Long-term effects of Head Start participation on educational attainment

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the long-term effects of Head Start participation on higher educational attainment. For the last 40 years, this has been explored in many studies. However, as GAO (1997) reported, “Research provides little information on [the] impact of current program” because of methodological limitations. For example, the application of simple mean comparisons without statistical adjustments, the use of old data with a non-representative sample, and the lack of longitudinal studies. One of the most critical shortcomings of previous studies is that they seldom consider the dynamic nature of economic status. Most studies examined the family income of the study sample at a single point in time (usually between the ages of 3 and 5) and assumed that income remained the same for the entirety of childhood. This brings a serious comparability issue, which is critical in evaluation studies. Hence, the present study applies more rigorous research methods to overcome the shortcomings in previous research.

Method: This study uses the 1970-2005 annual data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), which is a nationwide longitudinal study that has been following 4,800 families and their offspring since 1968. The sample comprises 1,007 young adults (aged 19 to 35 years in 2005) who had been raised in either poor families or near-poor families during preschool years. Two identical ordinal logistic regressions are performed for each group, examining the impact of Head Start participation on educational attainment, which is measured in three levels (less than HS, HS, and more than HS). To consider their varying economic status, the number of years spent in poverty during childhood (0~17 years) is entered into the model. Preschool experience is categorized into five groups: 1) Head Start for less than one year, 2) Head Start for one or more years, 3) other preschools, 4) both Head Start and other preschools, and 5) no preschool. In order to adjust the influence of other factors, variables such as demographic background (race, gender, and age), the level of mother's education, and private school enrollment are also entered into the analysis.

Results: According to the findings, longer Head Start participation is significantly associated with higher educational attainments compared to shorter Head Start participation and no preschool participation, regardless of the income level during preschool years. For children in near-poor families, Head Starters, who have participated in the program for one or more years, show even higher educational attainment than other preschoolers (Coef.=.66, p<.05). Among other factors considered in the analysis, the level of mother's education, age, gender and the number of years in poverty are found as significant factors on educational attainment. Private school enrollment, however, is not statistically significant.

Conclusions and Implications: By employing the improved research methods, the present study found that Head Start can produce long-term effects for low income children on their educational attainment. The author suggests continuing funding for the Head Start program and further research on the factors associated with the length of program participation.