Jews Who Choose For Twos – Some Clues: Understanding Parents’ Decisions Regarding Jewish Early Childhood Programs

• In Event: Reclaiming family for the study of Jewish lives

Abstract

The vast majority of Jewish parents enroll their young children in some type of early childhood program, the first step in their child’s formal education. Across the country, there are approximately 800 Jewish programs, sponsored by synagogues, JCCs, day schools, and Chabad. Roughly 20 percent of Jewish parents choose one of these programs.
Two perspectives have arisen to explain why Jewish parents choose or do not choose Jewish programs. The first focuses on quality. It maintains that some Jewish early childhood programs are unimpressive and thus unattractive to educated and discerning Jewish parents who seek out the best options for their children. To increase enrollment, according to this point of view, program quality needs to be improved. The second focuses on barriers to enrollment. It argues that such considerations as hours, location, and cost prevent parents from enrolling. This point of view suggests that full-day programs, new locations, and scholarships would increase enrollment.
Underlying both of these perspectives is the assumption that most Jewish parents consider Jewish early childhood programs when they are assessing early childhood options. To what extent is this the case? In addition, are decisions guided primarily by Jewish sensibilities, or are decisions more prosaic, merely those of consumers making choices among service providers?
To investigate these varying choice models, survey data from over 1,400 parents in Greater Boston were analyzed in order to compare responses across four distinct groups:
• Parents who chose a Jewish preschool
• Parents who considered but did not choose a Jewish preschool
• Parents who did not consider a Jewish preschool
• Parents who had not yet made a preschool choice
Focus groups were also conducted with parents who had chosen secular programs but lived in communities with Jewish programs.
This session describes the findings of the study, which determined that the barrier perspective provided a better explanation of parents’ decision processes than the quality perspective. It also found that whether parents even considered a Jewish preschool was a joint function of where parents lived and their Jewish background and identity.

Author

• Mark I Rosen, Brandeis University