ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the history of preschool education in the United States from its earliest beginnings through the period of rapid proliferation in which parent training programs emerged. Three causal theories are presented and evaluated: genetic inheritance, cultural deprivation, and economic difference. The chapter considers ethical issues which tainted early parent training programs. To accomplish this ambitious goal, programs sought explanations for the root causes of poverty and inequality. Proponents of environmental explanations were propelled in large measure by their desire to refute theories of genetic heritability. The economic explanation was coupled with a perspective which viewed black and white families as different but equal. One of the most significant changes was the emergence of parent training programs. Parent training programs have several features in common. First, they are developed by professionals. Second, their goal is to teach parents how to instruct their own children. Third, the target of their intervention is school-relevant skills.
