This book chronicles the evolution of the child welfare movement of the early 20th century into the science of child development, from both the national perspective and the perspective of the field's best-known research center, the University of Iowa's Child Welfare Research Station. The book first explores the child welfare movement as it evolved into a science, and the role of the Research Station in that evolution. Then, noting that the most obvious child science shift of the post-1950s era was the sudden emergence of the notion of the child as an individual--often as a victim--rather than as a member of a particular group, the book discusses the historical background of the Head Start program during 1960s, exploring the political and scientific climate that affected the individualistic, compensatory, and redistributionist assumptions underlying the Head Start philosophy. The seven chapters of the book are: (1) "A Problem of Definition"; (2) "The Big Money," on philanthropy and the child welfare movement; (3) "Inventing a Science," on the IQ theory; (4) "Great Expectations," on the growth of the Child Welfare Research Station; (5) "The Science of Democracy," on the notion of an individual child as the sum of external influences; (6) "Individualism Reconsidered," on the sensitivity of intellectual development to positive or negative pressures; (7) "The Perils of Professionalism," on the effects of conservatism on the momentum of child science; and (8) "Epilogue: Toward Head Start," on the inception of Head Start and related issues and perspectives. Extensive notes on primary sources for the book are included. (WP)