A Better Start: Why Classroom Diversity Matters in Early Education

The field of early childhood education is experiencing unprecedented public investment accompanied by increasing expectations for enhanced child outcomes. To achieve such outcomes, policymakers must consider the socioeconomic and racial/ethnic composition of children's classrooms as an important component of preschool quality. This report presents the results of a review and analysis of demographic data, current research, and position statements of national early childhood organizations, emphasizing the following findings. The demographic data reveal troubling racial/ethnic and economic disparities in preschool enrollment and in the quality of preschool that children experience, which beckon policy changes to provide all families with access to affordable, high-quality preschool options. Among families who do enroll, most children attend classrooms that are homogeneous in family income, and often in race/ethnicity as well. The authors argue that quality and equity are inextricably linked, that programs that are segregated by race/ethnicity and income are rarely of equal quality, and that efforts to make early childhood investments sustainable must take this into account. The following recommendations are offered: (1) Build Public and Professional Knowledge; (2) Increase Funding; (3) Consider Location and Subsidize Transportation; (4) Strengthen Professional Development; and (5) Support Enrollment and Engagement. [Additional support in the writing of the report was provided by Michael Hilton and Halley Potter.]