Constructing the 4K Child

• In Event: 52.040 - Reconsidering Context: An Examination of the Role of Context in Research and Practice in Early Childhood

Abstract

Public prekindergarten (preK) is rapidly expanding, amid claims that high quality preK improves children’s readiness and narrows the achievement gap (Barnett et al, 2013; Gormley & Phillips, 2005). In reality, children come to preK with different cultural backgrounds and their lived experiences are anything but homogenous, even in the same program. In this paper we ask, How does context shape how four-year-olds experience their preK year?
Following Erickson (2014) we approach this task modestly looking at preK through the eyes of children to uncover “the particulars of practices at a certain time and in a certain place” (p. 4) while moving from individual experiences to consider implications for preK policy and practice. We draw on ethnographic fieldwork in Wisconsin, which has a low regulation universal preK program that allows districts to design a program that meets the community’s needs.
We followed focal children in three districts through preK and into kindergarten, observing at home and school and interviewing children, families, and teachers. In the conference paper we compare Timothy’s experiences in urban childcare and Whitney’s in a rural school-based 4K program. Here, we focus on Whitney’s case.
In rural Pickering, the local nature of 4K policy provided space for a school-based program aligned with the K-12 system. In many respects, 4K at Pickering felt like elementary school--the curriculum was structured on academic outcomes. For example the district requires the 4K students to follow the kindergarten curriculum to boost math scores. Teachers focused on teaching school socialization; walking in a quiet, straight line or not using too much glue. More than learning academic concepts, four year-olds in Pickering were learning how to be students, allowing kindergarten teachers to focus on academic skills from the very beginning of the school year.
Whitney attended preK at the Pickering elementary school where her mother taught first grade. A bright-eyed and engaged student, Whitney rapidly acclimated to school norms and expectations and became a key player in the social life of her classroom. Whitney conceptualized her preK experience as a series of social interactions and relationships. Recalling her first day Whitney said, “I was in the block area and playing and Kassie just showed up. … We played together. And we just learned about our letters- the first letters of our names.” Whitney describes preK as a place kids go so their moms and dads can work; where she has learned to do projects nicely and not to scribble. Whitney’s understanding of preK is reinforced at school. Her teacher frequently compliments her behavior and performance, and everyone in the class wants to be Whitney’s friend.
Much preK research focuses on the relationship between policy inputs and child outcomes. This paper enhances this body of work with more descriptive work about how key stakeholders—children—experience preK programs. By contributing to a more robust understanding of preK settings, this research illustrates in concrete ways the transformation of policy to practice.

Authors

• Bethany Wilinski, Michigan State University

• Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Graue, University of Wisconsin - Madison