Barbara T. Bowman | |
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Born |
Barbara Taylor October 30, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Education | B.A., Sarah Lawrence College M.A., University of Chicago |
Occupation | Early childhood education advocate |
Years active | 50+ |
Known for | Co-founder of Erikson Institute |
Board member of | Business People in the Public Interest, Chicago Public Library Foundation, Great Books Foundation, High Scope Educational Foundation, Institute for Psychoanalysis, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards |
Spouse(s) | James E. Bowman, M.D. |
Children | Valerie Jarrett |
Parent(s) | Robert Robinson Taylor, grandfather |
Barbara Taylor Bowman (born October 30, 1928) is an American early childhood education expert/advocate, professor, and author. Her areas of expertise include early childhood care/education, educational equity for minority and low-income children, as well as intergenerational family support and roles. She has served on several boards and was the co-founder of Erikson Institute, where she pioneered the teaching of early childhood education and administration.
Bowman was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Her grandfather was architect Robert Robinson Taylor, and her parents were Laura Dorothy Vaughn (née Jennings) and Robert Rochon Taylor, who was on the board of the Chicago Housing Authority. After receiving a B.A. degree from Sarah Lawrence College, she began teaching at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools' nursery school, while simultaneously earning her M.A. degree in education from the University of Chicago in 1952. She went on to teach at preschools and elementary schools.
Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty and the 1965 creation of Head Start inspired Bowman. The next year, with the support of businessman and philanthropist Irving B. Harris, Bowman cofounded the Chicago School for Early Childhood Education (now known as the Erikson Institute) with child psychologist Maria Piers and social worker Lorraine Wallach. Bowman went on to serve as its president during the period of 1994 to 2001, and maintains a professorship at the institute, where she is the Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development. The institute's Barbara T. Bowman Professor of Child Development professorship is named in her honor.