states including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. There are 18,865 Head Start Centers and a total of 49,800 classes. A total of 198,000 staff and 1.4 million volunteers serve for the Head Start program. The majority of children who receive Head Start services are 4-year-olds by 52% while 3-year-olds are by 36%. Most Head Starts offer half-day school services, but some are expanding to full-day programs. Typically, home visits will be made 2 times a year for each child. Head Start generally practices appropriate practices for children's development recommended by the National Children's Education Association (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997). The purpose is to balance children's abilities with activities directed by teachers whether in class, group and individual activities. . Socio-emotions are built by building trust, independence and self-control. Children will also experience experimentation, inquiry, discovery, observation, play and exploration. Children are also given the opportunity to express themselves creatively through art, music and dialogue activities. The purpose of the Head Start program held in the classroom is to ensure sufficient time in teaching and learning activities, a good learning space, and also sufficient equipment while the program at home aims for parents to
appreciate the value of physical development and provide a safe environment and play activities which is active. In general, the curriculum used by Head Start is comprehensive and able to prepare children for primary school later. In 2002, the Head Start Bureau introduced the Strategic Education Program for Teachers (STEP) aimed at providing basic knowledge about child development and aimed at coordinating the skills of teachers in government and private schools. The home visit program was held to help parents In addition to that, Head provides several facilities for children and families such as health clinic services, mental health, nutrition, services for children with special needs, libraries, museums and businesses that can help the family's economy. EFFECTIVENESS OF THE HEAD START PROGRAM. Since the Head Start program was introduced in 1965, many studies and researches have been carried out by bodies and organizations that want to see the effectiveness of the program. The first study was carried out by the Westinghouse Learning Corporation (1969). In 1985, 210 published and unpublished reports on Head Start found improvements and added value to cognitive development, ability, motivational achievement, self-esteem, social behavior and health-related indicators. In addition, it also shows an increase in the role of motherhood and society. However, according to Mckey, Condelli (1985) there is no clear evidence to show that it is caused by the role of the Head Start program. This is because out of 210 reports that were synthesized only 72 reports explained about cognitive improvement while 17 reports explained about socio-emotional development.
THE FUTURE OF HEAD START. The Head Start program faces various challenges in trying to build children's readiness for school and be responsible for the needs of low-income families as the times go by. Based on its establishment, questions are often asked about the quality and focus of the Head Start program on children's preparation for school. President George W. Birch launched a re-planned Education Plan that emphasized the need to provide children with the skills to read and succeed in school through increased early childhood education programs including the Head Start program. In the plan, several strategies have been introduced to further strengthen the Head Start program such as drafting the Good Start, Grow Smart Initiative, including an accountability system to ensure that all Head Starts reach the standard of early literacy, language and numeracy skills. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004). In addition, the implemented plan includes the STEP program which aims to coordinate early childhood education with government schools in order to have continuity. In addition, Head Start needs to keep up with the changing needs of low-income families and families living in poverty. Those groups need a complete childcare center for babies and children. In conclusion, the Head Startr program needs to maintain and strengthen its role as a National Laboratory to develop new models related to innovative programs for children and families. Head Start should also strengthen collaboration with other institutions and resources in an effort to achieve success. Washington and Oyemade 1995 asserted that Head Start is not a "panacea for poverty" or a cure for poverty. To improve children's development and achievement in learning not only by stimulating the classroom but requires support and
relationships between children and parents and the support of the community that cares about the family and its environment. IMPLICATIONS OF HEAD START PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION IN MALAYSIA. Early childhood education in Malaysia is divided into two, which are childcare (0-4 years) and early education (4-6 years) known as kindergarten and preschool. Although various names are given to the early education, but the goal and focus is the same which is provides education for children aged 4 to 6 years. (Education For All Report, MOE 2010). The similarities we can see are the services provided by Head Start to infants and children. In Malaysia, PERMATA NEGARA is a childcare program for babies and children up to 4 years old. The PERMATA NEGARA program is an effort to provide comprehensive early education introduced by the wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansur and placed under the supervision of the Prime Minister's Department Minister. The main target of the program is for low-income groups who do not have the ability to get quality care. PERMATA was implemented in 2008 and it is estimated that approximately 27 national PERMATA centers operate in Malaysia and are in the process of expanding to all TASKAs operating in Malaysia. Preschool or Kindergarten education in Malaysia is implemented by three main ministries, namely the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and the Department of National Unity. Private kindergartens that provide educational services for the earliest children in the country are located and subject to under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Ministry of Education. The Ministry of
Education has produced a comprehensive curriculum for children and it is used by all kindergartens operating in the country. Like Head Start, the role of policy makers is many in producing quality education for children in Malaysia. The initiative was implemented under the 10th Malaysia Plan, Government Transformation Plan, NKRA and NKEA under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Najib Bin Tun Razak. However, the difference that can be seen is the involvement of parents in teaching and learning sessions in the classroom. The Head Start program emphasizes the continuity of learning in the classroom and at home. Parents play an important role in helping their children's development. In early Malaysia, the involvement of parents in the early stages of education is still lacking and the cooperation provided by parents still needs to be nurtured. Parents are relatively less involved in the teaching and learning sessions of children. The responsibility is largely left to teachers to develop the children's potential. them.