How do early care and education workforce and classroom characteristics differ between subsidized centers and available center-based alternatives for low-income children?

The Effects of Early Care and Education Settings on the Kindergarten Outcomes of Doubly Vulnerable Children

“…Our independent variables are, for the first research question, Wave 3 ECE setting type (center based, home based, and parental care only) and, for the second research question, center-based ECE subtype (Head Start, school-based public preK, subsidized CBCs, and unsubsidized CBCs). To code these variables, we draw on Wave 3 ECE provider and center director reports and verify this information using items from the Wave 3 parent interview (Johnson et al, 2013; Johnson & Herbst, 2013; Johnson, Martin, et al, 2019). We classify children as attending a Head Start classroom if their center director and ECE provider identified this arrangement, and we categorize children as being enrolled in school-based public preK if, according to providers and administrators, their preK program was in a public school setting.…”

“…Outside of state licensing requirements, unsubsidized CBC arrangements are not subject to regulations that would be hypothesized to promote inclusivity. Indeed, one study reported that on average, just 4% of students in unsubsidized center-based classrooms serving low-income children across the nation had special needs as compared to 12% in Head Start, 18% in school-based public preK, and 13% in subsidized center-based settings (Johnson, Martin, et al, 2019). Another publication utilizing data from 2012 estimates that approximately 9% of children in nonpublic center-based ECE settings serving low-income children had special needs (Johnson et al, 2020).…”

“…As previously described, studies estimating center-based ECE effects on doubly vulnerable children report contradictory results—that Head Start and public preK programs boost children’s academic and social-emotional skills whereas subsidized center-based settings hinder children’s academic abilities. Because there is substantial variation in classroom quality across center-based ECE types (e.g., Bassok et al, 2016; Coley et al, 2016; Johnson, Martin, et al, 2019), we hypothesize that when compared within the same data, those center-based ECE types known to provide higher-quality ECE experiences—Head Start and publicly funded preK—may be particularly effective. Further, patterns of effects by type of center may vary with developmental domain.…”

“…Yet, the extant research has not collectively examined the full array of publicly funded center-based ECE programs attended by doubly vulnerable children in a single analysis, and thus, the relative benefits of their different inclusion models are unknown. This militates against two types of comparisons: first, between ECE settings—centers, family child care homes, and parental care—among which inclusive and quality features most dramatically vary; and second, between publicly funded center-based ECE types where the availability and effectiveness of these features also may vary (Bassok et al, 2016; Coley et al, 2016; Johnson, Martin, et al, 2019). The current study is the first to provide evidence regarding the capacity of publicly funded center-based ECE programs—both taken together relative to alternative ECE arrangements and relative to one another—to promote the school readiness outcomes of low-income children with or at risk for special needs.…”

Regional Features Of Preschool Education For Children Under 36 Months In Russia

“…The key issue is social failure, the inability to accomplish their potential. Children from low-income families receive poorer quality preschool education, as they rarely benefit from wellequipped facilities with skilled pedagogical stuff (Johnson, Martin, & Schochet, 2019), as well as a good secondary education (Lowry, 2016). These findings apply to both poor families in rich countries and poor families in developing countries (McCoy, Salhi, Yoshikaw, PiaBritto, & Fink, 2018;Miconia, Beeman, Robert, Beatson, & Ruiz-Casaresa, 2018).…”