|
Preschool quality: We've long known it matters. A new report asks for whom it matters
most
A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research co-authored by Jorge Luis Garcia, James Heckman, and Anna Ziff of the University of Chicago is shedding new light into differences in how young boys and girls respond to early childhood education programs of high and low quality.
 |
|
|
Credit: EdSource
|
Using data from early childcare programs serving disadvantaged children born between 1972 and 1980 in North Carolina, the researchers found a gender gap in many long-term outcomes (such as income, health and participation in crime) following preschool participation.
According to the researchers, for boys, staying home with a parent may actually be "a better option" than being in a low-quality preschool setting, especially if the father is present in the home: "Boys are more vulnerable and respond adversely to low-quality environments on many outcomes" including increased criminal activity later in life. Girls, write the researchers, are "less sensitive to more stressful, low-quality environments" than boys due to greater maturity. In the study, both boys and girls did benefit from participation in high-quality preschool as evidenced by improved academic, health, employment and other outcomes.
Given the gender differences in how children respond to preschool quality, the authors caution, research on preschool effectiveness needs to look at positive or negative effects on each group: "Pooling males and females ignores potentially large differences," they write. They see their analysis as "a cautionary note for advocates of early childcare... Quality matters and low-quality programs can cause harm."
Click here to download the study or here to read an article about the research findings
in The Atlantic.
|
|
|
|
|
Credit: EdSource
|
The wage disparity between preschool teachers and those who te
ach in the public elementary system has been well documented. In California, preschool teachers were paid an average salary of $31,720 in 2015, about half of what California kindergarten teachers earned that year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to a recent post from New America, "when preschool teachers are required to have the same education as kindergarten teachers, but are not provided equal pay and benefits, many leave their position. This leads to higher turnover rates of pre-K teachers and an unstable workforce." An earlier article from New America describes the frustration of child care center directors who see their most qualified teachers leave for better pay in the K-12 system once they have obtained a bachelor's degree.
In some states, there has been a movement in recent years to create "compensation parity" between preschool teachers and those in the K-12 system. A new three-part series of briefs on the topic from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at U.C. Berkeley and the National Institute for Early Education Research defines what is meant by wage parity and provides a summary of state policies designed to address the issue. Currently, 18 states provide full or partial parity in salary between preschool and K-3 teachers -- California is not one. But, according to the brief, "Increasingly, 'parity' is being discussed with greater urgency and seriousness -- as an achievable policy goal rather than a lofty idea."
|
While early education advocates say they appreciate Governor Brown keeping
|
|
|
Credit: Liv Ames, EdSource
|
last year's promise to increase preschool funding -- which he proposed postponing when he introduced the
2017-18 b
udget in January -- they were disappointed that the May budget revision didn't include additional money and changes that would allow more low-income families to qualify for subsidized child care.
|
|
|
|
|
Credit: EdSource
|
|
English learners who attended transitional kindergarten were better prepared in math, foundational reading skills and language skills when they entered kindergarten than English learners who did not, according to
a new study.
English learners are defined as students who do not speak, read or write English and whose first language is not English. Statewide, English learners make up
33 percent of kindergarten students and
21 percent of total enrollment in California schools, according to the California Department of Education.
|
|
According to a new report from the National Institute for Early Education Research, or NIEER, 43 states in the U.S., plus the District of Columbia and Guam, provided publicly funded preschool in 2016 -- a new high. Total state spending on preschool reached $7.4 billion, an eight percent increase over the previous year. The NIEER report also provides state-by-state comparisons of the quality of publicly funded preschool programs and percentage of children served.
Regular attendance in preschool is sometimes viewed as less important than in elementary school, but children who are frequently absent from Head Start show fewer gains in academics compared to students with regular attendance, according to a new study in the journal Child Development. Lead author Arya Ansari said, "Given the large investments in early childhood programs, we need to consider the ramifications of more frequent absences for children's early learning, especially in programs such as Head Start the largest federally funded preschool program in the United States."
|
CHECK OUT OUR RECENT ISSUES
|
|
|
|
|
