A Multilevel Study of Partnership Building to Support Early Childhood Development Across Different Education Contexts

• In Event: 16.056 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.056-8 - Examining Early Childhood Partnerships and Identities

Abstract

This study is designed to examine multilevel partnership building among service providers in early childhood development across both urban and rural areas. The urban Bakersfield is a major city in California Central Valley while the surrounding rural area belongs to Kern County that is as large as the state of New Jersey. Social network data have been gathered to disentangle the relationships among service programs across home-based, center-based, and parent education platforms. While the results show no funding disparities across the service platforms, programs in parent education have demonstrated more links among service providers that offer home-based support in rural areas, and service providers offering center-based only support show less connections with parent education programs.

Authors

• Jianjun Wang, California State University - Bakersfield

• Theresa Martinez, Kern County Children and Families Commission

• Roland Maier

• Diana Navarro