This month, we're highlighting a study led by the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill research team that sheds light on factors that influence American states to adopt publicly-funded prekindergarten (pre-K).
While public pre-K programs have become almost ubiquitous in the United States, five "hold out" states remain.
Expanding access to high-quality early childhood education to all children in the U.S., namely state-funded pre-K programs for 4-year-olds in the year before kindergarten, may be an important step in improving children’s academic success and narrowing opportunity gaps — especially among those from historically marginalized groups.
Researchers examined the likelihood that a state will adopt a pre-K program in a specific year during the period 1983-2017.
Four key predictors were identified:
- Percentage of Republicans in the state legislature
- Legislative professionalism
- Unemployment rate
- Geographic diffusion
Learn more about the study in the blog and map linked below.
