ECFE forum attendees weigh in on key barriers

Many people took the time to attend PPL’s Early Childhood Forum, held in September 2008, to talk about the barriers families face in accessing quality early childhood education.

Three main barriers stood out: language, money and knowledge about programs.

Below is a summary of the conversations and evaluations generated by the forum:

  • Many parents cannot afford high quality early childhood education programs without tuition assistance, scholarships or county assistance (which has its own barriers). High quality programs need to charge higher tuition to cover their costs of teachers with education degrees, lower ratios, well-equipped classrooms, field trips, etc.
    • Raising the number of scholarships and tuition assistance for families in need would help. Because a number of organizations are working on this barrier, PPL may not choose this area as a focus.
  • English language learners explained the obstacles in accessing schools, programs or resources, particularly with written information and conversing with teachers.
    • More information in translation and availability of interpreters would help.
  • Families are unaware of child development or education resources and programs. They are also not sure what to look for in quality early childhood programs.
    • To help, programs could to find new ways to communicate to parents.

Other barriers discussed: transportation, advocacy, and mentors.

Three barriers to quality programs stood out: language, money and knowledge about programs.