Implementing Universal Pre-Kindergarten for Diverse Children and Families: Differences Across Settings and Funding Combinations

• In Event: Universal Pre-Kindergarten in New York City: Implications for Policy and Practice in a Changing Landscape 

Abstract

This paper presents results from a study of the New York City effort to expand Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) beginning in 2014-15. The authors examine differences in implementation across 1) UPK settings (schools vs. community-based organizations (CBOs)) and 2) funding combinations (Department of Education, Child Care, and/or Head Start). The purpose of the paper is to identify differences across these two dimensions in the demographic and linguistic diversity of teachers and the children they serve; teaching practices; and classroom quality. The findings have important implications for early education scholars and policymakers across the nation who are trying to foster quality preschool programs that serve socio-demographically diverse families and to maximize outcomes from public investments in Pre-K as constraints on public budgets escalate.
The analysis is informed by two theoretical perspectives. First, we employ sociocultural theory that conceptualizes children’s development as an inherently cultural process that shapes how children think and learn, and which contests traditional definitions of “quality” preschool that have not integrated culturally responsive pedagogy and practice (Cole, 1996; Rogoff, 2003). Second, we ground our work in a theory of change suggesting that while policy documents may appear to dictate the goals and parameters of program initiatives, the process of implementation determines how such goals are manifest in practice (Durlak & Dupre 2008).
The analytic sample includes 66 lead teachers in 57 UPK settings during 2016-17. Twenty-two of the teachers were in public, charter, and private schools, and 44 were in CBOs. Data were collected from three primary sources: 1) administrative data, 2) teacher surveys, and 3) observations of classroom quality using the CLASS. Data are compared across setting and funding combinations, and tested for significance using bivariate and multivariate analyses.
Results indicate significant differences in UPK implementation. For example, on average, school-based UPK classrooms have more white teachers (p<.05) and fewer Hispanic/Latina teachers (p<.10) than do CBOs, as well as more white students (p<.10) and fewer black students (p<.10) than do CBOs (Figures 1 and 2). Although the proportion of Dual Language Learners is comparable in schools and CBOs (about 22%), 82% of teachers in schools exclusively speak English in the classroom compared to only 52% in CBOs (p<.05). Differences in quality were also observed (Table 1). On average, both instructional quality and classroom organization, two of the sub-scales on the CLASS, were higher in schools than in CBOs (p<.01 and p<.05 respectively). On the sub-scale of emotional support, no difference was found. Among sites with different funding combinations, CBOs with Head Start funding in addition to UPK funding received the lowest scores, on average, on all three sub-scales of the CLASS.
Overall, the results indicate that while instructional and classroom quality tend to be lower in community-based settings than in schools, CBOs also employ a more diverse teaching staff that may mirror the children they serve, while providing multi-lingual instruction to support their language acquisition. The research and policy implications of these and multiple other findings will be fully discussed in the paper.

Authors

• Jeanne Louise Reid, Columbia University

• Samantha Melvin, Teachers College, Columbia University