THE INFLUENCE OF HISTORICAL, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL FACTORS UPON THE EARLY LEARNING PROCESS OF SAN JUAN INDIAN CHILDREN WAS RELATED TO THE CONDUCT OF HEAD START PROGRAMS. FOUR TYPES OF DATA WERE USED, (1) PERSONAL RESEARCH INTO THE PUEBLO'S HISTORY, (2) TESTS AND OBSERVATIONS OF 50 INDIAN CHILDREN OF ALL AGES, (3) INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIFIC HEAD START FAMILIES, AND (4) INTERVIEWS WITH SAN JUAN RESIDENTS. SPANISH INFLUENCE UPON INDIAN LIFE DATING FROM THE 16TH CENTURY IS RELATED TO CURRENT AGRICULTURAL, MORAL, ECONOMIC, HEALTH, GOVERNMENTAL, RELIGIOUS, AND EDUCATIONAL CONDITIONS. FORMAL EDUCATION IS REGARDED AS DESIRABLE BY THE INDIANS, BUT TEN PERCENT OF ALL SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN ARE NOT IN SCHOOL, AND THE DROP-OUT RATE IS HIGH. BECAUSE OF ILLITERACY, RESIGNATION TO THE STATE OF THINGS AS THEY ARE, POOR COMMUNICATION, AND APATHY WITHIN THE PUEBLO, THE TYPICAL INDIAN CHILD WAS NOT REACHED BY THE 1965 ESPANOLA VALLEY SUMMER HEAD START PROGRAM. FUNDS ACCOMMODATED 45 CHILDREN, SEVEN OF WHOM WERE FROM SAN JUAN. HOWEVER, THEY WERE CHILDREN TO WHOM LOCAL ADVANTAGES WERE ALREADY ACCESSIBLE. PARALLEL TO THE HEAD START PROGRAM, THE AUTHOR CONDUCTED A TWO-WEEK EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IN HIS HOME, ASCERTAINING THAT THE COMMUNITY THINKS THAT HEAD START IS A POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO ALL EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS. RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON INTERVIEWS WITH TRIBAL LEADERS, PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND A CLERGYMAN INCLUDE EMPHASIS UPON TRIBAL SPONSORSHIP, LONGER DURATION OF PROGRAMS, TEACHERS TRAINED IN UNDERSTANDING INDIANS, INDIAN MATERIALS AND AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS, MODERN MEDICAL PRACTICES, ENGLISH, PROVISION FOR SLOW LEARNERS, EXTRA-TRIBAL SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, AND UNANIMOUS PARTICIPATION OF TRIBAL CHILDREN. FUTURE STUDIES SHOULD BE BASED UPON THE INFORMATION ON CULTURAL BACKGROUND CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT. (LG)