ABSTRACT
Longitudinal and case study approaches suggest new hypotheses and theories as to how traditional schools, and the primary grade teachers in them, affect the lives of unsuspecting children and their parents. This longitudinal case study of the earliest groups of African American Head Start children and their matched peers suggests some of the factors that determine the value of educational attainment as perceived by the children during adolescence. This chapter considers the influence of maternal and home background characteristics, early childhood behavioral attributes, standardized achievement test performance, and elementary and middle school grade feedback in creating and sustaining the long-term educational goals articulated by high school students. It discusses implications for the potential contribution of early childhood education and development to the resolution of enduring urban educational problems experienced by African American children. Finally, low occupational expectations justify low educational aspirations and undermine a key argument for doing well in school.
