The U.S. federally funded Head Start programs serve more than one million low-income children and their families each year in education and health programs. Historically there have been few requirements for formal education for Head Start teachers. In response to research linking teacher education and outcomes for children, increased educational…

The 2007 Head Start Reauthorization Act mandated that all Head Start teachers have at least an associate degree and 50% of teachers within each Head Start program should have a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education. The problem addressed in this study was that Head Start teachers from a Midwestern region encountered barriers as they…