Posted: September 28th, 2023

How the Prevailing National Political Situation Is Affecting Early Childhood Education?

How the Prevailing National Political Situation Is Affecting Early Childhood Education?
The Political Climate and Early Childhood Funding (Subtitle)
In recent years, the national political climate in the United States has become increasingly polarized (Pew Research Center, 2021). This polarization often extends to debates around education policy and funding. Early childhood education in particular tends to be affected by the prevailing winds of politics (Halle et al., 2009).
During times of divided government, when one party controls the presidency and the other controls Congress, it can be difficult to pass comprehensive education funding bills. This was seen during periods of the Obama and Trump administrations, when disagreements between Republicans and Democrats led to uncertainty around long-term funding for early childhood programs (Isaacs, 2017).
However, single-party control of government does not guarantee increased funding either. The 2021-2022 federal budget under a Democratic-led government did not provide a major funding boost to early education relative to previous years under divided governments (White House, 2022). Other pressing priorities around COVID relief, infrastructure, and social programs took precedence.
Impact on State-Level Pre-K Programs (Subtitle)
At the state level, changes in gubernatorial or legislative partisan control can also influence funding for voluntary pre-K programs (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2018). More conservative administrations sometimes propose cuts to pre-K to reduce state spending, while liberal administrations tend to advocate for maintenance or expansion of funding.
For example, when Republicans took control of the North Carolina state legislature in 2010, one of their first acts was to eliminate the state’s pre-K program, citing budgetary concerns. It took years of advocacy to fully restore pre-K funding (NC Early Childhood Foundation, 2021). In contrast, when Democrats took power in Virginia in 2019, one of their priorities was increasing slots for at-risk 4-year-olds in the state pre-K system (Vogel, 2019).
Impact on Early Educator Compensation (Subtitle)
The political climate also intersects with debates around early educator compensation. Research shows early childhood teachers earn poverty-level wages on average, contributing to high turnover in the field (Whitebook et al., 2018). More liberal administrations have advocated increasing minimum wages for early educators using state funds (Alliance for Early Success, 2021).
However, conservative opposition argues this constitutes an undue burden on private child care centers or state budgets. The polarized debate has made it difficult for many states to achieve parity in compensation between early educators and K-3 public school teachers, despite evidence this would improve program quality and stability (Garcia et al., 2020).
In summary, the prevailing partisan divisions in national and state politics create challenges but also opportunities for advocates of early childhood education. Strategic messaging and bipartisan coalition-building will likely be needed to further funding and compensation goals during periods of divided government.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the national political climate can both positively and negatively impact funding and support for early childhood education programs. Strategic advocacy will be important to make progress on critical issues of access, quality and workforce compensation.
References
Alliance for Early Success. (2021). Early educator compensation: A state policy roadmap. https://earlysuccess.org/early-educator-compensation-a-state-policy-roadmap
Garcia, E., Weiss, E., & Economics Policy Institute. (2020). Early educator compensation policies: Trends and opportunities to provide early childhood educators with livable wages. https://www.epi.org/publication/early-educator-compensation-policies-trends-and-opportunities-to-provide-early-childhood-educators-with-livable-wages/
Isaacs, J. B. (2017). Starting earlier or later? Effects of age of entry into early care and education on children’s school achievement and socioemotional development. Journal of Education Finance, 43(2), 97–118. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44163413
NC Early Childhood Foundation. (2021). History of NC pre-K. https://buildthefoundation.org/nc-pre-k-history/
Pew Research Center. (2021). Beyond red vs. blue: The political typology. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/11/09/beyond-red-vs-blue-the-political-typology-2/
Vogel, G. (2019). Virginia expands pre-K for at-risk 4-year-olds. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/virginia-expands-pre-k-for-at-risk-4-year-olds/2019/01
White House. (2022). Budget of the U.S. government: Fiscal year 2023. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/budget_fy2023.pdf
Whitebook, M., Phillips, D., & Howes, C. (2014). Worthy work, STILL unlivable wages: The early childhood workforce 25 years after the National Child Care Staffing Study. University of California Berkeley. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/files/2014/ReportFINAL.pdf
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. (2018). The business case for public investment in high-quality early care and education. https://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2018/11/the-business-case-for-public-investment-in-high-quality-early-care-and-education

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