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Who Gets an Early Education? Family Income and the Enrollment of Three‐ to Five‐Year‐Olds from 1968 to 2000 *
Author(s) -
Bainbridge Jay,
Meyers Marcia K.,
Tanaka Sakiko,
Waldfogel Jane
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
social science quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.482
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1540-6237
pISSN - 0038-4941
DOI - 10.1111/j.0038-4941.2005.00326.x
Subject(s) - early childhood education , ethnic group , family income , head start , population , socioeconomic status , inequality , child care , early childhood , demography , race (biology) , psychology , demographic economics , economic growth , socioeconomics , political science , sociology , developmental psychology , medicine , economics , pediatrics , gender studies , mathematical analysis , mathematics , law
Objectives. Has inequality in access to early education been growing or lessening over time? Methods. Using the October Current Population Survey education supplement from 1968 to 2000, we look at three‐, four‐, and five‐year‐olds' enrollment in early education—including center‐based care, Head Start, nursery school, prekindergarten, and kindergarten. Results. Our analysis shows a strong link between family income and early education enrollment for three‐ and four‐year‐olds, especially when we compare the bottom two and the top two income groups. These differences remain even after controlling for a large variety of factors, including race/ethnicity, maternal employment, family structure, and parental education. Conclusions. Inequality in early education by income group varies by age of child: it is most pronounced for three‐year‐olds, who have been the least likely to benefit from public early childhood education programs; it has diminished in the past decade for four‐year‐olds, who have been increasingly likely to have access to public prekindergarten programs; and it has all but disappeared for the five‐year‐olds, who now largely attend public kindergarten. This pattern suggests a potentially important role for public policy in closing the gap in early education between children of different income groups.