Inside the classroom door: Understanding early care and education workforce and classroom characteristics experienced by children in subsidized center-based care

Johnson, Anna D.; Martin, Anne; Schochet, Owen N.

doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.01.006

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…However, children of color-and especially Black children-are significantly less likely than their White peers to attend a quality ECE program, a disparity that has been documented across a range of settings, including state-funded pre-kindergarten (Gillispie, 2019;Rothwell, 2016;Valentino, 2018), city-based universal prekindergarten (Latham et al, 2020), and Head Start (Hillemeier et al, 2013). Yet, across ECE programs, average quality is lowest in child care subsidy programs (Johnson et al, 2012;Johnson et al, 2020), suggesting racial quality gaps could be even starker for Black and Latinx children served in these settings.…”

Section: A Critical Analysis Of Racial Disparities In Ece Subsidy Fun...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical analysis of racial disparities in ECE subsidy funding

Hollett

Frankenberg

2022

EPAA

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Participation in high-quality early care and education (ECE) is associated with positive academic and social outcomes for children. However, Black and Latinx children are significantly less likely than White children to attend a high-quality ECE program, a disparity that may be linked to differences in funding. Using a critical policy analysis framework, we explored the extent to which Pennsylvania’s tiered funding policy, which awards greater funding to ECE providers with higher quality evaluation scores, differentially benefits children and communities along racial lines. We found that the average Black and Latinx children’s ECE providers received substantially less tiered funding than the average White child’s provider. Funding also varied by the racial composition of children’s communities, with providers serving children from predominantly Black communities receiving far less funding than providers serving children from predominantly White communities. Racial funding gaps widened over time as state policy changed to award greater tiered funding to providers with the highest quality scores. We discuss findings within the context of longstanding historical racism in federal ECE funding policy, and make recommendations for more racially just policy alternatives.

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Section: A Critical Analysis Of Racial Disparities In Ece Subsidy Fun...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical analysis of racial disparities in ECE subsidy funding

Hollett

Frankenberg

2022

EPAA

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“…Third, public pre-k programs, particularly those that are school-based, typically offer academically focused programming with minimal services to families, compared to community-based child care or Head Start programs (Desimone et al, 2004). School-based pre-k teachers in state- or school district-funded programs often have similar training and qualifications (e.g., a bachelor's degree with some specialized education; Reid et al, 2019) as K-5th grade elementary school teachers and are typically paid more than their peers in community-based child care and Head Start programs (Johnson et al, 2020; Phillips et al, 2019). They may also be subject to similar testing and accountability standards (e.g., Desimone et al, 2004).…”

Section: Public School–based Pre-kmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, recent reports suggest that school-based pre-k programs are increasingly focused on teaching the early reading and math skills that are expected by kindergarten teachers and measured by state tests (see Daily et al, 2010; Desimone et al, 2004; Markowitz & Ansari, 2020; Weisenfeld et al, 2020). To fulfill these academic aims, school-based pre-k programs typically require teachers to have higher levels of formal education than Head Start demands (Johnson et al, 2020) and pay teachers higher wages (Barnett & Friedman-Krauss, 2016; Johnson et al, 2020). Pre-k teachers have also been observed to spend more time on academic content relative to Head Start teachers (Phillips et al, 2009), which has been associated with greater learning growth (Claessens et al, 2014; Fuller et al, 2017).…”

Section: Preschool Program Focusmentioning

confidence: 99%

When does 1 + 1 not equal 2? The relative advantage of public school-based pre-k versus Head Start for low-income children’s kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills.

Johnson

Schochet

Martin

et al. 2022

Developmental Psychology

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Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers’ kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before kindergarten for children’s developing cognitive and self-regulation skills. This is an important question, because in many communities Head Start and school-based pre-k programs provide competing early education options for low-income 4-year-olds, leaving policymakers, educators, and parents wondering which pathway best promotes the mix of skills predictive of success in elementary school. Only one study—conducted prior to significant recent demographic and policy changes affecting early education and focused exclusively on cognitive outcomes—has addressed this question. We extend that work with contemporary data on 362 low-income children to assess the relative advantages for both kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills of 2 years of Head Start before kindergarten versus transitioning from Head Start to school-based pre-k at age 4. The child sample was evenly split by gender and diverse in race/ethnicity (50% Hispanic/Latinx; 36% Black; 7% White). Results showed that children who transitioned after 1 year of Head Start to school-based pre-k at age 4 showed marginally higher kindergarten literacy (d = .13) and significantly greater math (d = .18) skills than children who remained in Head Start for a second year, but there were no significant differences in kindergarten self-regulatory skills. Implications for contemporary, pressing policy issues are discussed.

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“…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).…”

Section: Ece Arrangements For Low-income Children With Special Needsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Schochet

Johnson

Phillips

2020

Exceptional Children

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Program administrators and policy makers have placed a priority on expanding access to inclusive, center-based early care and education (ECE) for low-income children with special needs, a “doubly vulnerable” population characterized by academic and social-emotional achievement gaps at kindergarten entry. Yet, no research has documented the effects of center-based settings on doubly vulnerable children’s early development, either relative to other ECE settings (e.g., home-based care) or relative to each other (e.g., Head Start, public preK). The current study utilizes national data and estimates difference-in-differences models to assess the effects of these ECE setting comparisons on changes in doubly vulnerable children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes evident at kindergarten entry. Results suggest that center-based ECE is more beneficial than parental care for language and literacy, and more beneficial than home-based care for prosocial behaviors. There were few differences among center-based ECE types: At trend level, Head Start was linked with better approaches to learning and prosocial skills relative to public preK.

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Inside the classroom door: Understanding early care and education workforce and classroom characteristics experienced by children in subsidized center-based care

Cited by 17 publications

References 60 publications

A critical analysis of racial disparities in ECE subsidy funding

A critical analysis of racial disparities in ECE subsidy funding

When does 1 + 1 not equal 2? The relative advantage of public school-based pre-k versus Head Start for low-income children’s kindergarten cognitive and self-regulatory skills.

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

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