David P. Weikart (August 26, 1931 – December 9, 2003) was an
American psychologist and founder of the
HighScope
The HighScope Educational Research Foundation (known as HighScope or High/Scope) studies methods of early childhood education based on the methods of the 1962 Perry Preschool study. It was founded in 1970 by psychologist David Weikart.
The Perry ...
Curriculum, an
early childhood education
Early childhood education (ECE), also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equival ...
program.
Weikart was born on August 26, 1931, in
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...
. His parents were Hubert and Catherine Weikart. One of four children, he had an older sister and two younger brothers. Weikart's parents were social workers and teachers with a deep commitment to helping others – a commitment their son embraced as his own. He attended public school in Youngstown, graduating from South High School in 1949. He enrolled in
Oberlin College,
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students.
The town is the birthplace of th ...
, in the fall of 1949 and graduated in 1953 with a major in psychology and a minor in zoology. Throughout the college years, he worked at a
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...
camp in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, as a counselor and program director. In the fall of 1953 Weikart enlisted in the United States
Marine Officer Training Corps and graduated as a lieutenant. He was honorably discharged in December 1955 after serving as a platoon commander in Korea and Japan.
During the spring of 1956, Weikart taught English and biology at Canfield High School in
Canfield, Ohio
Canfield is a city in central Mahoning County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,699 as of the 2020 census. A suburb about southwest of Youngstown, the city lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 62 and 224 and is part of the Youngs ...
, and also attended
Youngstown University, taking courses in education. In the fall of 1956 he enrolled in a
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
joint
PhD program in
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
and
Psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
sponsored by the School of Education and Department of Psychology. At the University of Michigan, Weikart met his future wife, Phyllis Saxton, then a master's candidate in the Department of Health and Physical Education. They were married in the summer of 1957 in
Shelton Shelton may refer to:
Places
United Kingdom
* Shelton, North Bedfordshire, in the parish of Dean and Shelton, Bedfordshire
* Lower Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire
* Upper Shelton, in the parish of Marston Moretaine, Bed ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
.
In the fall of 1957 Weikart began working part-time as a school psychologist for the
Ypsilanti Public Schools in Ypsilanti,
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
; he began full-time work there the following year. In 1962, Weikart collaborated with a committee of elementary education leaders (including
Charles Eugene Beatty) to create the Perry Preschool Project. He and his colleagues designed this project to find the causes and cures of academic underperformance of students in Ypsilanti's poorest neighborhoods. The committee studied the teaching methods and curriculum choices for these students and zeroed in on creating a program for three- and four-year-olds to prepare them for success in elementary school and beyond. Weikart and his colleagues implemented this preschool program at Perry Elementary School in Ypsilanti. Perry Preschool's program focused on each child's intellectual maturation and supported the child's development through a process of active learning. The HighScope Perry Preschool Project was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial of 123 low-income children to examine the long-term effectiveness of the type of curriculum used in the Perry Preschool (now known as the HighScope Curriculum). The HighScope Preschool Study concluded that a high-quality program for young, at-risk children contributes positively to their school success and economic outcomes and decreases their teen pregnancy rate and involvement in criminal activity.
[Schweinhart, L. J]
"The HighScope Perry Preschool Study Through Age 40"
In 1970, Weikart left the Ypsilanti Schools to establish the
HighScope
The HighScope Educational Research Foundation (known as HighScope or High/Scope) studies methods of early childhood education based on the methods of the 1962 Perry Preschool study. It was founded in 1970 by psychologist David Weikart.
The Perry ...
Educational Research Foundation to continue his work on the preschool approach that he and his colleagues developed during the Perry Preschool Project.
In addition, Weikart and his wife worked as staff in leadership positions at several summer camps until they founded HighScope Camp in 1963. The couple had four daughters, all born between 1959 and 1964. Juggling full-time work, summer camp activities, a new family, and work on his PhD, Weikart received his degree from the University of Michigan in 1966.
In 1991 Weikart received an honorary
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree from Oberlin College in recognition of his achievements. He died December 9, 2003, from leukemia.
References
*HighScope Educational Research Foundation
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weikart, David P
1931 births
2003 deaths
Deaths from leukemia
Oberlin College alumni
Founders of educational institutions
People from Ypsilanti, Michigan
Weikart, David P.
University of Michigan alumni
Youngstown State University alumni
20th-century American educators
Educators from Ohio
Educators from Michigan