Shifting the Readiness Curve: Impacts of Hawai‘i’s Public Pre-K Program on Early Development & School Engagement

• In Event: California’s Child Care Supply: Enrollment Capacity, Facilities Constraints, and Labor Constraints

Abstract

Early skill development unfolds along differentiated pathways, shaped by children’s sociocultural contexts and early learning environments. This study leverages administrative records and a quasi-experimental design to estimate the effects of Hawai‘i’s statewide public preschool program on early development and school engagement among 5,412 children (49% girls; 22% Native Hawaiian; 21% Filipino; 13% White; 11% Pacific Islander, etc.). Compared to peers without formal preschool experience, program participants exhibited skill gains of 0.26–0.40 SD at kindergarten entry. Latent variable models identified effects across multiple skill dimensions, several of which collectively mediated nearly half of the reduction in first-grade chronic absenteeism. Effects were especially pronounced among Pacific Islander children, highlighting the ecological contingency of early development.

Author

• Remy Pages, State of Hawaii - Exc. Off. Early Learning
  Presenting Author