Dawe, Helen Cleveland (1909-1971)

Helen Cleveland Dawe

During her thirty years teaching early child development at UW, Helen C. Dawe demonstrated a sincere concern for the education of young children. She earned a BA from Smith College (1931), an MA in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota (1932), and a PhD in Child Psychology from the University of Iowa (1940). For her doctoral dissertation, she studied the effects of environmental deprivation on the intelligence of children.

In 1941, she was given a joint appointment in the Department of Home Economics (Home Management and Family Living Department) and the School of Education (Curriculum and Instruction Department). She was the first chair of the Department of Home Management and Family Living, and as director of the Pre-School Laboratory for thirty years she oversaw the construction of the Pre-School's new building in 1957-58.

Dawe's devotion to the welfare of young children took her beyond the boundaries of campus. Not only did she study the education of children in the Orthopedic Hospital as well as the training of the nurses and physical therapists who worked with them, but she helped plan the day care program for the state of Wisconsin, she was the first director of the Wisconsin Head Start Regional Training Program, and she worked on several committees to establish standards and licensing procedures for Wisconsin nursery schools. Among her research interests was the religious education of young children.