CRECE Director Beth Graue and researchers Moonjoo Woo and Jiyeon Lee presented on choice versus accommodation at the 2019 AERA Conference in Toronto, Canada. Their paper draws from a mixed-method study examining how parents make decisions about public preK in a midwestern city. Of the 556 parents who completed a survey, 55 parents participated in semi-structured interviews. Using multinomial logistic regression and interview analysis, the researchers found that decisions across different preK sites were predicted by parental resources, beliefs on early childhood education, and practical considerations. Graue, Woo and Lee found that parents make preK choices through (a) their social capital, and contextual opportunities, (b) their beliefs and values about education and their children’s future success, and (c) accommodating schedules imposed by their jobs.
