How do pre-kindergarteners spend their time? Gender, ethnicity, and income as predictors of experiences in pre-kindergarten classrooms

• Published in: Early childhood research quarterly 2010-01, Vol.25 (2), p.177-193
• Main Authors: Early, Diane M., Iruka, Iheoma U., Ritchie, Sharon, Barbarin, Oscar A., Winn, Donna-Marie C., Crawford, Gisele M., Frome, Pamela M., Clifford, Richard M., Burchinal, Margaret, Howes, Carollee, Bryant, Donna M., Pianta, Robert C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Achievement Gap; African American Children; Children; Ethnicity; Family Income; Gender; Gender Bias; Gender Differences; Hispanic American Students; Kindergarten; Learning; Learning Activities; Minority Group Children; Motor activity; Pre-kindergarten; Predictor Variables; Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Racial Bias; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Influences; Time use
• ISSN: 0885-2006; 1873-7706
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.10.003

The current paper considers how children spend their time in state-funded pre-kindergarten programs and how time use relates to ethnicity, gender, and family income, based on the assumption that how time is spent in pre-kindergarten is relevant for the programs’ success in narrowing achievement gaps. Classroom observations of 2061 children in 652 pre-k programs in 11 states were analyzed. Findings indicated that the pre-kindergarten day was roughly equally divided among free choice, teacher-assigned activities, and meals/routines. Children spent much of their time in language/literacy, social studies, and art, and less time in math and gross motor activities. Much of the pre-k day was spent in ‘no coded learning activity.’ Children in classes with lower proportions of Latino and African American children and higher average income-to-need ratios were generally engaged in richer and more stimulating experiences. The child-level variables of ethnicity and income were generally unrelated to how children spent their time, above and beyond the effects of classroom-level ethnicity and income. There were generally small, but significant gender differences – always in the gender-stereotyped direction – in how time was spent, especially during free choice time.