Table of Contents
Definition of Head Start Program
(noun) A federal program in the United States launched 1965 and expanded in 1981 to provide universal access to emotional, mental, and social support though education, health, and nutrition services to preschool students of low socioeconomic status and their families.
Head Start Program Pronunciation
Syllabification: head start pro·gram
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /hEd stAHRt prOH-gram/
- British English – /hEd stAHt prOH-gram/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /hɛd stɑrt ˈproʊˌgræm/
- British English – /hɛd stɑːt ˈprəʊgræm/
Usage Note
- Plural: Head Start Programs
Additional Information
- Official Site: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeadStartgov
- Twitter: @HeadStartgov
- Word origin of “head” and “start” and “program” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Early Head Start National Resource Center (Washington, DC), and United States. 2005. Early Head Start and Head Start Partnerships: Building a Birth-to-five Head Start Program. Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Head Start Bureau.
- Zigler, Edward, and Susan Muenchow. 1992. Head Start: The Inside Story of America’s Most Successful Educational Experiment. New York: Basic Books.
- Zigler, Edward, and Sally J. Styfco. 2004. The Head Start Debates. Baltimore: P. H. Brookes.
Related Video
Related Terms
- anticipatory socialization
- credentialism
- cultural capital
- education
- formal education
- grade inflation
- No Child Left Behind Act
- tracking
- youth culture
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Cite the Definition of Head Start Program
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “head start program.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved February 9, 2025 (https://sociologydictionary.org/head-start-program/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
head start program. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/head-start-program/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “head start program.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed February 9, 2025. https://sociologydictionary.org/head-start-program/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“head start program.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2025. <https://sociologydictionary.org/head-start-program/>.