Plays Well With Others: Negotiating a School District–Community Partnership for Pre-Kindergarten Provision

• In Event: 75.060 - Roundtable Session 33
  In Roundtable Session: 75.060-9 - Politics and Access in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

As provision and participation in public pre-kindergarten (preK) expands, these programs bring together the previously separate worlds of early childhood education and the K-12 system. Moving beyond debates over whether public preK programs should be housed in early childhood centers or public elementary school, this paper draws on empirical evidence to explore how a new preK policy in Lakeville (pseudonym), Wisconsin reshaped the community’s early childhood landscape, bringing together the school district and local childcare providers. Using Bakhtin’s (1981) concepts of authoritative and internally persuasive discourse, I investigate the dynamics of this relationship, highlighting the areas of convergence and tension that emerged as the school district forged a new partnership with diverse childcare providers to implement the preK policy.

Author

• Bethany Wilinski, Michigan State University